How long will cider keep??

[SirPublius]

I don't have any bottling materials or anything...maybe I jumped into making cider without looking into it sufficiently. I'm making a few gallons as we speak. After my primary fermentation and my racking....I'm definitely going to rack it....lot of sediment....after it is racked and aged, if I DON'T bottle it or anything, how long will it keep if it has an airlock on it?? I'm NOT planning on aging it more than a few weeks or maybe a few months. I assume it will be fine aging for a few months with an airlock on it, in a glass jug....but once I pop that airlock, will it go bad in a few days, a few weeks? Do I have to put it in the fridge? I know, kind of an obvious question to most, but I'm so used to BUYING everything from the supermarket with additives and preservatives, I just want to make sure. Thanks.

 

[skadalajara]

You're making mankind's oldest known preservative.
As long as you keep air out of it, it'll last a good long while.
Ask your friends and coworkers to save non-screwtop bottles for you.

 

[Randzor]

Without exposure to o2, it'll b good for a year or two in the carboy... but then it gets hard to watch it for that long. While in bottles I heard 1-3 years depending on the caps used.
exposure to air will cause oxidation. This doesn't make the cider unhealthy, but will cause off flavors that can taste terrible. Moral of the story is once fermented, o2 is the devil. I found that if i racked less, It produced better cider, so I go from primary to bottles.

(also note I don't think the alcohol content is actually high enough to kill off any bugs, but there may be a acid/base ratio that is better protecting us. think pickles.)