Sweet Hard Apple Cider! - How to Bottle Pasteurize & Keg your Hard Cider!

[@BeardedBored]

Use code VVKIT5OFF for 5% to get a VEVOR 5L MINI KEG: s.vevor.com/bfP4Ou

[@dbomber69]

Was wondering when you were gonna follow my suggestion and get a soux vide machine for your cider. That was 2 years ago. You were having bottles blow up on you. Gotta be saving a lot of cider with it. Have you tried a mead/cider recipe? Or tried shine from popped popcorn yet? 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

[@GO0DWOLF]

@@dbomber69 I *think* I mentioned that as well somewhere, but got a lot of poo pooing about how the slow temp rise would throw off flavor. Glad to see it works.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Great video my friend! We're looking into this for the exact reasons you did!

[@BeardedBored]

It's pretty spiffy. Get extra CO2. I wasted 2 by not screwing them in fast enough and didn't have enough pressure to serve out the last half of the keg.

[@stevesalisbury8206]

I have the same set up. I added a stabilizer potassium sorbate 1/2 teaspoon. The next day I Transferred to bottling bucket and added a whole can of concentrate and transferred to keg and carbonated. Turned out perfect.

[@HisVirusness]

I've been using the plastic bottle trick ever since I first saw your original cider video years ago. It's come insanely handy whenever I've been bottle carbonating (mostly homemade root beer).

[@BeardedBored]

Glad it's helping:-)

[@thesoberstill]

Bro your videos are pretty much magic. I have currently pieced together a still off of amazon and i'm going to start a KZbin channel. I truly need a hobby other than the garbage I'm concentrating on now. You are the first guy I ever watched doing this and will always be awesome in my book. Thanks for being so funny, informative and awesome. keep up the good work bro.

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks so much, and good luck:-)

[@SA12String]

So educational. Thank you. LOL. As I scrolled down to type that, you opened that bottle and I about jumped out of my skin. :)

[@BeardedBored]

Yeah it made me jump too, LoL:-)

[@everydayden5826]

Hey Buddy, thanks for the recognition ! Another thing I failed to mention to you in my email is that you can always keep a large amount of your cider "dry" in a carboy without pasteurizing it. If you are having friends over in the next day or two, go ahead and pour off a gallon or so into the mini keg, and back sweeten all you want. You won't have to worry about over carbonation being a problem in the keg, and as long as you drink it within a few days, your cider will still be sweet as the yeast will not have had time to chew through the added sweetener. When I have a few extra pennies, I'm going to buy a 5 gal corny keg, gas regulator and CO2 cylinder, because we both know that 5 gallons of cider won't last long with long hot summer days and thirsty friends, ha ha. Frankly it's just as easy to do a five gallon batch as it is a smaller one. Two last things, 1 gallon of cider, 1 can of apple juice concentrate, and one of those bottles of tart cherry juice ( 20 oz maybe, I'm not sure ) almost fills the 169 oz keg perfectly, and is just like your tart cherry cider that you made before. Absolutely delicious !!!!! Also, ABV in anything is very much personal preference, especially for those of us into making our own beer, wine, cider, etc. as you already know. I tend to shoot for between 1080 and 1090 to offset the addition of the back sweetener and any juices I use for additional flavoring(s). That way, after downing a couple of them you know that you are drinking cider and not just apple juice. Be well Brother and chat soon. PS. I'll update you in a couple of days on that orange marmalade fermentation I mentioned to you. ----- den

[@BeardedBored]

Nice! This another gem of wisdom. Thanks!!!

[@astrobob9432]

Yep, I don't bother with pasteurizing in my keg. It's always gone long before any possible over pressure. I gotta get another batch going!

[@BEAVERDIY]

I recently got a sous vide have to accidentally make it move to the distillery. Those kegs look awesome...

[@BeardedBored]

Funny thing is I haven't even tried cooking with my sous vide yet, hahaha!

[@BEAVERDIY]

@@BeardedBored I use mine a ton made some Steaks ,Ribs and tons of other goodies love it.

[@1kreature]

Tip: Place your bottles in the water in such a way as to create a channel from the recirculation ports on the sou vide water heater can circulate along them. Stacking the bottles in a tight grid in opposite end of tank makes it very hard for the water to reach all the bottles at the same rate. Usually the recirculation is up/down or down/up so you can create "rows" of bottles with channels in-between pointing at the heater.

[@AlbeeSoaring]

I like the sous-vide idea for pasteurizing bottles. Ill have to try this next time. For kegging I just took my cider and put in a sanitized pot brought to 160* and let it sit there for 10 minutes. Then I coooled and put in the keg. I put some in a plastic bottle to test and make sure it didnt carbonate after. worked perfectly.

[@BeardedBored]

Really, it didn't get an oxidized flavor from being in a kettle?

[@AlbeeSoaring]

@@BeardedBored no. It tasted amazing and was super clear.

[@GO0DWOLF]

According to Kegland, Coca Cola bottles at 40 psi, which is a bit higher than most, but it's what gives it, as they say, that "TV static" feeling on your tongue the first few sips. If anybody is running a CO2 set up, that's a good baseline to start from.

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks for the info!

[@devinodonnell]

It looks like that cider turned out *really* nicely there!

[@KernsJW]

Nice overview. Try a brown sugar version. Its become my biggest hit. Second up is the stuff aged on apple wood and cinnamon, then regular sugar. Retrofit the keg to take sodastream and competitor cannisters or a small tank which is cheaper but takes up room. Its a lot cheaper in the long run and you can be some what confident in whats in the co2. Those small ones on Amazon are not always trustworthy which I feel you missed for a con on the keg. Also for the pop tops, I've found you can tweak the bend to lighten the holding force and at a certain point it leaks past the silicone seal and can even make a little noise. It takes very little of a change, still holds very well, and saved me from a couple busted bottles. I also found these carafe style ones that don't hold tight enough, so a bit of a modification on those and they do well too. I pasteurize with the sous vide as well, i do swirl the bottles a couple times during the 25 minutes to try to make sure nothing holds on up top. I have also come to the opinion that's how yeast have survived. I'm still a bit wondering if certain yeast are more tolerant to heat like 71b and some others that like higher heat.

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks for the tips!

[@thethirstybookworm]

That's a sweet little set up, my 5 gallon keg is too much for as little as I drink. Plus the little co2 bottles are surely more convenient. Thanks!

[@BeardedBored]

Yeah, I end up making way more than I can drink, so even if I upgrade to a bigger set up, it'll probably just be for the rare gathering. So far, this size suits me just right;-)

[@DustyPlunkett-sg4kn]

Outstanding video,very informative and easy to follow thank you.

[@MadJix]

I use 5 gallon kegs and a tank of co2. I keep them between 12-17 psi. They stay in the fridge. But if I want to fast carbonate them I crank the co2 to 30 psi and shake them for about 2 minutes before going into the fridge.

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks for the tip!

[@tylerstout1549]

FYI Grolsch bottles are designed so that the swing top gives before the bottle blows, so when all is said and done, it was for the better that your swing top flew off.

[@BeardedBored]

True. I'm just glad I wasn't looking down the barrel, haha:-)

[@TigerPat_9180]

Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks Pat!

[@stefanleijon9637]

Man that looks so freakin delicious! Last years apple harvest became apple brandy, this year I´m definately making hard cider and getting a keg :)

[@BeardedBored]

It's always a good idea to split the batch and do half for cider and half for brandy;-)

[@OzarkStillWorks]

Awesome information!

[@BeardedBored]

Thanks for watching!

[@kristoffer-robinlotze7273]

I tried pasteurisation a few years ago. Preheated in two stages but 4 out of 7 bottles exploded. So now I'm just putting the cider in the fridge... the ones that hypothetically doesn't freeze. 😜

[@BeardedBored]

Yeah, it can be a real pain. I'm thinking most of the time I'm just going to keg it. So much faster and easier.

[@DUMPTHETRUCK]

Great video, Only thing I would say is bleed off your keg a few times of co2 or else the air head space in the keg gets pushed into your cider and would oxidize your brew you want to make sure you only pressurized co2 and no oxygen

[@allenshiflett]

Great vid as usual😀 Could that keg be converted so the liquor fairy could use it?

[@MaestroPdx]

Nice update. I found your channel a long time ago with that original cider video. Cheers.

[@BeardedBored]

Awesome! Thanks man🙂

[@kristoffer-robinlotze7273]

Same here. 😀

[@pacman10182]

I've got the same keg. the brass stem to the regulator broke, so I turned a hose barb to fit a standard co2 hose I got lucky finding a good co2 canister at a thrift store, didn't have to pay for a new tank

[@BeardedBored]

Nice fix!

[@granthampubunderground]

Cool video. Here's my question: if you chemicaly stabilize your cider before kegging, why would you need to pasturize the keg?

[@BeardedBored]

You don't as long as you use the right chemicals. I only had potassium metabisulfate, which can work, but if the yeast population is high and healthy you may still get some yeast activity, so it's best to add potassium sorbate as well. I didn't have any of that, so I figured I'd try to pasteurize the whole thing. Of course chemical stabilization is the only way to go for bigger kegs.

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

Hell yea love it. I got one of those little kegs works great.

[@BeardedBored]

It's my favorite new toy. Beer next!

[@SyBernot]

Tell Santa what you want for Christmas. I want a Red Rider Apple Cider in a flip top bottle Kid, You'll put your eye out!

[@BeardedBored]

No kidding! I'm too Frag-IL-E to mess around with that stuff;-)

[@SyBernot]

@@BeardedBored Oh, it's Italian cider!

[@paulsapper]

Yeah man I am at the same stage, I’ve had a few bottles explode during pasteurisation and not willing to take the risk. I’m going the keg setup as well. Great video mate

[@sandys.1891]

I'm all set except now I'm waiting for my mini keg to arrive. I think that's the safest route for me. First time brewing. I'm planning to use Martinelli's apple juice because I really like the taste of that brand. I'm going to reduce more Martinelli's to use as the sweetener.

[@troyleach5471]

You are a fantastic brewer dude, I am not a cider or hard seltzer guy but I imagine you could use the mini keg for beer? although pretty small

[@Ansis99]

Thanks!

[@BeardedBored]

👍🙂

[@bradedmonson]

super helpful video. if you back-sweeten with apple concentrate do you still need to add priming sugar to get carbonization? loved the tips

[@scottclay4253]

Is your cider recipe labeled “Shotgun Red”, that cap coming off was a surprise to say the least. Thanks Bearded, great stuff. Stay well, Brother.

[@BeardedBored]

I like that name! Seems very fitting:-)

[@101JRA]

Mixed drinks on tap!

[@BeardedBored]

Indeed! I saw a video where they carbed whiskey. How about a carbed whiskey sour?

[@scottdebruyn7038]

As a cider guy myself, I gotta ask, have you begun to experiment with different apple varieties? By far my favorite is a Macintosh apple. I've done all Macintosh in a 5 gallon batch (Cornelius keg carbonation) and to get sweet and carbonated, I had to overdo it with Sulfur (Camden & Meta-bi). It's turned out well, but took a year of aging to overcome the sulfur. My second batch I changed up with 75% Macintosh and 25% a mixture of Braeburns and (I think) Opals. This mixture is very different and I avoided sulfurs (other than sterilizing) by going to pasteurizing. I still want to find a true (inedible) cider apple (to mix with Macs off my tree) for the tannin. BTW, there is a bit of controversy (or perhaps matter of taste) where some that let ciders go past that quick yeast fermentation of ~5-8 days letting that 0.990-1.005 run into "secondary fermentation". That isn't fermentation, but a bacterial conversion of malic acid into lactic acid (malolactic 'fermentation') that is done to most red wines and sought in some whites (Chardonnay in particular) for that 'buttery' palette feel. Personally, I prefer the acidic bite and feel without the MLF in an apple cider. It seems that the apple flavor is diminished with the loss of the malic acid. Pasteurization stops MLF too. Don't know where you are in the country, but Macs are common to the Northwest (my neck of the woods). Have a look for them if you haven't tried them. 😁😋

[@BeardedBored]

Sadly the only apples I can get are from the store. Not enough frost days here in the south. But I hope to do some single varietal experiments if I can find some better sources. I've done a few ciders in secondary for an additional month, but only to knock out the sulfur. Haven't picked up any mlf though.

[@toddsimi5998]

Hi Bud. Were the Camden tablets for the ked really needed since you are pasteurizing?

[@chilecayenne]

Great Video! Is there a way to hook a regular CO2 tank to that little Vevor regulator you have on that mini keg, or would you need different equipment to do that? Thank you in advance! CC

[@BeardedBored]

Sorry, I really don't have any idea since I have no experience with full sized keg equipment.

[@quarlow1215]

Ok, now I want to keg sweet sparling ciders. Can I do something like this with my Sodastream?

[@BeardedBored]

I have never used one, so I don't know. I'm sure someone has tried it though:-)

[@michaelbackhaus7879]

Could you bottle the apple cider in the keg after it is carbonated?

[@BeardedBored]

The concern with that is that it'll get oxidized during the transfer and also loose most of its carbonation. Oxidized cider tastes kind of skunky.

[@ExceptionalCarpetCare]

So is it possible to just pour the cider into a kettle and slowly heat it all at once to kill the yeast? Then just fill the keg?

[@BeardedBored]

The biggest concern with that is oxidation. Exposing the cider to that much oxygen can potentially ruin the flavor. One of the other commenters mentioned that he's done it, but I'd have to try it myself before I can recommend it.

[@grosuciprian]

hey. quick question, did you filter the cider or is that the pectine enzime that did all the work to get it so clear? Thanks and awesome videos.

[@BeardedBored]

Pectic enzyme, time to settle and clear and cold crashing the bottles after they're pasteurized is all I do for clarifying.

[@grosuciprian]

@@BeardedBored thanks, since i discovered your channel i really became interested in brewing. Much love from Romania.

[@denisdendrinos4538]

Got some apple wine i want to carbonate for a sweet sparkling wine. I got the sweetner advice before but really want to use sugar Any guide on how much to and when to pasturise? Didnt see links to the vids you mentioned.

[@lakemarkel7384]

Great video

[@samwuijster7150]

How does it come that the foam is gone in seconds? Where it takes minutes with beer?

[@BeardedBored]

Beer has a lot more body from the proteins in the grain so the head stays longer than cider. Also, my dishwasher uses a rinse aid, and I've read that it can make your head drop quickly. But typically ciders will drop the head fast and just bubble gently after that like champagne.

[@crashclub8987]

Would it be possible to turn the keg upside down, then turn the gas on to the 20LB so it is forced into the liquid... Turn it over, bleed the pressure - repeat 2-3 times -- to mimic the soda-stream machine format? I'm still getting equipment to start and am looking at one of these instead of bottles to start.

[@erossi490]

Can you use a growler which uses CO2

[@BeardedBored]

Sure.

[@Grandpa_RLP]

I have pasteurized wine before and it pushed my corks out so I have to do it with no corks and foil over the top. Is it possible to do this with any other kind of bottle or is it flip top only? I bought that size keg and waiting to try it with a mead I have clearing. I just get the feeling it will not carb enough.

[@jacobburton678]

I have an off topic question I haven't been able to find an answer to. So if I do a stripping run and put it into my air still what proof should the solution be so it doesn't blow the top off my air still? Please help

[@BeardedBored]

40 percent or lower.

[@PatriciaGreen-v2b]

Hi There thanks for this. I also have a Vevor 5L keg. Question - I wanted to know after you initially brought the keg up to about 30psi with cartridge one, did you shut the valve off (if at all)? I'm trying to figure out when to shut regulator valve off after initial carbonation. I don't drink my keg batch right away. If I leave the valve open and keep the keg in a cool garage in an empty igloo type cooler, that 16gr cartridge will keep 30 psi maybe 3 days max. I'm wondering if I'd get better use of cartridge one if I shut if off initially after reaching the initial 30 PSI (of course giving it a few swirls the first few days). Yes I do release pressure to serve, but by then my initial cartridge usually empty (if regulator valve left open initially) and doesnt have enough to get back up to 25-30 without a new cartridge. I'm just trying to maintain carbonation without going through so many cartridges

[@BeardedBored]

You can't really avoid using a bunch of cartridges since they're so small. 1 to charge it, 1 to 2 to serve the whole gallon.

[@adamzamora983]

Bearded, is the 590 worth the upgrade from the 580?

[@BeardedBored]

590, 580? Is that a model number?

[@larmiger]

Question - after you carbonate in the keg, can you pour it into bottles bypassing the natural carbonating process?

[@PatriciaGreen-v2b]

I do it all the time. Buy a standard growler adapter - its stainless and has o-rings that help it fit nicely into the standard tap spigot of the vevor. The adapter has a graduated nipple at the other end that accepts its looks like a short length of 3/8" tubing. Just get deep enough into you bottles (12 or 16 oz) to prevent oxidation. Voila!

[@markkdg2236]

Can you keg a sweet cider and not pasteurize ? If it self carbonates then c02 canisters aren’t needed? Or you might use less . I bought an 8liter and I’ve used 3 canisters so far and I’m not half done with this batch. I know the relief valve will release if it gets too fizzy so I’m not afraid to try it

[@littlehills739]

so a towel over the esky / tub

[@BeardedBored]

Yes! 😅

[@kevin_ninja_jones2363]

Have you ever used no2 it's the ones they use in those whipped cream containers co2 has a bitter flavor and no2 has a sweeter flavor

[@BeardedBored]

I'll have to give that a try. I'm pretty sure I saw threaded NO2 cartridges on amazon, so they should work in this.

[@everydayden5826]

@@BeardedBored They do have threaded NO2 cartridges, but I believe you will need a different regulator. You can do nitro coffees, beers, etc if you have that set up. Might be nice to have that set up for the keg as well. I will see what I can find out for you. The cartridges that I saw when I shopped were more expensive than the CO2's I saw and purchased. --den

[@jenzu_h8798]

The unpasteurized bottles need to be consumed within a week or else you will have a bad time opening them :D Believe me I have experienced this. I would NOT leave unfinished fermentaition in a bottle for any period of time or temperature. They will eventually explode. After carbonation either pasturize or consume right away.

[@kristoffer-robinlotze7273]

I didn't have any problems with leaving my extremely carbonated (the yeast went bananas) in the fridge for months.

[@jenzu_h8798]

@@kristoffer-robinlotze7273 everyone's fridge temperatures are different. Also where you keep it there affects. I would strongly advice against taking that risk. Bottle bombs are actually really dangerous. But just the mess alone is reason enough for me to not do that.

[@ed.williams]

Who is this bearded man that I follow on KZbin, and why does he have a picture of me on his T-shirt? 😉

[@BeardedBored]

Hahaha, you finally caught me!

[@rvb880]

I'm sorry. im a little confused. Did you pasteurize the keg? If so, why did you have to add co2 to the keg?

[@rvb880]

I meant Camden

[@2020klwiet]

I had my tester bottles full carb and none of my swing top bottles “brand new” did not carb.

[@nebulink]

why not carbonate the keg the same way you do the bottles? The dispenser has a pressure relief valve. So it should be safe, right? Let it go for 5 days and then pasteurize to kill the yeast.

[@ChooRoo]

Dude, love your stuff but you gotta let that beard run free man. LET IT RIDE BABY OOOOOOOOW!

[@gregoiredupriez954]

If you want to avoid pasteurisation, you can simply lower the amount of sugar you add in the bottles. Like you would do to a beer. You'll get a lighter carbonation but you can keep those bottles until the next apple season. The part about how you want sweetness in your drink and are therefore forced to pasteurise made me think : I know that for sparkling wines they add sugar a first time for carbonation, then slowly rotate the bottles upside down over the course of a few days. That way the yeast (that goes dormant because there is no more sugar at this point) will drop in the neck of the bottle. They then freeze the top of the bottle with all the yeast stuck in the ice, pop the bottles open to release this yeast block and then finally add some syrup to sweeten the final drink and make up for the lost liquid due to the poping. Close your bottles again and you've got a sweet and sparkling drink. Of course this is not at all practical to do at home but this is just to add to the debate.

[@jorgenjohnson2168]

So disappointed that Aldi stopped selling their pumpkin spice and swing top bottles

[@happyhillbilly3466]

just wondering if the tee shirt give away is real. seems like a scam

[@tomgoodwin7134]

Get a real keg

[@biggametex]

cant you take the contents of the keg and put it in a pot on the stove top 140 degrees, then put it in a keg? right?

[@DustyPlunkett-sg4kn]

Outstanding video,very informative and easy to follow thank you.

[@DustyPlunkett-sg4kn]

Outstanding video,very informative and easy to follow thank you.