Shelf life of cider

[luis.ga...@gmail.com]

Hi,

I am wondering what could be considered like the normal shelf life of a bottle of cider.

Also, what are the variables that could increase or decrease it (like tannins, residual sugar and acid content, ABV, bottle conditionned vs artificialy conditionned, crown cap vs cork, etc.)

Thanks!

Louis

[Dick Dunn]

On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 07:01:03PM -0800, luis.ga...@gmail.com wrote:
> I am wondering what could be considered like the normal shelf life of a
> bottle of cider.

There's a bit of "how long is a piece of string?" in that question of
course.

> Also, what are the variables that could increase or decrease it (like
> tannins, residual sugar and acid content, ABV, bottle conditionned vs
> artificialy conditionned, crown cap vs cork, etc.)

Quickly, which of your factors would increase the shelf life:
tannins: +
acidity: +
ABV: +
residual sugar: -
crown cap: +

Bottle-conditioned vs artificial seems unclear at best. I might guess that
artificial carbonation results in a more stable cider, but not for the
carbonation method _per_se_; rather because it means a stable cider is
being carbonated in a way which doesn't affect stability.

--
Dick Dunn rc...@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA

[Dhruv Jain]

Bottle-conditioned vs artificial seems unclear at best.  I might guess that
artificial carbonation results in a more stable cider, but not for the
carbonation method _per_se_; rather because it means a stable cider is
being carbonated in a way which doesn't affect stability.

I had a couple of batches of bottled carbonated (with priming sugar) cider that had undergone MLF go funky. A portion of one of the batches was bottled without any priming sugar to be had still. The still cider did not go funky but the cider from the same batch with the priming sugar did. The same bottling equipment in the same run was used so I would be surprised if the infection was introduced via the equipment and as Andrew had mentioned in a different thread; it was already present in the cider. I suspect that the yeast population is very low in a cider that has been sitting for the MLF to complete and the priming sugar coupled with low acidity provided a fertile breeding ground for unwanted bacteria before the yeast could consume the sugars. So I would think that priming does reduce the stability of what was intended to be dry (carbonated) cider.

Another important factor (for me atleast, since I live in a hot country) to consider is temperature at which the cider is stored. I was worried that since my cider is stored at temperatures in excess of 30C for months, it may suffer from Maillard reactions. However, I have not found this to be the case. Maybe it is because my palate has become accustomed to these flavours as a result of being exposed to them very often due to the climate here. I have stopped worrying about high temperatures much.  

[Wes Cherry]

The general rule is reaction rates double for every 10 deg C increase of temperature.   So you cider stored at 30C will age ~4x as fast as cider stored at a cellar temperature of 10C.   The activation energy for the Maillard reaction is too high for any significant amount to occur at 30C.   

The doubling per 10 deg C is only a general rule, but it does work for most reactions near room temperature.

As an aside, Arrhenius, the scientist who worked out the kinetic modeling of reactions that leads to this 10C doubling rule, also worked out the impact of CO2 on global warming way back in 1896.  His estimations of climate sensitivity to CO2 were quite close to the current IPCC consensus estimate.

-Wes

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[Old Spot]

I have had bottle conditioned, largely non cider variety fruit (but from 100 yr old trees), no SO2 and certainly not pasteurized hold up well and even improve into their 4th year.  Temps range from 10-20C over the year in the cellar.

I hold back a few cases every year just for this purpose -  to see if anything goes off with these methods.  So far none have.

[Handmade Cider]

The thing with the greatest impact on shelf life in my opinion is pasteurisation, even discounting maillard reaction, the flavour of the cider will decay and after a couple of years all you are left with is an appley, acidic, alcoholic beverage.

So not much different from the majority of commercial ciders really!

Denis

Denis France   www.handmadecider.co.uk   07590 264804  Company. No. 07241330

White Label – Champion Farmhouse Cider, Bath & West Show 2015.

Spring Surprise - Cider of the Festival Chippenham Camra Beer Festival 2015 & 2014

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[AW]

>The activation energy for the Maillard reaction is too high for any significant amount to occur at 30C.   

A ways back, I discovered a reaction that seems to be the exception to this rule.  

Adding ammonium to a solution rich in carbonyl compounds produced a heterocyclic compound that seems to be formed through a Maillard-like condensation.  The reaction produced nearly theoretical yields at 25C, over the cards of a couple weeks.  

We started with a sort of "slurry of algae" and ended up with something that smelled like stewed/canned tomatoes.  Very interesting chemistry.  

On Monday, December 12, 2016 at 7:01:03 PM UTC-8, luis.ga...@gmail.com wrote:

[luis.ga...@gmail.com]

Thank you very much for your replies.

Sonderstand that it is possible to keep a cider for several years after bottling, at least 4 year according to Old Spot.

Louis

[Claude Jolicoeur]

Yes.
I still have a few bottles of cider and perry from my 2012 crop that are still quite good. Although the cider has developed a bit of barnyard flavor, it is quite enjoyable.
It has to be said however that I keep my cider in a good cool cellar. Cider is more delicate than wine because of its lower alcohol content and in my opinion, if kept too warm it won't keep as well.
Too bad we didn't have this discussion before you stopped at my place - having known this concerns you, I would have let you have a taste...
Claude

[luis.ga...@gmail.com]

I am sure we will have other occasions Claude, I will surely pass by Quebec City in the next year.

Cheers

Louis

[Dhruv Jain]

I still have a few bottles of cider and perry from my 2012 crop that are still quite good. Although the cider has developed a bit of barnyard flavor, it is quite enjoyable.
It has to be said however that I keep my cider in a good cool cellar. Cider is more delicate than wine because of its lower alcohol content and in my opinion, if kept too warm it won't keep as well.

Hi Claude,

Were these bottles of Cider and Perry bottled with priming sugar or were they intended to be enjoyed still? In case you had some still ones from 2012, did these develop off flavours as well?

I was just considering warm temperature as causing Maillard reactions but I now see how hot weather can accelerate off flavour development from a biological perspective. Still wonder if these biological changes would have happened without the residual / priming sugar at bottling time (especially if MLF had already occurred).

Thanks,

dhruv.

[Claude Jolicoeur]

Well, I think aging is quite a complex phenomenon...
On ice ciders, which are still and contain a lot of residual sugar, some oxidation surely happens. As these are corked, a bit of oxygen goes through, and this has an effect on color - making it more brownish, on clearness - making it slightly hazy, and on flavor. Adding sulfite at bottling time would however decrease these effects.
My regular ciders are sparkling and do have some residual sugar. I make them as described in my book with the "ancestral" method, bottling them when there is still some unfermented sugar (I don't add priming sugar). Most of the time I need to add a micro-dosage of DAP at bottling to insure carbonation. Hence these ciders are still alive and continue to evolve with time, albeit slowly. They do tend to become slightly drier with time, with more sparkle, but this is extremely slow. There is also a bacterial fauna that will work on its own...
Surely, a pasteurised cider would be a lot more stable with time. Also a cider which has been sterile filtered, with additions of sulfite and sorbate, as such ciders are dead...
Claude

[Dhruv Jain]

Thanks for the reply. I was keen to not pasteurise but as you say (and given the warm temperatures here) a dead cider unfortunately is more stable and hence maybe required for me atleast.

[Martin Morsing]

Claude; what is DAP?

[Claude Jolicoeur]

Le mardi 27 décembre 2016 16:03:18 UTC-5, Martin Morsing a écrit :

Claude; what is DAP?

Diammonium phosphate, a yeast nutrient. Its use and effect are quite extensively covered in my book...