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?
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?
Pasteurization not required. I don't.
Some of us don't keg. LOLMe either. That's what kegs are made for.
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?
Then I will have to try some Safcider yeast!
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.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.
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