cide nOOb question about bottling

[jaydog2314]

ok so i've been reading a lot about cider and it seems like it can be a nice quick and cheaper way to help fill/supplement the pipeline plus with fall/winter months approaching it would be nice to have. i've been reading a lot of about the recipes and processes and have a few quick questions.

I'm planning on following recipe tweaked a bit from here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/great-simple-recipe-356684/

I was planning on tweaking this recipe from that thread(jetmech_63)
3 gallons apple juice
2 gallons apple cide
1lb corn sugar
yeast nutrient
ec-1118

"Put all of that into primary, combined well, let sit for 2 weeks primary, 1 week secondary. Then into keg with 1.5 Tbsp Potassium Sorbate. Chilled overnight. Following day added 2.5 cans frozen Old Orchard Berry Blend(found at Walmart). Carbed in keg for a week, and viola! Raspberry apple Cider!! Tastes phenomenal and made it for right about $21.00! I can't stress how awesome this tastes! And so easy!"

NOW here are my questions, I don't keg, so would I follow the chill overnight-potassium sorbate wait 24 hours then add frozen concentrate of my choosing and then bottle using the concentrate as my priming sugar? would I need to stove top pasteurize the bottles still if I used the PS? do you only need to stove top pasteurize if you used unpasteurized juice/cider? how long does it take for bottles to condition, I swear I have been reading that they are ready in a really short time.

I just want to clarify before I go making cider and bottle bombs! I've tried my best to research on it on here but haven't gotten a real clear answer.

Thanks for any help!

 

[dog]

I'm a noob myself but a few things;

I don't keg, so would I follow the chill overnight-potassium sorbate wait 24 hours then add frozen concentrate of my choosing and then bottle using the concentrate as my priming sugar?

If you're bottle conditioning I don't think you're supposed to add PS, as this is meant to stop the yeast from starting up again. You need the yeast to start up again to bottle carb.

do you only need to stove top pasteurize if you used unpasteurized juice/cider?

They're not related;
-You use pasteurized juice so there are no wild yeasts/bacteria to compete with the yeast you're pitching.
-Stove top pasteurizing is used to stop bottle carbonation once it's carbed enough (by killing the yeast).

You need to stove top pasteurize if you have more fermentable sugar in the cider at bottling time than would be required for the level of carbonation you want, since without pasteurization it will continue and you'll get bottle bombs, or at least too much carbonation.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/

how long does it take for bottles to condition, I swear I have been reading that they are ready in a really short time.

If you mean how long until you have to stove top pasteurize it, it depends on the amount of sugar and the temperature you store the bottles at, which is why you have to keep an eye on it. I've never done it so I can't be more specific than that.

 

[Devo9]

dog,

Good job, that was a pretty good answer.

Jaydog2314,

If you want to bottle carb, then I would stay away from the potassium sorbate. If you still have a bit of yeast in there, you MIGHT get some carbonation, but I wouldn't count on getting enough for a decent carbonation level. You will want to add the juice concentrate as a primer and then stove top pasteurize as described in the link in dog's response, skip the potassium sorbate if you don’t have a kegging system.

A good way to tell when the carbonation is ready is to use a plastic pop bottle. There should be details on how to do this in the "easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295" thread. Read it all the way through before you start the priming process.

Also, watch out for potassium sorbate in the juice concentrate. It might cause you some trouble if it is there. So read the ingredients!

Good luck!

 

[jaydog2314]

thanks guys, yeah after more and more reading i realized PS is strictly for kegging. thanks for the tips