Can't cider be simple?

[johnk19]

Hi, I am a longtime brewer but noob at cider. My questions are 1) do you really need to prep your cider juice before fermenting? Cannot I just pitch yeast in a 5 gal batch, let it ride for about a month, rack, back sweet, and then bottle?
2) Should I prime before bottling. 3) Do I need to worry about bacteria? Doesn't fermenting take care of killing any bacteria? 4) Is sterilization necessary, eg: boiling filled capped bottles?

I have been reading up on cider making and it seems that people are adding additional salts and chemicals that seem unnecessary to me.

My idea in making cider was to 1) get fresh pressed juice unpast. 2)Pitch yeast 3) Ferm, rack 4) age and condition in bottle 5) Enjoy!

Or am I just going to end up with some apple waste?

 

[ong]

You only need to prime if you want carbonated cider. You should sanitize your bottles, to avoid an infection. Fermentation doesn't kill bacteria. Back sweetening with sugar, then bottling, will result in bottle bombs. You certainly can just pitch yeast into cider, but not without a higher risk of wild yeasts or bacteria taking over.

 

[CJ1]

Alcohol does kill bacteria, but you won't ferment nearly strong enough to get the job done. You would need 100 proof or higher to be certain that the bacteria were killed.

It's worth sterilizing your bottles and equipment.

 

[johnk19]

So I guess it would be fair to say that using Camden tabs is the best way to go before yeast pitching.?

Once ferm is complete how much priming sugar should be used to avoid bottle bombs?

 

[Paps]

I have a simple recipe for cider in my drop down using store bought apple juice. Give it a looksie.

 

[johnk19]

I was aiming to have an all natural cider. No additives no back sweeteners and mildly carbonated.

Is the a yeast that can dominate during the fermentation yet allowing some of the sweetness of the cider to shine through almost like a demi sec?