So I've read that Hard and Soft Cider need to be pasteurized to stop bottle bombs. Why don't I have that problem when making ale?
Hard Cider vs Beer
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gunhaus
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I have yet to pasteurize a cider in more than 30 years, and have never had a bottle bomb. If you allow fermentation to completely finish before bottling or bottle carbing you will not get bombs any more than you would with any other wine. The problem is, many people are very impatient when it comes to cider, and they don't want to wait for a cider to end and mature - and even more want to try and "stop" fermentation at a certain level of sugary sweetness, or they want to back sweeten the heck out of a finished cider to get a nice sweet alcopop. To each there own. But when you start adding gobs of sugar BACK into a finished cider then you throw it in a bottle you are asking for bombs and should pasteurize. Reliably "stopping" a healthy fermentation without pasteurizing is sketchy to say the least. If you make and finish your ciders dryer like Apfelwein, then carbed or still it will bottle fine without pasteurizing. If you want it really sweet then you need to add enough sugar to begin with, combined with a yeast selection that will die out naturally before all of the sugars are consumed, and allow it to finish. Bottle carbing a cider like this can be tricky because if the yeast is really done - you would need to add a bit of something like a champagne yeast to start the bubbles and things can get risky again. Better to force card such a cider in a keg and then bottle or just drink it still.
Speaking broadly: With many of the popular sweet "cider" on the market, the process goes something like - Ferment the raw cider mixed with sugar from a gravity of 1.080 - 1.100 down to 1.00 -.998. Pasteurize and filter to remove yeasts. Cut with distilled water to the desired finish gravity. Flavor/sweeten to level with various extracts. Force carb. Bottle or can.
Speaking broadly: With many of the popular sweet "cider" on the market, the process goes something like - Ferment the raw cider mixed with sugar from a gravity of 1.080 - 1.100 down to 1.00 -.998. Pasteurize and filter to remove yeasts. Cut with distilled water to the desired finish gravity. Flavor/sweeten to level with various extracts. Force carb. Bottle or can.
OP
OP
I've heard the same for hard root beer. Pasteurize to stop fermentation and bottle bombs.
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
The only reason you would pasteurize to avoid bottle bombs is because you are adding more priming sugar than necessary for normal carbonation levels. Since cider will (usually) ferment all the way to dryness, more sugar needs to be added if you want a sweet or off-dry beverage, then you need to add even more sugar to carbonate.
When the preferred level of carbonation is achieved, you pasteurize the whole batch, the yeast is killed and you now have a carbonated, sweetened cider.
When the preferred level of carbonation is achieved, you pasteurize the whole batch, the yeast is killed and you now have a carbonated, sweetened cider.
Because ale has malt and cider doesn't. Ale will have residual sweetness from the sugars that don't get fermented. Add some fermentable priming sugar, bottle, get fizz.
But all the sugars in cider are fermentable, there is no residual sweetness. So if you don't want a dry carbonated cider you have to add enough sugar to both sweeten it and carbonate it. That's where pasteurization comes in - you gotta kill the yeast before they consume so much sugar that the bottles explode.
I like a semi-sweet, highly-carbonated cider, so I
1) ferment until dry
2) backsweeten with the original unfermented juice
3) either pasteurize or chemically stabilize with potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate
4) force carbonate
Lately, I have been happier with the pasteurization route.
The process of cidermaking is much easier than making ale... until you get to the sweetening dilemma.
1) ferment until dry
2) backsweeten with the original unfermented juice
3) either pasteurize or chemically stabilize with potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate
4) force carbonate
Lately, I have been happier with the pasteurization route.
The process of cidermaking is much easier than making ale... until you get to the sweetening dilemma.
Pasteurization not required. I don't.
Me either. That's what kegs are made for.
OP
OP
Some of us don't keg. LOL
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
I take apple juice, add cider yeast, ferment for two weeks, and bottle with 1/2tsp of table sugar per 12oz bottle. That's literally all that I do and it produces a semi-sweet, carbonated hard apple cider that's not stripped of its flavor and aroma. It usually comes out to about 6% ABV.
Do you have the gravity before you bottle and later?
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.012
Until today I have only ever taken readings prior to pitching yeast and prior to bottling when the fermentation is complete. Fortunately, I have a half gallon of cider (not bottled) that I made last July sitting in the garage. More fortunately, I have the OG written on tape on the carboy and the ABV written on a cap when I bottled half the batch. (I just had to dig through my cap collection.) I just pulled a hydrometer sample, and it's 1.012 which is what it would have been back in August because the cap says 5%.
Note: Not all cider gravities are the same though because I used a different cider for a separate batch and that OG was 1.052.
For reference, my go-to yeast is Safcider.
I did once. Got a free packet, did a 5 gal. batch. It was good, not sweet nor dry, no off flavors. Never tried it again because I never saw the small packets available retail. I will halve to try again this fall or next. Still using up a bunch of 71b-1122.
GeneDaniels1963
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I don't pasturize, but that means you have to wait until it is really done, keg, or place in fridge. I don't have a keg, but sometimes I just place an "almost" finished cider in a plastic 1 gal jug and keep in the fridge. It works quite well.
As an aside, I just got home from 3 weeks abroad. I had a cider sitting on the counter that I thought was finished, but to be safe I stored it in a 1 gal plastic jug. It was amazing how much that jug had ballooned! But I just let off the pressure and all was good. In fact, the cider (habanero) was really good.
As an aside, I just got home from 3 weeks abroad. I had a cider sitting on the counter that I thought was finished, but to be safe I stored it in a 1 gal plastic jug. It was amazing how much that jug had ballooned! But I just let off the pressure and all was good. In fact, the cider (habanero) was really good.
bmd2k1
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I too find refrigeration to work great with all my ciders -- some of which I cold crash in the 1.03s! After cold crashing & racking -- keeping em cold (mid/low 30s) works just perfect for me. Some of the higher gravity ciders May continue a very small amount of fermentation - ie) 1gal jugs get firm over time - but a periodic "burping" resolves that and the carbonation is great.
Cheers [emoji111]
