Cider Pasteurisation

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globalweeble

Cider Pasteurisation

Post by globalweeble » Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:30 am

Hi I have been reading conflicting information on the internet regarding the impact of pasteurisation and conditioning.

I have 100 odd litres of cider sitting outside in my shed improving over the winter - hopefully to be ready for consumption in the spring\summer.

In past years I have noticed that the sparkling cider can get start to get a bit active again in spring this can lead to volatile and extremely dry cider
Also this year my still cider refuses to stop bubbling despite aggressive camden-ing.

This year I have access to a vigo pasteuriser so my question is will pasteurisation impact the conditioning/favour of the cider?

McMullan

Re: Cider Pasteurisation

Post by McMullan » Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:07 pm

Pasteurise when you are happy with how it's conditioned. I can't say I noticed any difference when it became standard practice for commercial ciders. Leave a few unpasteurised and compare them.

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Crastney
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Re: Cider Pasteurisation

Post by Crastney » Thu Dec 15, 2016 12:39 pm

globalweeble wrote:...
Also this year my still cider refuses to stop bubbling despite aggressive camden-ing.
...
CT alone won't work - you need to use wine stabiliser too - CT is sodium metabisulphite, and stabiliser is potasium sorbate (I think that's the right ways round), anyway CT stuns yeast and Pot Sorb stops the reproducing, or something like that. used in conjunction they will 'kill off' active yeasts, and your brew won't ferment any more.
If there are still fermentables, and you only use CT, eventually they'll recover and slowly eat up that sugar. Also being agressive with CT will up the sulphite ppm, which can affect the flavour, and some people are sensitive to sulphites, so this could cause gut issues if you drink too much...

globalweeble

Re: Cider Pasteurisation

Post by globalweeble » Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:06 am

Thanks for the responses and so for the late reply.

Winter has arrived and the yeast has gone to sleep for a few months I decided to sample and pasteurise in spring.

Thanks for the info on camden tablets - luckily it was just a small batch, it will be interesting to see if I can taste the tablets

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