First time poster - I have a bit of a situation.

[wtfpwndd]

Hello all,

I've been searching for the forum for this answer and I know it must be out there but I simply can't find it!

I made my first hard cider and it was going great. I backsweetened and carbonation was taking a bit longer than I had expected so I started drinking one every day.

Suddenly, today, my bottles overflow as soon as I open them. Sadly I'm leaving tomorrow so I don't have time to recap all of them and then pasteurize in a few days.

My question then is as follows: Can I put them in the fridge to stop the carbonation? If I do, how cold do I have to set my fridge? What alternatives do I have?

Sadly, at this point I'm afraid I'd have to can the whole batch due to time constraints :/

 

[smegger]

Well a quick answer is yes, put them in the fridge asap to prevent them carbonating too much more.
I assume the colder the better (but obviously not freezing) but someone here would have more detailed information on temperature.

 

[JtotheA]

What yeast did you use? Regardless, putting them in the fridge at any fridge temp is gonna be good.

 

[wtfpwndd]

I used Nottingham and backsweetened with 100% Apple Juice Concentrate. Quite a bit of it actually (5 cans for about 5.35 gallons)

I shall fridge them immediately. Sorry for posting this. I know if I keep searching I'll find this answer elsewhere. I'm just worried that I'll hear 21 gun salute coming from my kitchen.

 

[JtotheA]

Actually don't be sorry. I'd be sad to see some good cider bite the dust. You'd be suprised how much the "fridge" temps will calm down a furious bottled cider. As long as you didn't use one of those wicked monster yeasts like 1118, things will calm down. The 5 cans of concentrate was prolly a lil much. Did you take a gravity reading after backsweetening?

 

[wtfpwndd]

Thanks for the kind words. I didn't check gravity after adding the primer. I checked it before putting into the bottling bucket and it was at about 1.013. SG was 1.065 or so.

 

[JtotheA]

It sounds like you like your cider sweet (as do I!). Those bottles should be fine while you're gone as long as they're kept cold. When you get back and have time, you should open one and let it get to room temp and check the SG. The only reason I say this is so you can learn where you like your cider to end up. If it seems a little too sweet or just right, then you can gauge how you'd want to do it next time. You could stop it like you did at 1.013 and add less concentrate or let it go closer to 1.000 and add a few cans. It's really all about how you like it tasting. I personally rely on my fridge to keep my cider cool in bottles or glass jugs and they pretty much stay at the SG that I was at when I put them in there. No chems and good ole Notty or trusty S-04

 

[irchowi]

Can you tell me what 5 cans of apple concentrate taste like in a 5 gallon batch?

 

[MoonDawg]

Refrigerating your Hard Cider (i.e. -approx. 40 degrees F.) wont kill your yeast, but in my experience will attenuate the yeast's anaerobic pathway sufficiently enough to limit or temporarily interrupt CO2 production.