storage idea

[GeneDaniels1963]

I started making 1/2 trial batches of hard cider this fall, I've tried several different recipes, and I am drinking them fresh. I've learned that I like them back sweetened with apple juice concentrate.

But now I am thinking about making enough to store away for later, just a few gallons. Of course that will cause a problem for long-term storage unless I step up my game and learn about stablizing or pastuerization (sp?)

Anyway, I have an idea. Can I just ferment out to whatever (Notty ale stops around 1.005 for me), then rack a couple times ending up in a 1/2 growler for long storage.

Then, when I am ready to drink, I will back sweeten and place in the frig, 1/2 gal bottle at a time. Do you think that will work OK?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[aurora_colony_cider]

Go for it.

Just make sure that when you swap it out to the growlers it really is fully fermented. I've seen cider re-fermenting all of a sudden at 3-4 months in secondary. You'd have a nasty mess to clean up if that's the case.

If you're not totally sure that the fermentation process has completely stopped, you can always add part of a campden tablet to each growler.

You could also try to back sweeten and then heat pasteurize. I've read that you'd need to hold the growlers of cider at 180°F (or slightly higher) for 10 minutes. After about 10 minutes into the process, the internal temperature of the bottles should be at least 160 - 165 degrees F, which is well more than enough to kill off the yeast.

I would imagine that back sweetening your cider before it goes into storage would give you a better end product as all the various ingredients will have had time to get to know each other a bit and sort out their differences and become one coherent drink.

I don't like sweetened cider so I've never had the need to undertake these steps.

Good Luck.

R.