Hi all: Having brewed a few batches of decent beer, but being by nature and inclination a hard cider drinker, I'm ready to brew some hard cider. The question: can I use pasteurized cider? Or do I need to root around and find some of the raw stuff? Thanks and God bless -

-- spr (rougan@rcn.com), April 07, 2002

Answers

Raw stuff will give you a better finished product. Pasteurized cider will have lost some aroma and flavor characteristics. And most of the pasteurized ciders will also have had sorbates added to PREVENT fermentation. I have done a few batches, and raw cider is the best.

-- Randy (rvanorman@crowniintl.com), April 08, 2002.

Randy is right. Also, use a cider with a fairly low ph -around 4.2 or 4.3 if you can find it. Also you will make the best cider with a good yeast. You may want to read the book by, I think, Nichols and Proulx called, Making Sweet and Hard Cider, or something like that. It has all you need to know and is generally available at a library or at a good bookstore.. Dan Fagan

-- Dan Fagan (fagandr@juno.com), April 08, 2002.