Is it okay to Boil my Cider to stop fermentation?

[Apisal]

Moderator's Note:
Merged the 1st thread posted in Beginners Beer Forum into this one.
The OP is making Cider, he's not brewing beer.

Hello

i am new to brewing, and this is my first batch, i have many questions, here is some:

-is it ok to boil the ferment to kill off all the yeast and stop fermentation? will all of the alcohol evaporates if i do so?
-is there any way to kill yeast without adding any substances?
-if i use bentonite, will it remove all the yeast?
-if i carbonate my ferment, will that kill the yeast?

i want to kill and remove all of the yeast, i want it gone!!
my idea is to kill it then use bentonite to remove the Lees

 

[nwhall3]

Do not boil your brew! Yes, you'll kill the yeast, but you'll also ruin the batch.

I've never used bentonite, but my understanding is that it's a clarifying agent. This wouldn't necessarily kill the yeast (though I'm not well-versed in it, so I'm not certain).

More importantly, why are you so adamant on killing yeast? I like the idea of beer as a living thing. Also, if you're new to brewing then I'm guessing you're bottling; killing the yeast will make it impossible to carb in bottles. I'd suggest not worrying about the yeast.

 

[KepowOb]

I'll second nwhall3 in asking why you want to kill it? As they said, if you bottle, you need the yeast to carbonate. And even if you don't bottle it, what benefit are you looking to gain by trying to kill it?

I see a lot of potential ways to ruin the batch without any upside.

 

[DannyBoy270]

I have so many questions myself lol but let's just start with why?....what did the yeast do to deserve this death sentence??

 

[NTBeer]

You could pasteurize your beer. There is a sticky on the cider form on how to do that. I have done that a few times with cider, but be warned, at least in my experience bottle explosions are more likely to occur than not if your carbonation level isn't what you predicted. And you'll still have yeast carcasses in the beer...

 

[Apisal]

OK OK Listen!!

i understand it's important for the yeast to stay for the bottle to carbonate, but that will consume some of the sugar, and i don't want that, also i hate the flavor and smell of yeast

if it comes to carbonation i can buy that device that allows you to carbonate your wine, but currently i don't care for carbonation to be honest

i don't know how boiling would ruin my brew, could you explain why? i understand that alcohol might evaporate, but if i control it enough i think i might be able to kill the yeast without evaporating much of the alcohol, is there any other reason why i shouldn't boil? does boiling it have any effect on the taste?

important note here, for my 1st batch i am using crystal clear apple juice from the store (without any Preservatives), so i don't think it would change the flavor much if i boil it

in the end this is a test batch, i can try boiling half of it and leaving the other have to compare the two

 

[DBhomebrew]

Ah... You're talking cider. And you want a semi-sweet or sweet still (non-carbed) beverage in the bottle.

There's a cider-specific forum here on the site where you may find more applicable help. Beer and cider are very different in their sugar content and need to be treated differently.

Off the top of my head in regards to boiling finished beer, you've got hop compounds that don't take kindly to high temperatures. For cider...check out the cider forum.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forums/cider-forum.32/

 

[Apisal]

Ah... You're talking cider. And you want a semi-sweet or sweet still (non-carbed) beverage in the bottle.

There's a cider-specific forum here on the site where you may find more applicable help. Beer and cider are very different in their sugar content and need to be treated differently.

Off the top of my head in regards to boiling finished beer, you've got hop compounds that don't take kindly to high temperatures. For cider...check out the cider forum.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forums/cider-forum.32/

i see, i will check the cider forum

 

[NTBeer]

Not s sure if you read my reply on the original thread (we posted nearly simultaneously) but....

- yes, you will lose most of your alcohol by boiling. That's distilling without recovering the alcohol.
- yes. Pasteurization. Read the sticky on this forum. Since you say that still is fine for you, it's pretty easy. There is a significant risk of bottle bombs if you want it carbonated though. Pasteurization will kill the yeast, but not remove it.
- I have no experience with bentonite. Though I did once dated a woman who came from there
- Carbonation will not kill yeast.

Boiling will change your flavor considerably. Your best process would be to select yeast that flocculate very highly and be careful when racking off the lees (flocc`d yeast on the bottom). Then pasteurize and again be careful when pouring to leave the sediment behind.

 

[Apisal]

Thank you good sir!!
i did read your comment on the original post+

 

[Apisal]

i checked the pinned post

what i understood is that the idea of Pasteurization is the same as boiling but the bottle is closed to keep it's content, and the heat does not reach the boiling temperature

 

[jtgoral]

Boiling is at ~100C, alcohol evaporates at ~75C. What is the point of this alcohol-less cider?

 

[Brewbuzzard]

Chill your cider down as close to 32 as you can and fine with gelatin (1/2 tsp per 5 gal check on line for procedure), allow the yeast to drop out. Rack to a sanitized container leaving all sediment behind.
Your cider should then be very bright. Once clear, add potassium sorbate at a rate of 1⁄2 teaspoon per gallon (4 L) of cider or wine. Potassium sorbate does not actually kill yeast cells, but it does prevent it from reproducing. You can then force carbonate.

 

[Grond]

So...I ONLY do cider at this point (I accidentally did a sparkling apple wine a while back, but that is another story). I like my cider to be sweet to semi-sweet, carbonated and clear. I do a little bit of bottling, but I have a kegging system so I force carbonate and not bottle condition (carbonate in the bottle). Here's how I get as much yeast to drop out as possible and get my cider as clear as possible:

BEFORE I pitch yeast, I add 1/2 tsp of pectic enzyme for every gallon of juice (I also use store-bought apple juice that is clear) and let the juice rest for an hour before I pitch any yeast. Regardless of how it looks on the store shelf, there is pectin in the apple juice and when you ferment, the pectin WILL make the cider cloudy.

After fermentation is completed, I move the cider (or "rack" it) to another container and "cold-crash" it after adding campden tablets and potassium sorbate to "kill off" any active yeast. Cold crashing is what Brewbuzzard referred to when he said to get the temp of the cider down to as close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit as possible. I've never added gelatin, so I can't say anything about doing that. I let the cider sit at that temperature for about a week...then move it AGAIN to a keg (leaving the "lees" or yeast that has dropped out), back-sweeten it and carbonate it. In your case, you would then bottle it. Being as how you like a "still" (or uncarbonated) cider, I think that this would be the way to go.

One thing to consider...yeast can't survive in an environment that is 150 degrees Fahrenheit...that is how pasteurization works. I don't think that you would achieve the "yeast-free" results that you are looking for by heating your cider up to that temp, as it will only kill the yeast, not remove it.

 

[Apisal]

@Grond
alright, thanks

 

[Rick Stephens]

Note, gently warming your cider to 60C will kill all the yeast. Do not boil.