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Pasteurised Apple Juice in a Cyser

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--SEmper

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 28, 2006
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Hi!

I'm very happy that my first ever brewing attempt turned out super! :) I made Joe's brilliant Ancient Orange, which worked fine with fresh yeast - no fleishmanns needed ;)

For my next batch, I've got my eye on a cyser. I'd like it to be very simple in terms of ingredients: honey and apple juice (water if needed) and yeasties

Now, I am only able to get pasteurised apple juice here (the store bought kind, in tetrabrick)... Most recipes call for fresh juice, not pasteurised. Except the christmas mead - but too many ingredients for what I'd like. Obvious question now: will this kind of apple juice do? Will I have to take extra steps?

My first thoughts:
* It is pasteurised, so any wild yeasties in there are long gone. So this will impart less flavours - right?
* My guess is that many of the things yeasties need to grow, have also been killed - right?

Thoughts on my first thoughts:
* less flavour: more apple juice, less diluting with water?
* food: add a packet of nutrients?

Any comments / Advice / good recipes welcome

Thanks in advance,
Guy
 

WRATHWILDE

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Mar 19, 2005
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Semper,
I'm not sure about what you find in Poland, but here in the US you can get filtered or unfiltered apple juice. If you have a choice I'd go for the unfiltered... as it's likely to have more available nutrients. The pasturization should have little effect on nutrients... filtering would have a greater impact IMHO.
Take a chance... pick an apple juice you really like and go for it. Just make sure it doesn't contain Potassium Sorbate.

Wrathwilde
 

Tyred

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 11, 2005
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As long as the apple juice doesn't contain sorbate you should be fine. A cyser I've made contained apple juice, honey & yeast. No water at all. No nutrients were added either, but then that was the first mead style drink I'd made.

The basic recipe was 4 litres apple juice, 1 kilo honey and 1 teaspoon of generic wine yeast. Mixed the honey and apple juice in a demijohn (5 litre) and shook until honey was dissolved in apple juice. Added yeast and put in airlock. Racked after about 4 weeks and then let it sit for another 3 months. It was very nice.

You can do a search through recipes to find more ways of doing this.
 

--SEmper

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 28, 2006
34
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0
Thanks for your replies, I'm gonna give the cyser a go somewhere next week - right after my beer finishes ;D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_Sorbate
Wikipedia says it is a preservative, so I'll definetly keep a look out to that... If it says Potassium Sorbate or E202, I'll steer clear away from it!
 
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