Fermentation of Sweet/Unfermented Cider

[Patrick McCauley]

Hi all. While I primarily make hard/alcoholic cider, sweet cider is really popular with my friends, family, and the kids in my life. I usually make 15-20 gallons per year, pressed first from hand-picked fruit, when the grinder and press are spotless and clean. I then freeze it for the winter and spring. For those of you that make sweet cider, how long do you typically allow it to sit/ferment prior to refrigerating or freezing it? I've read that it should sit in a cool spot for at least a day or two, though I've heard of other people allowing it to mellow or ferment for much longer than that prior to refrigeration. The cider mills around here seem to go straight from the press into refrigeration. I typically let mine sit overnight or for a full day before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer, and I've been hesitant to let it go too much longer than that, as I don't want it to really start fermenting and shorten the shelf-life in the refrigerator. Let me know what you all are doing with your sweet cider. Thanks!

Pat McCauley

Ann Arbor, MI, USA

[Matthew Moser Miller]

Hey Pat,

If I'm understanding you right, when you're saying "sweet cider" you mean you have people who like to drink unfermented juice, right? To be consumed weeks/months after the pressing?

 In that case, I would leave it unrefrigerated for the absolute minimum amount of time possible. I've never in my life heard of people intentionally leaving fresh cider to sit at warmer temps if their goal is long-term storage (if it can be helped, that is). From my perspective, once that juice is pressed, the microbial clock starts. If folks want fresh cider that's starting to turn fizzy etc., I think that's something to do on the back-end, after thawing/directly before use.

And I can say, from unfortunate personal experience, do NOT try to freeze actively fermenting juice in jugs, even in a chest freezer. It is an excellent way to get some high-sugar cryoconcentrate...all over the bottom of you freezer, drained out of the seam-split jugs.

Good luck,

Matt Moser Miller

Pealer Mill Cider

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[Patrick McCauley]

Thanks, Matt. "Mellowing" is probably a better word than "fermenting." With sweet cider, people will leave the cider out to mellow prior to refrigeration/freezing. I'm just trying to gauge the optimal time to achieve the best results...without a true fermentation starting. 

Pat McCauley

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[Kirk Evans]

Every hour that your juice sits at room temperature, the bacterial load doubles (or so I have been told by a very large orchard/juice producer). Do not do this if you want the juice to taste fresh and last for any amount of time. Refrigerate asap. If you want it to last even longer, pasteurize it.

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[Ryan Gorham]

I freeze mine right away (same day), leaving headroom for expansion. I could see leaving it refrigerated for a day to drop sediment if you wanted a clearer juice, but it's not important to me. I wouldn't let it sit out unrefrigerated if it was intended for fresh consumption.

[Francis Bonenfant]

First time I hear of this "mellowing". You will get some settling of solids but what's the proposed mechanisme for "mellowing"?
What is the quality that this waiting period is attempting to affect? Acidity?

I freeze my juice right away. If you use a regular freezer or chest freezer, it will take many hours (if not days if overloaded with many containers of fresh juice...) to freeze completely...

[Patrick McCauley]

Thanks to everyone that responded. Sounds like you all think I'm crazy! Haha I was trying to find the source that mentioned the day or two mellowing/fermentation period, but I can't find it at the moment. It may have been in one of the historic recipes I've been researching, but I think it was a local cider mill that was explaining their process. A lot of what they did in the past is completely counterintuitive to us today, and perhaps even illegal if you're a commercial producer. We're super obsessed with germs now. The only one I really fear is E.coli, which is why I really clean my grinder and press and only use hand-picked fruit for my sweet cider. I've never had any issues, as I'm careful and clean in my production process. If there's a very very tiny percentage of alcohol, that's not much of a concern. Perhaps this very tiny bit of alcoholic fermentation is part of the secret? I'm not sure.

I don't know the science of what is at work here, but I do know that the taste of the cider is better a few days after pressing. The juice definitely loses some of its acidic bite, and the flavors are more melded. I'm guessing there's a benefit to some increased oxidation too? Perhaps this mellowing takes place regardless of whether or not it's refrigerated immediately? I'm not sure. I've generally been leaving my cider in the cellar for 24 hours before freezing or refrigerating. It seems to last for at least couple weeks in the refrigerator without fermenting in any noticeable way, once I do refrigerate it. Happy cider making out there. Only one more pressing left for me in 2024.

Pat McCauley

[Erik Nilsson]

I think this is interesting and not crazy. I sulphited my juice to 50 ppm, let it sit 1-2 days at room temp, racked from the sediment, and stored in fridge. Tasted great and kept for a few weeks at least.

I wonder if the effect of leaving the must to mellow interacts with how the apples were handled before pressing (ie sweating, maceration, which might have similar effects).

Maybe not relevant, but noted this year that juice from macerated pulp was more mellow than the first pressing.

Best,

Erik

[Francis Bonenfant]

Yes, maceration on pulp has effects and is widely practised in many cidermaking traditions. There are many enzymes in the apple that get to work once pressed, also some oxydation and microorganisms...

Also, allowing pressed juice to sit will make solids settle; the effect is impressive if you add pectic enzymes and sulfites. In a day or two it may completely drop clear and leave a layer of sediment at the bottom. This is pre-fermentation clarification, i have done it many times. But this clarified juice is very uninteresting to drink fresh, almost like storebought pasteurized juice.

Sulfiting juice meant for fresh drinking is no longer common or recommended/permitted for commercial fresh juice in certain jurisdictions. But if it's for your own consumption and you are not very sensitive to sulfites, it will indeed enhance the fridge life of fresh apple juice. 

Regarding this mysterious "mellowing" of untreated fresh juice left to sit, it would be interesting if you could do titratable acidity and pH tests before/after and get some hard data.