Boiling Cider?

Should I boil my apple juice and sugar before putting it in the primary to kill bacteria or will a new bottle of apple juice be fine?

Don't Boil The Juice. Juice right out of a bottle is just fine, you should steralize the fermentation container. You can a little of the juice and sugar on the stove to about 140' to dissolve the sugar, but never boil it. It sets the pectins and causes a clear juice to go cloudy. It may alter the taste as well. I'm sure how that really works out though.

Don't boil the juice. I might boil the sugar in as little water as possible and add that to the juice.

I know for a fact that you can dissolve at least 2 cups of sugar in 1 cup of water if you are boiling it.

I've read you can simmer fresh cider for 45 minutes to kill any wild yeasts but boiling will cause it to go cloudy as Bubbles said. I'm pressing some apples this weekend for hard cider and I do not plan on simmering the juice or even using camden tablets to sterilize the wild yeasts. I'm just going to throw the cider and yeast into a carboy and let it do its thing.

Edit: honestly I don't know the difference between a simmer and a boil I guess. To me they both make the liquid bubble, which is why I'm choosing to not apply any heat to my cider.

Most of the time you don't need to kill off the wild yeast. The yeast you put in will drown out the wild yeasties. A simmer is a very light boil, but it also heats the cider up too much. The goal is to keep the cider from reaching anything about 190'F (about 87'C for you metrics out there) A simmer is still a boil just another name for it. (ie. roaring boil - Light Simmer)

No, don't worry about heating it. If you are buying bottled juice, its already been pasteurized. If you are grinding and pressing your own apples, use Campden (sulfite) to ward off wild yeast.

if you boil it you will set the pectins and have a hazy cider. Use campden tabs to kill the wild yeast

Don't boil and no need for campden either in my opinion and experience. It will make your cider smell like an apple farted in it. I make cider egulalrly without sulphites and store bought juice will have already been pasteurised as suggested above.

Just juice and yeast is all you need.

That is true but I buy fresh pressed cider that has not been pasturized. There have been some threads in here over the the past few years that claim that apple juice does not require the the same amount of campden as wine. I use half of the recommended amount and no longer get the "fart" smells and nothing has turned to vinegar

RugenBrau said:

That is true but I buy fresh pressed cider that has not been pasturized. There have been some threads in here over the the past few years that claim that apple juice does not require the the same amount of campden as wine. I use half of the recommended amount and no longer get the "fart" smells and nothing has turned to vinegar

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I sometimes make cider from apples I press/juice myself and don't use campden. I think the necessity for it is overstated and I find my physical response to it is not good so I choose to avoid it. If you have no major physical issues with it then put your mind at ease and wack some in. Personally I can often taste it (including commercial ciders) and it makes my head feel like a squashed pineapple.

To combat wild yeast, I make an active starter for my ciders so numbers of controlled yeast hopefully outweigh wild yeast

bump

I'm going against the norm, as I make a lot of cider and this is my experience.

For a 4 gallon recipe, boil a gallon along with any sugar and additives (excluding yeast obviously) until the sugar and things dissolve. Allow to completely cool, then add to primary and pitch.

This step makes the process go 100% better.

nukinfuts29 said:

I'm going against the norm, as I make a lot of cider and this is my experience.

For a 4 gallon recipe, boil a gallon along with any sugar and additives (excluding yeast obviously) until the sugar and things dissolve. Allow to completely cool, then add to primary and pitch.

This step makes the process go 100% better.

Click to expand...

Agreed, it is a good idea to dissolve the sugar under heat. If you dont fully dissolve the sugar, and it settles on the bottom, you will get uneven flavors throughout the batch. Only boil as much as you need to dissolve your sugar (or other additives) .