left out cider

So, I picked 2 extra gallons of cider the other day (week) for my friend when I was buying some for my own fermenting purposes. It came from the local farmers market and was pressed in a town over in Il. Well, I looked in my basement and he never picked it up, and the jugs have not burst or anything, but they are bulged out and it looks like they really didn't hold air from getting out. Some sediment at the bottom, i.e. lees, and opened one up and it smells like fermented cider. since it is still under pressure, I can only assume that it is c02 left inside.

Question is, anyone think this is safe? I don't know if it was pasteurized (I think it needs to be to pass state lines, but who knows if the folks from the farmers market really pay attention to that) , and it says it had less than .1% potassium sorbate for freshness. I haven't tasted it, but i suppose a few mL wouldn't hurt. is there anything dumb about sticking this in a carboy and popping an airlock on and seeing what happens?

do...it...

ashmgee said:

do...it...

Click to expand...

what he said.

sounds delish

what's the worst that could happen?

As long as it doesn't smell bad and doesn't taste bad then it can't be that bad...can it?

Chances are it's not pasteurized and it was just natural yeast on the skins and bacteria on the skins. I used to do this all the time when I was a kid in highschool because my friend had an apple orchard.

my dad died from this.

how?^^^^

Dont feed the troll.
And to the OP yeah if it smells and tastes somewhat good go with it and see what you get! Although if it is good the results may not be totally replicable.

you'll be fine, thats how I personally, along with every other homebrew cider guy in my area does it. I have 40gallons in my basement now:rockin: I get my carboys filled right out of the press. In fact I get wierd looks when I mention that people add anything other than sugar and other fermentables to their juice let alone use pasturized juice. add roughly 1lb of cane sugar per gallon and just let it sit for 5 or 6 months, and you'll have something great

Apples naturally ferment from the yeast... Animals love fall and apple orchards, so it should be safe. Last week er so there was a bear in the news that was stumbling drunk after he ate a lot off apples that were left on the ground at a local orchard.