Easy Stove-Top Pasteurizing - With Pics

[Thaumatourge]

I would not be worried about it. That lid is going to be a safety measure should a bottle explode. You can replace a lid. Eyes, not so much.

 

[vsusinga]

My aim is to not have to replace the lid.. do you think it will hold?

 

[brewski09]

Those lids are usually strong like Pyrex. You should be fine. If you are really concerned go get a cheap metal one side fits all lid from Walmart or target

 

[lolznrofls]

I havent had any bottle bombs using the stove top method as of yet. ( knock on wood). What are the other negatives that I keep hearing about but no one has really said about the stovetop method..I get that I may have cloudy brews..but im a noob so I dont really care right now..I just like making surprisingly really really good homebrew...can someone clue me in?

 

[mattmmille]

I have pasteurized a few times now and I had one bottle break on the first try, because I put the bottles in my canner (I use a pressure canner base) as I brought the water up to temperature. Instead, I was supposed to put them in WHEN it reached temperature. Since then, no problems. I pasteurized a batch of pineapple tepache today. My test bottle was a gusher Anyway, I followed procedures, but noticed some bubbles coming from one bottle...I took it out and added a little more oomph to the crown cap and stuck it in the fridge. That one may be infected...a little more gunk in the neck than the other bottles. The other bottles processed without incident. I always put the cover on loosely, just in case one pops...it would be safer and a lot less messy.

 

[lolznrofls]

I tend to bottle by brews label the cap and store in boxes with a trash bag lining the inside..luckily I havent had to see if it works yet..but I just started brewing..lots of time for trial and error. Cheers!

 

[vsusinga]

Well.. mine turned out great!. Cider is good with a tiny bit of carb like i planned.

 

[frettfreak]

Well i finished pasteurizing my first cider batch. A caramel apple cider. Came out delicious. Just wanted to report what i did, and my results.

I bottled my 5 gallon batch in a combination of 22oz and 12oz bottles. they carbed up in about 4 days but i didnt have time to pasteurize so i stuck it in the fridge for a couple more days hoping the cold would stop or slow the yeast.

When it came time to pasteurize, i pulled them out the morning i was going to do it to warm them up to the air temp. Later that evening, i went and got a cooler and filled it with hot water from the tap (came out about 120) and let them sit for about 30 min while the other water was heating.

What i did a little different was just used my kettle. I could fit a lot more bottles in and it cut my time down a lot!

I only got the water to 180 for the first batch (the 22 oz bottles). but changed to 165 on the 12 oz.

My 12 oz bottles actually came out perfect. didnt have any explosions but because it was a lower temp, i left them in for about an hour. HOWEVER, i lost 4 22oz and almost an eye (thank good i read up on this and decided that outside would be the best place to do this). The first one popped about 30 seconds after i got the last bottle in the water! Obviously we ran to a safe distance. the second one popped and a cider guiser blew well over my roof-line! the third one must had fallen down into the water, but the 4th actually exploded! the top portion of the bottle flew but there was only a couple big pieces. i really wish i was videoing it cause it was pretty nuts.

Not sure if it was the fact that they were 22 oz and maybe carbed faster, the hotter water, or what but i wont be waiting at all next time to pasteurize. Also, i think i might heat the water that i put in the cooler up a bit more (maybe get it to 140 or so). thanks for the info!!

 

[jak14]

After the cider has fermented for a while and you take a sample for testing the SG, do you degas the sample that is tested?

 

[frettfreak]

After the cider has fermented for a while and you take a sample for testing the SG, do you degas the sample that is tested?

I am no expert, the only time I know of when you would need to degas something would be after carbonation has been introduced. If it's still in the fermenter / bottling bucket just take you reading with a hydrometer (make sure to correct for temp) and you should be good to go.

 

[Pappers_]

Hi all. At the risk of repeating myself, my method has changed a little bit, making it a little easier for me. Rather than taking a hydrometer reading of the cider as the fermentation slows down, I let it ferment all the way out now, to dry, then backsweeten and bottle immediately. After a few days, I pasteurize. The proportions that I've found that work for me is 3 gallons of fermented juice and 1 gallon of unfermented juice for backsweetening.

 

[MT2sum]

Hello there. New guy here sucking up info in preparation for my first cider brew. I was just wondering if anybody has used the aluminum bud bottles in this pasteurization method? I would think the better conductivity of aluminum would transfer the heat better and there would be no risk of flying glass shards. A bonus would be 16 oz vs 12 oz meaning less bottles to clean before bottling.

Thanks,
Greg

Hi Greg,
I didn't find an answer to your question, & I know that yours was an older post (11/11), an this is too late for your post, but I would beware of using the aluminum Bud("I'm a girl")weiser bottles. They are most likely lined with some kind of plastic like the Coors and a lot of other aluminum cans, etc. Go back thru a few of the posts that mention that they tried using plastic soda/water bottles when pasteurizing (like post # 316, for instance), even PET bottles will melt and leak at high temps - wasn't a great experience for any of the one's that I saw up to now! Hopefully, this will be a good enuff answer for someone in the future that has the same question as you do.
~~~~~~~
Just found this in one of the posts - quote "Has anyone got a method of killing the yeast in plastic bottle while keeper the carbonation./quote
PET plastic bottles when heated release antimony and acetaldelahydes." - #412 by Isometric
~~~~~~~
Just my 2 centavos.....

 

[kanakari]

Pasteurizing some pineapple cider right now but a few of the bottles are fizzing out. Is this cause the pressure is too high or because my bottles are sealed improperly? When I opened the PET tester bottled I had it exploded fizz everywhere.

Also, even though the yeast are dead does the cider still age? My cider is a little 'hot' at the moment.

 

[mattmmille]

Pasteurizing some pineapple cider right now but a few of the bottles are fizzing out. Is this cause the pressure is too high or because my bottles are sealed improperly? When I opened the PET tester bottled I had it exploded fizz everywhere.

Also, even though the yeast are dead does the cider still age? My cider is a little 'hot' at the moment.

I think it could be either one; however, if your test bottle was seriously over-carbed, I would lean towards the pressure being too high. I did have a bottle recently that had a very small stream of bubbles escaping in the pasteurization pot. I removed it immediately and tried to apply more pressure with the bottle capper and the pateurized it by itself, but I noticed a little gunk in the neck. I wound up draining the bottle and checking it carefully. I found a small fissure in the glass, just under the lip and extending to the next indentation. It was not something you could feel inside or out, but could see it against a light. I decided to just recycle that bottle and be done with it.
But yours could be an over-carb issue.

Depending on FG reading, you may find that some bottles carb enough in just 24 hours. How long did yours carb? I have found that with an FG of 1.01 or less, I may not even need to pasteurize; but more than that and you really have to check it often!

 

[CA_Mouse]

I just used this method on my first cider since 1984. Very easy and straight forward. Only did a case, but it worked perfectly!

 

[kanakari]

Depending on FG reading, you may find that some bottles carb enough in just 24 hours. How long did yours carb? I have found that with an FG of 1.01 or less, I may not even need to pasteurize; but more than that and you really have to check it often!

Left it 5 days before checking the carbonation which was probably a bad idea. I never checked the FG but it was very dry (fermented for 3 weeks) and then backsweetened with juice and priming sugar added on top of that.

 

[mattmmille]

There's your answer! Lotsa sugar and too much time= bottle bombs!

 

[lolznrofls]

I keep a 20oz plastic soda bottle with my batch to give a daily squeeze test to..once its firm I paturize. ..cant tell just yet what it feels like when its perfectly carbed up just yet..ive only just bottled my second batch of beer..I bottle my meads still..and my gallon ciders normally are gone the same day they are finished...yummy

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I remember people referencing a lower temp, any idea where that post is? Or do most people use the steps in the original post?

 

[MT2sum]

I remember people referencing a lower temp, any idea where that post is? Or do most people use the steps in the original post?

Check out post #29 Post # 29 in this thread Clik and see if that's what you were asking about. Or maybe you're looking for this - Post #3 in another thread Clik

 

[Roscoebrewdog]

Brewed the hard lemonade from the wine forum. I want to pasteurize some and just throw some in fridge. Is there a certain temp for the fridge so that I don't get bombs? I realize the fridges ones can't get warm before opening, but will they be ok at room temp or cooler for say an hour or so? Don't want any fireworks going off other than firecrackers and Roman candles. Thanks

 

[RPowell]

Let me see if I can summarize all the good advice here:

1) Never attempt to pasteurize over carbonated bottles. when in doubt, err on the side of caution. "not too over-carbed" IS too over-carbed. Gushers are over carbed.
2) Optional - pre-warm bottles to be pasteurized in hot tap water to avoid thermal shock. 120 to 130 degrees is probably good.
3) bring the water up to 180. DO NOT OVERHEAT THE WATER
4) turn off the heat
5) don't let the bottles touch the bottom of the pot (use silicon pads, towels, racks, etc. to keep bottles off the bottom and sides)
6) use a lid in case of bottle bombs, secure the lid if possible.
7) don't overload the pot (that is, not too many bottles)
8) let the bottles sit in the pot for 10 minutes
9) remove bottles from water and let cool to room temperature
10) use another vessel with a lid to cool, if possible
11) bottle bombs are always possible, however unlikely, use common sense and protective gear, if possible

sound about right?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Sounds about right, use your judgement on what overcrowding the pot means.

I prewarm at 140 water temp, then transfer bottles to another pot at 175. putting a lid on it with an upside down bowl over the handle to keep it in place if something were to blow.

I have not had any bottles blow on me yet, but only 2 batches pasteurized so far. I did drop one however and it cracked of course.

What do you guys use to remove the bottles? Mitt, towel, tongs? I feel like a tight closing bottle neck shaped tong would be very useful..

 

[Kahless]

I use a BIAB mash tun (well insulated 30L fermentation bucket) rather than a pot for a consistent temperature surrounding the bottles, and warm them up just using the hottest water in the kitchen sink. In this approach I was wondering if there was any drawbacks to opening the lid at the end and leaving them to cool nice and slowly in the hot water. It seems a lot safer at first but perhaps that's more pressure exerted on the bottles due to extended time at higher temperatures, and perhaps there would be more damage to the cider etc...

 

[mattmmille]

I had some gushers today...a couple of bottles of a ginger-bug apple soda and some Mexican Tepache. 24 hours and the carb was too light. 48 hours and they gush. I tried to let off the pressure and retighten the caps...seemed to work okay on the tepache. Unfortunately, the soda bottle bombed on one...scared the sh*t out of me! The second one was giving off bubbles, so I pulled it. I pastuerize in a pressure cooker body with the lid loosely covering it. It was a good thing! The bottle that popped managed to get a couple shards out anyway...luckily I was not standing right by the pot when the bottle blew. I'll probably uncap gushers in the future and put new caps on...then stick 'em in the fridge. Bottle bombs ain't no joke!

 

[vernsgal]

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie to this site and beer making. I've been making wine, both fruit and kits for some years now and was given a Vinoka cider kit. I was told you can carbonate it so I assumed it would be the same as the beer kits I've done where you just add priming sugar and bottle. Apparently you need to keg it. If I followed directions but omitted the sorbate then bottled and followed procedure above would it work?

 

[Pappers_]

Yes, knowing that you need to know what you're doing when mixing heat, carbonation and glass bottles. Caution is the word of the day. Or you can use the method here www.howtomakehardcider.com

 

[vernsgal]

Thanks. I'm really trying to learn more on beer/ ciders. Another growing addiction

 

[paulpytlik]

This process scares the crap out of me. I need a taller pot. I am using 32OZ flip top bottles. I let the carb off before warming them and putting them in the tap water. Then apply heat. The cider goes all the way to the lid and then I get spooked. There is 2 inches of the bottle sticking out of the water. This is my 2 nd try at this. Not sure what I am posting this for but i needed to say it somewhere people understand.

 

[mattmmille]

This process scares the crap out of me. I need a taller pot. I am using 32OZ flip top bottles. I let the carb off before warming them and putting them in the tap water. Then apply heat. The cider goes all the way to the lid and then I get spooked. There is 2 inches of the bottle sticking out of the water. This is my 2 nd try at this. Not sure what I am posting this for but i needed to say it somewhere people understand.

Don't take this as gospel, but in canning, instructions say to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches with the water. I would *think* the same would be true for pasteurizing. You can pre-warm the bottles in hot tap water, but bring the pasteurization water all the way up to temperature, remove from heat and then add the bottles. Don't put the bottles in and leave them on the burner!

There is a certain amount of time at a certain temperature required for pasteurization to be effective. Once that time is achieved, there isn't any benefit to leaving the bottles in longer and the longer they are hot, the more the chance of the flavor being affected. I wonder, though, if those 32 oz bottles might need a slightly longer exposure to be properly processed?

 

[abeekeeper]

a quick question I have 3 gallons of pear-pineapple mead aged or cleared in carboy almost a year I want to sparkle it using honey will 1/2 a cup added too carboy before bottling work or am I just making bottle bombs

 

[mattmmille]

I would recommend Googling the Northern Brewer Priming Calculator. You'll have to enter a figure for CO 2 volumes you want. There's not one already established for mead.

 

[dannyrodge]

Is there any hope for carbonation after potassium sorbate?

 

[brewski09]

As I understand it technically yes. The k-sorb only makes it dormant.

 

[oljimmy]

In case anyone's interested, I've run my own temp tests using this method. With

- 5 gallons of water in a 7.5 gallon pot,
- Water to 169 F
- 10 bottles of cider (at 1.004, moderate carbonation) at room temp (74F)
- In for 11 minutes

The cider reaches 149 F during the 11th minute, well below the boiling point of ethanol but well above the 140F necessary to begin pasteurization. No exploding bottles for me.

 

[zamo27]

wow this is a long thread
i pasteurized my apfelwein but it s almost flat now
why is this

 

[mattmmille]

wow this is a long thread
i pasteurized my apfelwein but it s almost flat now
why is this

Because I'm pretty new at this, I'm going to address the obvious: 1) Did you have a good test bottle that indicated a good carb BEFORE you pasteurized? and 2) Did you confirm that your seals were good? I had a couple of bottles that, when submerged, emitted bubbles...obviously not well-sealed.

another question that might be relevant are the type of bottles and caps...assuming that you didn't use wine bottles/corks?

i hope those did not come off as condescending...sometimes obvious gets overlooked! I'll leave more involved possibilities to those who have more experience...and I'll be interested in other reeponses as well!

 

[DIXIEBOY1]

Would this work for beer(s) as well? Ales, lager, porter, IPAs, stouts, etc....thanks in advance

 

[homicider]

Long time lurker but I decided to make an account after my first go at bottle conditioning and pasteurized using the pappers method.

I make my own cider, sweeten with white sugar and brown sugar then ferment in two I gallon jugs. I normally ferment until dry and just leave it a still cider stored by the gallon but I recently transferred to Wisconsin, far from those who want some of my cider, so I decided to look into bottling.

This is getting long winded so to cut got the chase, I sampled one last night and it wasn't quite carbed enough, tried another after work this morning(what, ciders not a breakfast drink?) And it was about perfect and went to bed. A few hours later I woke up and popped another, gusher. I popped them all and all but two gushed so I recapped quickly and soaked them in a sink of 130F then transferred to a pot of 170F water for 10 mins. Worked perfectly, not sure how much carb is retained but at least I can share without worry now.

 

[brewski09]

Would this work for beer(s) as well? Ales, lager, porter, IPAs, stouts, etc....thanks in advance

Technically yes.

1) you don't need to. Just mash at higher temps and y you can control the finishing gravity.

2) the hops will isomerize more, losing hop aroma and flavor while gaining bitterness.