Do i have to refrigerate my homemade hard apple cider?!
I made some hard apple cider and i was wondering if it will go bad if i do not refrigerate it!. If it will go bad after a certain amount of time, then how long can it stay at room temperature without going bad!? i dont really have an effective way of refrigerating it since i have 8 gallons of the stuff!. I was also wondering the same thing for homemade beer!. thanks!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
If you have bottled the cider or beer properly, you don't have to refrigerate it; just keep it from overheating!. BTW, yeasts do not make vinegar; bacteria do!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Since you say it is hard, which I take to mean that it contains alcohol, then it would not refrigeration unless it was opened!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Refrigerate it!.
Otherwise the yeast will keep working and turn it into vinegar!.
The reason why commercial wines, ciders & beers don't need to be refrigerated is because they are able to filter out all of the yeast!. Home brewed stuff can be filtered, but I've never been able to do it good enough!.
If you've got a garage or storage unit with electricity, just buy a cheap used refrigerator and store your cider there!. That's what I ended up doing with my beer!. The refrigerator doesn't have to be that great, any old beater will work!. I think I got my fridge for $20 used in the want ads!. I just had to remember never to put milk or anything like that in there, because the thermostat wasn't reliable, not to mention an uneven distribution of temperature!. Beer wasn't as finicky, as long as it consistently stays below 55 or so!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Otherwise the yeast will keep working and turn it into vinegar!.
The reason why commercial wines, ciders & beers don't need to be refrigerated is because they are able to filter out all of the yeast!. Home brewed stuff can be filtered, but I've never been able to do it good enough!.
If you've got a garage or storage unit with electricity, just buy a cheap used refrigerator and store your cider there!. That's what I ended up doing with my beer!. The refrigerator doesn't have to be that great, any old beater will work!. I think I got my fridge for $20 used in the want ads!. I just had to remember never to put milk or anything like that in there, because the thermostat wasn't reliable, not to mention an uneven distribution of temperature!. Beer wasn't as finicky, as long as it consistently stays below 55 or so!.Www@FoodAQ@Com