Transporting Raw Cider

[D-west]

I am lucky enough to live 5min away from a local apple orchard that presses and sells cider year round. I was buying their gallon jugs of Honeycrisp and regular apple cider for a while before I decided to start brewing. They brew it there, but I am not a fan of the couple types they make.

Last time I was there I asked if they sold unpasteurized and they said its $25 to fill my 5gal carboy up. SWEET! She told me the process is, I bring in my carboy and they tape my name to it and call me when its ready to be picked up, they don't run the press every day I guess.

So here is my question to all of you who get local unpasteurized cider.

I don't really want to transport my glass carboy, I have a food grade 5gal bucket with sealing lid, but should I drill it and put an airlock in it?

I've had cider start fermenting a couple hours after pressing in my home made press and pop the lid off a bucket.

How do you transport your fresh pressed unpasteurized cider?

I could just be over thinking this....

 

[DaMonkey]

I am lucky enough to live 5min away from a local apple orchard that presses and sells cider year round. I was buying their gallon jugs of Honeycrisp and regular apple cider for a while before I decided to start brewing. They brew it there, but I am not a fan of the couple types they make.

Last time I was there I asked if they sold unpasteurized and they said its $25 to fill my 5gal carboy up. SWEET! She told me the process is, I bring in my carboy and they tape my name to it and call me when its ready to be picked up, they don't run the press every day I guess.

So here is my question to all of you who get local unpasteurized cider.

I don't really want to transport my glass carboy, I have a food grade 5gal bucket with sealing lid, but should I drill it and put an airlock in it?

I've had cider start fermenting a couple hours after pressing in my home made press and pop the lid off a bucket.

How do you transport your fresh pressed unpasteurized cider?

I could just be over thinking this....

Cider does not start producing enough CO2 to pop a bucket lid in a couple hours. Especially not wild yeast. Maybe 24 hours. I think you are fine with a bucket that does not have an air lock. At worst the lid pops off, so what?

The Orchard I get my juice from sells in in 1 gallon plastic containers ask them if they can do that if you are concerned.

 

[MarkKF]

I have my glass carboy in a milk crate. I put a solid rubber stopper in the carboy. When I pick it up I wrap electrical tape over the stopper.

I once had one tip over in the bed of my pickup. It rolled and bounced around my bed liner. The glass didn't break and the stopper didn't leak.

If you don't like that idea you can buy a plastic collapsible 5 gal. water carrier at any camping store.

 

[Yooper]

tRemember that many cider mills sell unpasteurized cider that they add preservatives to, so make sure that it's 100% preservative free. Pasteurized is fine, but if they add sorbate or benzoate the cider will NOT ferment.

You can transport it in a bucket if you want, no problem.

 

[Roadie]

I lug my glass carboy to/from the mill with just a carboy cap on it.

 

[broadbill]

I'd probably pick it up using the vessel I was going to ferment it in, just to save time/effort in santizing extra containers and transferring it arounnd.

 

[CvilleKevin]

I'd recommend a 6gal better bottle with a solid gum rubber stopper. Whoever is filling the jugs will thank you. You can also use that as a primary.

I go out to the orchard 4-5 times a season, usually with two pickup trucks, filled with all manner of vessels from friends and local brew club members.

BB with a gum stopper is best option by far. They are light and easy to handle. If you cram the stopper in good and tight, the carboy can fall over and it wont pop out.

The new plastic "big bubbler" jugs are a close 2nd.

Glass carboy in a milk crate works OK, but extra weight, takes up a little more space and doesnt seal as well as BB. Having to untape and retape a stopper slows down the fill. Carboy caps are usually OK but can be a PIA to get off when its cold

IMHO, buckets are the worst. The lids are either too loose and you have to protect them so they dont leak on the trip home or they are too tight and impossible to pry off, which slows down the fill. Plus a "5 gal" bucket can really be anywhere from 5 to 7 gal, so you need to pay attention when filling

 

[D-west]

tRemember that many cider mills sell unpasteurized cider that they add preservatives to, so make sure that it's 100% preservative free. Pasteurized is fine, but if they add sorbate or benzoate the cider will NOT ferment.

You can transport it in a bucket if you want, no problem.

I asked, its completely raw unpasteurized, meant for brewing.

 

[D-west]

Cider does not start producing enough CO2 to pop a bucket lid in a couple hours. Especially not wild yeast. Maybe 24 hours. I think you are fine with a bucket that does not have an air lock. At worst the lid pops off, so what?

The Orchard I get my juice from sells in in 1 gallon plastic containers ask them if they can do that if you are concerned.

I had a lid on a small bucket of fresh pressed cider come off last summer after sitting for about an hour, maybe it was from temperature?

 

[D-west]

I'd recommend a 6gal better bottle with a solid gum rubber stopper. Whoever is filling the jugs will thank you. You can also use that as a primary.

I go out to the orchard 4-5 times a season, usually with two pickup trucks, filled with all manner of vessels from friends and local brew club members.

BB with a gum stopper is best option by far. They are light and easy to handle. If you cram the stopper in good and tight, the carboy can fall over and it wont pop out.

The new plastic "big bubbler" jugs are a close 2nd.

Glass carboy in a milk crate works OK, but extra weight, takes up a little more space and doesnt seal as well as BB. Having to untape and retape a stopper slows down the fill. Carboy caps are usually OK but can be a PIA to get off when its cold

IMHO, buckets are the worst. The lids are either too loose and you have to protect them so they dont leak on the trip home or they are too tight and impossible to pry off, which slows down the fill. Plus a "5 gal" bucket can really be anywhere from 5 to 7 gal, so you need to pay attention when filling

I didn't even think about the BB. My LHBS sells them fast and most places online are sold out of the 6gal so I might have to get one for future trips.

 

[MarkKF]

You guys just ferment in the vessel you get filled at the mill?

I transfer to a bucket, add all the other ingredients and stir. Then drain into a 6 gal. Carboy for primary fermentation.

 

[CvilleKevin]

You guys just ferment in the vessel you get filled at the mill?

That's what I do. Saves time cleaning vessels, plus IMHO the less air exposure, the better.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

I get my cider from a local cider brewery (Cidery?) that presses their own. And use a Better Bottle with a Brewhauler handle. I feel better leaving it overnight knowing its plastic.

 

[Renoun]

The cider producer that frequents my farmer's market prefers to deal with corney kegs if he is handling them. When he is pressing you can give him an empty keg one week and pick it up the next week without driving out of town to his orchard.

 

[MarkKF]

The cider producer that frequents my farmer's market prefers to deal with corney kegs if he is handling them. When he is pressing you can give him an empty keg one week and pick it up the next week without driving out of town to his orchard.

Thats a good idea, expensive, but easy to push it out with co2.

 

[D-west]

The cider producer that frequents my farmer's market prefers to deal with corney kegs if he is handling them. When he is pressing you can give him an empty keg one week and pick it up the next week without driving out of town to his orchard.

Best idea ive heard so far! I happen to have one I just cleaned! Thanks!

 

[D-west]

Thats a good idea, expensive, but easy to push it out with co2.

Dropping a $35 glass carboy with $25 in cider in the parking lot would be about as much as buying a used corny...