Storage Temp - does it matter?

[olayak]

So, I want to backsweeten my cider with apple juice instead of a non-fermentable sugar. This would mean that I would have to refrigerate it a few days after bottling to stop fermentation. BUT, I don't have the room to store a lot of bottles in my fridge long term.

If I refrigerate them and then store them on the shelf:

1. will it affect the taste? I've heard that it should be fine and that temp taste changes are a tall tale.

2. will the start fermenting again if they get back to room temp? I believe that the cold temp of the fridge should kill the yeast....

my alternative is to backsweeten with splenda or something but so far my recipes just don't taste as good as I'd like. I'd prefer to backsweeten with juice. Also, my cider is carbonated via yeast, I don't have a keg or any way to force carbonation at the moment.

Thanks!

 

[boydster]

Putting them in the fridge will not stop fermentation. It will slow it down practically to a standstill, but as soon as the bottles warm back up the yeast will wake up and start consuming any sugar they can digest. Your best bet is to either bottle pasteurize or to sweeten with an unfermentable sugar like splenda. If you bottle pasteurize, you can carbonate first using a plastic bottle to test carb level, then when it seems to be sufficiently carbonated you can bottle pasteurize the whole batch. There is a sticky in the cider section about stovetop bottle pasteurizing that will help.

 

[geckholm]

Anybody every try malto-dextrine? not enough sweetness?

 

[boydster]

Anybody every try malto-dextrine? not enough sweetness?

I haven't tried it in a cider before. In beer, it's great for body but it doesn't really add sweetness.

 

[JimRausch]

I bottled a Graf last weekend with one can of frozen apple juice concentrate. I plan to pasteurize it when it reaches the carbonation level I want( I did use the plastic soda bottle method for testing).
I'm going to use the cooler method because I can do almost the whole batch at one time. There is a post somwhere in the cider section, but basically you have the bottles in a cooler with a drain spout. First add warm tap water to get the bottles close to temp., drain that, then add 165-175 * water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain and that's it.

 

[geckholm]

I bottled a Graf last weekend with one can of frozen apple juice concentrate. I plan to pasteurize it when it reaches the carbonation level I want( I did use the plastic soda bottle method for testing).
I'm going to use the cooler method because I can do almost the whole batch at one time. There is a post somwhere in the cider section, but basically you have the bottles in a cooler with a drain spout. First add warm tap water to get the bottles close to temp., drain that, then add 165-175 * water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain and that's it.

I just threw them in my HLT and brought it up to temp. Worked pretty well as I remember.