View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1417838805.952671.jpg Here's a pic of our very first bottle carbed cider...fermented with champagne yeast, FG .998, back sweetened with FAJC, and held at 65 degrees for 6 days...the cider in the pic was from the plastic bottle we used to "test" the carbonation...We stove top pasteurized the bottles at 185 for 10 minutes and they cooled to 160ish...all in all, no bombs, and a pleasant experience...Thanks to all in this forum-what a fantastic resource!!!
Easy Stove-Top Pasteurizing - With Pics
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solbes
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Well, this didn't work out so well for me. Based on how much carb I saw in my test glass, I'd say had 3-3.2 volumes which admittedly was more than I was initially shooting for. Not overcarbed for cider, but not undercarbed either. I experienced my first bottle bombs ever at batch #64.
I should have read more of the suggestions and updates past page 1. I had 7 of 8 blow in the 5 gallon stainless kettle with lid. No's 1 & 2 were contained with the lid on. #3 and 4 blew the kettle lid off and then #'s 5-7 blew randomly as I was hiding out in the living room behind a wall. After re-securing the lid on my hands and knees in protective gear (not poking at real vererans, but I felt like I was in a war zone), I was able to move the kettle onto the deck until bottle #8 gets real good and cold tonight.
Although I could see pre-warming the bottles up to a mid temp may reduce/eliminate bottle bombs, I personally would not handle pre-heated bottles as you have greatly increased the chances for a bottle to blow while directly handling it. I briefly considered uncapping the bottles, letting them sit for awhile, then recapping and trying again. But thinking about the physics and materials involved here, its just not worth it for me. I put the remaining 40 bottles in the fridge and will deal with the loss of fridge space.
Not trying to discourage all who have had success (and followed the process better than I did), but I would caution those who have not tried it to think about it. On the flip side I'm not trying to poo-poo too much either, just adding my experience here. I have seen the broken carboy horror stories and continue to use them myself cautiously. Lived to brew another day
I should have read more of the suggestions and updates past page 1. I had 7 of 8 blow in the 5 gallon stainless kettle with lid. No's 1 & 2 were contained with the lid on. #3 and 4 blew the kettle lid off and then #'s 5-7 blew randomly as I was hiding out in the living room behind a wall. After re-securing the lid on my hands and knees in protective gear (not poking at real vererans, but I felt like I was in a war zone), I was able to move the kettle onto the deck until bottle #8 gets real good and cold tonight.
Although I could see pre-warming the bottles up to a mid temp may reduce/eliminate bottle bombs, I personally would not handle pre-heated bottles as you have greatly increased the chances for a bottle to blow while directly handling it. I briefly considered uncapping the bottles, letting them sit for awhile, then recapping and trying again. But thinking about the physics and materials involved here, its just not worth it for me. I put the remaining 40 bottles in the fridge and will deal with the loss of fridge space.
Not trying to discourage all who have had success (and followed the process better than I did), but I would caution those who have not tried it to think about it. On the flip side I'm not trying to poo-poo too much either, just adding my experience here. I have seen the broken carboy horror stories and continue to use them myself cautiously. Lived to brew another day
solbes
Well-Known Member
I was not standing near there after the first blew so I'm not sure. Heated water to 190 and turned off stovetop before I added the bottles and then capped with a lid.
I have been working my way through the many pages of this thread and maybe my question has been answered in there somewhere but I have not yet crossed it.
Seeing the last post about exploding bottles, I was wondering, why could you not just pasteurize a batch poured directly IN the pot THEN bottle it from the pot when cooled into bottles you have pre pastuerized in the dish washer? No swapping bottles in and out of the pot, only have to heat up the whole batch one time and you can definitely be sure you have his 160 deg or better but not chance of exploding bottles while heating.
I'm probably missing something as this is my first batch but it seems like it would make sense to me unless there was some post contamination concern somehow.
Seeing the last post about exploding bottles, I was wondering, why could you not just pasteurize a batch poured directly IN the pot THEN bottle it from the pot when cooled into bottles you have pre pastuerized in the dish washer? No swapping bottles in and out of the pot, only have to heat up the whole batch one time and you can definitely be sure you have his 160 deg or better but not chance of exploding bottles while heating.
I'm probably missing something as this is my first batch but it seems like it would make sense to me unless there was some post contamination concern somehow.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
brewski09
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You can do other things with kegging that we cannot without a keg setup. If you pasteurize before kegging you will lose the alcohol too. Potassium sorbate and campden tablets should do the trick for kegging though. Plenty of threads on this if you want to verify as I don't keg myself.
lolznrofls
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Uh oh..someone forgot that its already bottled and sealed before you paturize. .hence no evaporation or abv loss...
My line of questioning bove was why not pasteurize the entire batch in the pot before bottling, then keg to c02 then bottle later, so it would not be bottled first.
That's what I'm inquiring about.
If I only need to bring the batch to 160 F for a short period of time, there would be little\no evap as it is not boiling, thus no \ little alcohol loss, right?
Really, my primary goal for pasteurizing at this point is to kill any nasties that may be what's causing the surface stuff I'm seeing.
(See: "What's the stuff on top..." https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/whats-stuff-top-507492/)
My SG has not changed in a few weeks so not so ocncerned about yeast fermentation. I just do not want to waste time bottling if I end up with infection.
So the original thought was, rack off cider leaving about an inch to avoid taking the floaty stuff, (even though if an infection it could be throughout I guess), pasteurize the whole batch in a large pot at once , then backsweeten and if tastes ok, THEN trans to bottle for hopefully good still cider.
(See: "What's the stuff on top..." https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/whats-stuff-top-507492/)
My SG has not changed in a few weeks so not so ocncerned about yeast fermentation. I just do not want to waste time bottling if I end up with infection.
So the original thought was, rack off cider leaving about an inch to avoid taking the floaty stuff, (even though if an infection it could be throughout I guess), pasteurize the whole batch in a large pot at once , then backsweeten and if tastes ok, THEN trans to bottle for hopefully good still cider.
solbes
Well-Known Member
I agree that stove top pastuerizing will likely create at least some loss in ethanol. Maybe a lot.
I also think the pictures of your cider batch look infected. So not sure where that leaves you. You could pastuerize in the bottle as this thread intended. If you bottle it with low levels of priming sugar you should not be risking bombs. All yeast, wild yeast, and bacteria should die.
But I'm unsure if the ethanol that goes up into the bottle headspace would re-absorb back into the cider over time or not. Thinking about how distallation works though, I guess it should.
I also think the pictures of your cider batch look infected. So not sure where that leaves you. You could pastuerize in the bottle as this thread intended. If you bottle it with low levels of priming sugar you should not be risking bombs. All yeast, wild yeast, and bacteria should die.
But I'm unsure if the ethanol that goes up into the bottle headspace would re-absorb back into the cider over time or not. Thinking about how distallation works though, I guess it should.
ArthurDigbySellers
Well-Known Member
About a year ago I pasteurized a case of cider using a cooler and around 170 degree water. I can't remember how long I let them rest but it was probably between 10 and 20 minutes. Anyway, after they were pasteurized I put the case (minus a 6-pack) in a closet upstairs and basically forgot about them. I made the cider for my wife and although she would drink one now and then, she wasn't really digging them very much so most of the ciders were left in the closet.
Fast forward to this December when I realized I still had a ton of old cider up the closet. I took a six-pack up to my parents house for Christmas so that my parents could try some. When I opened the first bottle, the hiss that came out was super-loud and bubbles rushed up the neck of the bottle. It wasn't a gusher, but it was pretty damn close. The cider itself was so carbonated that it was borderline undrinkable. I ended up dumping the rest of the 6 pack and then got rid of the rest of the bottles (which were just as highly carbonated) that were in the closet when I got home for fear that they would eventually become bottle bombs.
So I'm guessing that either I didn't pasteurize long enough/hot enough to kill all the yeast or that pasteurization is never going to completely kill everything. I know a year of storage is pretty extreme, but I just wanted to get the warning out there that you might want to start refrigerating your cider after a few months in case you have some yeast that is still active.
Fast forward to this December when I realized I still had a ton of old cider up the closet. I took a six-pack up to my parents house for Christmas so that my parents could try some. When I opened the first bottle, the hiss that came out was super-loud and bubbles rushed up the neck of the bottle. It wasn't a gusher, but it was pretty damn close. The cider itself was so carbonated that it was borderline undrinkable. I ended up dumping the rest of the 6 pack and then got rid of the rest of the bottles (which were just as highly carbonated) that were in the closet when I got home for fear that they would eventually become bottle bombs.
So I'm guessing that either I didn't pasteurize long enough/hot enough to kill all the yeast or that pasteurization is never going to completely kill everything. I know a year of storage is pretty extreme, but I just wanted to get the warning out there that you might want to start refrigerating your cider after a few months in case you have some yeast that is still active.
I think it was the temp. You need to measure the water temp both at the start and end of the process. The bottle temp. Can be verified by opening one at the end. There is a chart for bottle temp. over time for successful pasteurization. If it's successful all yeast is dead!
CyderSilverblade
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Mark
do you have a link to that chart?
I stove top past. 48 bottles of cider the other night
Beginning temp 190
Set in bottles for 10 min or so
then removed
the temp did NOT stay up at 190 but instead gradually cooled.
While I was doing this I was wondering if I was supposed to keep the temp at 190
I was afraid to keep the temp up that high for fear it would be to much and I would have bombs.
As luck would have it on the last batch I did have one bottle blow its top and spew cider all over my kitchen!
do you have a link to that chart?
I stove top past. 48 bottles of cider the other night
Beginning temp 190
Set in bottles for 10 min or so
then removed
the temp did NOT stay up at 190 but instead gradually cooled.
While I was doing this I was wondering if I was supposed to keep the temp at 190
I was afraid to keep the temp up that high for fear it would be to much and I would have bombs.
As luck would have it on the last batch I did have one bottle blow its top and spew cider all over my kitchen!
swedgin
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What do you guys think of this method?
It won't work if you want carbonated cider, but still cider?
http://www.wikihow.com/Pasteurize-Your-Homemade-Wine
It won't work if you want carbonated cider, but still cider?
http://www.wikihow.com/Pasteurize-Your-Homemade-Wine
I do not but the FDA says if Apple juice reaches 160 deg. F for a min of 6 sec. it will be successful.
Don't keep hearing the water and if you use an electric stove remove the pot from the burner before adding the bottles.
The water temp will drop as the bottle temp rises. After ten min. open a bottle and take the internal temp.
Don't keep hearing the water and if you use an electric stove remove the pot from the burner before adding the bottles.
The water temp will drop as the bottle temp rises. After ten min. open a bottle and take the internal temp.
OP
OP
It should work, but if I wanted still cider, I would let the cider ferment completely to dry, stabilize it with sorbate and sulfite, backsweeten and bottle.
pearlheartgtr
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I've used this technique twice with no problems until about 15 minutes ago. I just had 10 bottles blow up on my counter top (3 in the pot). One was in my hand while I was transferring it from the pot. Luckily, I had an oven mitt and a long sleeved T on. No injuries but a lot of glass all over the kitchen. I'm now giving the last 3 bottles some time to cool before I put a towel over them and move them into a case and then outside.
So be careful!
So be careful!
pearlheartgtr
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Definately over carb.
My previous batches were 1 gallon with full packets of Cider House yeast. They were fermented 2-3 weeks until no more airlock activity. I added 1 can of apple juice conentrate, bottled, and pasteurized 3 days later (when water bottle I set aside was stiff).
What I think my mistake was this time around (5 gallon batch), I added 5 cans of concentrate. I bottled on Thursday and pasteurized on Monday. I checked the test bottle on Saturday (it was a Coke bottle--not a flimsy Poland Spring bottle like last time).
The bubbles were more aggressive like a super carbed seltzer than a beer.
Since it happened I am constructing all I did wrong. Technically, I probably could have pasteurized Friday or Saturday. The other cans of concentrate took it over the edge. I read somewhere where one guy was pasteurizing 2 1/2 hours after bottling.
I wish I took pictures or video of the whole thing because it was really epic. Scary, but epic. It was to the point where I had to don a motorcycle helmet and Kevlar jacket to go into the kitchen to turn off the gas stove because there were bottles blowing up in the pots. It really was scary. 10 bottles blowing up every couple of minutes. Funny that the first 3 I pulled out didn't explode. I was hit on the arm and on the brow. I was wearing a 3/4 t-shirt so I didn't get cut, but I felt a bit of a bruise on my brow from a bottom hit. Again, no cuts. But the glass traveled far and wide. My Pit Bull, Morticia, was traumatized. Funny thing, she can find a piece of glass in the backyard and cut her feet multiple times (even after I think I found the glass), but yet she walks through a veritable mine field of glass and comes out unscathed.
I also geared up to get the last 3 bottles. I threw a towel over them, put them into the case, and put that and the remaining cases outside. I cracked open a few bottles last night and they are good. Super carbed and sounding like a beer when popping the top. I just had to pour them into a glass and swirl a bunch of times to kill the bubbles if I didn't want to burp every time I took a sip. The bubbles looked like a freshly opened seltzer. Hell, it even had a 4 inch head!
I don't think I can take this chance again. Maybe sometime in the future, but not now.
My next go around, I will use a hydrometer. Make sure it is done fermenting. Add Apple flavor, dextrose, a bit of priming sugar, and be done with it.
In commemoration of the event, I started playing with my new vinyl cutter, contact paper, and some 15 year old glass etching cream I found in the house.
My previous batches were 1 gallon with full packets of Cider House yeast. They were fermented 2-3 weeks until no more airlock activity. I added 1 can of apple juice conentrate, bottled, and pasteurized 3 days later (when water bottle I set aside was stiff).
What I think my mistake was this time around (5 gallon batch), I added 5 cans of concentrate. I bottled on Thursday and pasteurized on Monday. I checked the test bottle on Saturday (it was a Coke bottle--not a flimsy Poland Spring bottle like last time).
The bubbles were more aggressive like a super carbed seltzer than a beer.
Since it happened I am constructing all I did wrong. Technically, I probably could have pasteurized Friday or Saturday. The other cans of concentrate took it over the edge. I read somewhere where one guy was pasteurizing 2 1/2 hours after bottling.
I wish I took pictures or video of the whole thing because it was really epic. Scary, but epic. It was to the point where I had to don a motorcycle helmet and Kevlar jacket to go into the kitchen to turn off the gas stove because there were bottles blowing up in the pots. It really was scary. 10 bottles blowing up every couple of minutes. Funny that the first 3 I pulled out didn't explode. I was hit on the arm and on the brow. I was wearing a 3/4 t-shirt so I didn't get cut, but I felt a bit of a bruise on my brow from a bottom hit. Again, no cuts. But the glass traveled far and wide. My Pit Bull, Morticia, was traumatized. Funny thing, she can find a piece of glass in the backyard and cut her feet multiple times (even after I think I found the glass), but yet she walks through a veritable mine field of glass and comes out unscathed.
I also geared up to get the last 3 bottles. I threw a towel over them, put them into the case, and put that and the remaining cases outside. I cracked open a few bottles last night and they are good. Super carbed and sounding like a beer when popping the top. I just had to pour them into a glass and swirl a bunch of times to kill the bubbles if I didn't want to burp every time I took a sip. The bubbles looked like a freshly opened seltzer. Hell, it even had a 4 inch head!
I don't think I can take this chance again. Maybe sometime in the future, but not now.
My next go around, I will use a hydrometer. Make sure it is done fermenting. Add Apple flavor, dextrose, a bit of priming sugar, and be done with it.
In commemoration of the event, I started playing with my new vinyl cutter, contact paper, and some 15 year old glass etching cream I found in the house.
I just tried stovetop pasturizing yesterday for the first time using my 1L grolsch bottles yesterday. I had backsweetened cider(carmel apple recipe), I used one test bottle to monitor the temps. Here was my results, the internal temp of my test bottle hit approx 150 degrees after 10 min sitting in the boiled water, all but 3 of the seals released pressure after just 5 min in the the water bath, and I had 1 bottle bomb. I let my cider carb for approx 2 weeks using a PET bottle to monitor my carb level. I didn't think I had overcarb these but they may have been. I will wait a week before I crack open a bottle to see if I lost all my carbonation.
mattmmille
Well-Known Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this method is designed for 12 oz crown capped bottles of cider, yes? And, I personally, always use one or two crown capped bottles to test carbonation before pasteurizing...PET bottles do not carb exactly the same as glass bottles with crown caps. I have found that my ciders tend to carb up in about 36 hours. Much more quickly than beer.
bigmike99
Well-Known Member
I've had a cider that has been kegged for about 2 months now and I want to bottle a few. Keg has been in the kegorator or garage (max 40') since kegging and these bottles will go right into the fridge or cold garage again.
Any need to go through this process?
Any need to go through this process?
mattmmille
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't think so...as long as they stay pretty cold. If the temp goes up in the garage, though....
bigmike99
Well-Known Member
That's what i figured. The garage will be 50 or lower for the next month and a half at least and most of what I bottle will probably be in the fridge anyways.
Thanks
Thanks
mattmmille
Well-Known Member
I'll defer to someone more experienced...but, depending on the yeast you used and the amount of sugar, 50F may be warm enough to allow a slowed, but resumed fermentation.
Ciderbrewkid
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Thank you for this! I almost just F***ed S*** up! :cross:
Necroposting: I would like to stop the fermentation of my fruit wine when he will reach a density of 1020 or so (OG was 1090).
It's a flat wine so no carbonation or stuff, I just want to mantain it sweet. Can I bottle and pasteurize it and then leave it aging? Or after pasteurization he will not improve with age?
I'm sorry if some questions sound stupid but I'm new on this world
It's a flat wine so no carbonation or stuff, I just want to mantain it sweet. Can I bottle and pasteurize it and then leave it aging? Or after pasteurization he will not improve with age?
I'm sorry if some questions sound stupid but I'm new on this world
mattmmille
Well-Known Member
I'm think pasteurizing might interrupt further development, but I am not a wine expert. Other opinions?
jiMithing83
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Cold crash and rack maybe? Not a wine guy either, just thinking out loud...
pudland
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Cold crashing won't stop fermentation if the wine is brought back to room temp. Beer makers sometimes cold crash to drop proteins, trub and some yeast from suspension, but there are enough active yeast cells to bottle/keg carbonate after priming sugar is added. Here's a good article. https://www.mainbrew.com/stabilizing_prior_to_bottling-ExtraPages.html
So what should I do to mantain my wine sweet?
I started a week ago with an OG of 1090 and now it's 1040. The yeast I used will ferment 'till 0.995 like last time, getting a super tart and dry product which I didn't like. I knew cold crash is dangerous since it won't give any certanity about stopping fermentation. And i would like to not get molotov
I started a week ago with an OG of 1090 and now it's 1040. The yeast I used will ferment 'till 0.995 like last time, getting a super tart and dry product which I didn't like. I knew cold crash is dangerous since it won't give any certanity about stopping fermentation. And i would like to not get molotov
What do you mean?
