Bottled shelf life

How long can bottled cider be stored in an upright (cap up) position before it skunks (the best term i could think of) I know cider generally gets better as it ages but what is the limit to that 6 months, a year, 2 years, 5 years. I am not a huge drinker maybe 2-3 bottles a week and I have like 60-70 bottles in milk crates waiting to be drank and another 5gal batch on the way. I just enjoy making the batches and sharing my concoctions with friends and family.

It depends on how you store it.... higher temps = shorter shelf life.

Also skunked off flavors in beer come from UV light not age, hence the brown bottles.

j1n said:

It depends on how you store it.... higher temps = shorter shelf life.

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Very true. Cool temps - like in the 50's if you can swing it. Cider is basically a low alcohol wine when you think about it - fermented fruit juice.

j1n said:

Also skunked off flavors in beer come from UV light not age, hence the brown bottles.

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skunked flavors in beer come from breakdown of the hops molecules - usually through UV light, but age is a factor because short UV light is ok, long is bad.

Also in the case of the cider (or beer, or wine), the crown cap isn't perfect, meaning over time air will get in. It is however better than a vertically stored corked bottle. The corks dry out and the air really gets in then - which is why corked bottles are kept on their side.

I've not tested with cider, but my experience with wine has found that there is no significant flavor shift in the 1 year time frame. Some of the flavored wines the flavor additive fell off, but no bad flavors came in. In particular my green apple Riesling went from a very strong green apple candy flavor at bottling time to a very mellow hint of flavor at 1+years and I think I found a bottle drink able at 2 years.

Again, cider is like a wine, not a beer. Also, general policy regardless of alcohol type - dark locations, low temps, small temp changes, and no UV if possible.

It is currently stored on the main level of my house in a corner in stacked milk crates. Temps range between 68-74 generally. I am debating on moving them into my basement for the winter away from the outside walls.

I don't have any exceptionally old cider, but I keep mine in a back room that has little light and runs cool. Bonus is that "cellar temp" is about the right temp to drink cider for me. No fridge required!