Two questions really.
I have plenty of cider I made at around 6% alcohol content stored in demi johns.
1) So I was going to make a bunch of mulled cider, bottle it and give it to people as Christmas gifts in screw capped wine bottles. Just trying to think of the best way to do it.
Clearly there is no guarantee that people will use it over christmas. Provided I leave out things that can putrify like apples and oranges, and anything that can ferment like honey, would it not just keep as long as regular cider would given that it only has some spices in it like cinammon, allspice, cloves and ginger?
Should I even bother heating it up to infuse the spices? Does heating it reduce it's storing qualities? I know they'll probably heat it any right, but thought the flavour might be better if I heat it before giving it to them.
2) Similar question. I will probably make some mulled cider with honey, oranges, apples etc plus the spices for myself. If I have any leftover, how long will it keep?
I have seen some comments online about it only lasting 3 days even if I refrigerate it. This seems a bit short to me. Why does it go off so quick? If I remove the fruit chunks, would it last longer in the fridge?
Can I even re-bottle it in a demijohn?
Thanks all. And have a great xmas
Can you store or reheat mulled cider?
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Green Aura
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Re: Can you store or reheat mulled cider?
The other alternative is to give people a bottle of cider with a little bag of the spices attached and an instruction sheet. Then they have the choice of just enjoying your cider, mulling it or keeping it until they feel like doing it with no worries about it keeping, or not.
Maggie
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BernardSmith
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Re: Can you store or reheat mulled cider?
I guess I am a little confused by your question and concern, JT101. If you ferment fruit sugars and produce an alcoholic drink such as cider, even at 6% ABV this will naturally keep for months, if not years, as long as the seal on the bottle is good and does not permit the passage of air into the bottle to oxidize the wine (cider) or allow bacteria in to transform the cider into vinegar. If you use beer caps or wine bottle corks the seal will be good. I try to leave my ciders to age for at least a year.
If you make the cider with the spices, whether you add the spices AFTER the alcohol has formed and so use the alcohol to extract flavors , OR you add the spices to the apple juice so that it is essentially the water of the juice that is extracting the flavor, it makes no difference: just like ANY extraction, the alcohol will prevent any oils from going rancid. Ever bought vanilla extract? Ever needed to refrigerate that extract? Ever experience the extract getting spoiled?
The thing is that if you are making hard cider you need to know some wine making science, so for example, you need to either be making a hard cider that is fully fermented - and so will be brut dry - and so you will want perhaps to back sweeten this and that means that you need to stabilize the cider to prevent the residual yeast from eating up any added sugar. OR you need to find some process to stop fermentation in mid flight, kill or eliminate every last yeast cell and so you will have a sweeter cider (but stopping a fermentation in mid flight is a lot like trying to stop a bullet between your teeth - That may be a great magician's trick but it ain't something you are going to want to try at home if you don't know what you are doing.
If you make the cider with the spices, whether you add the spices AFTER the alcohol has formed and so use the alcohol to extract flavors , OR you add the spices to the apple juice so that it is essentially the water of the juice that is extracting the flavor, it makes no difference: just like ANY extraction, the alcohol will prevent any oils from going rancid. Ever bought vanilla extract? Ever needed to refrigerate that extract? Ever experience the extract getting spoiled?
The thing is that if you are making hard cider you need to know some wine making science, so for example, you need to either be making a hard cider that is fully fermented - and so will be brut dry - and so you will want perhaps to back sweeten this and that means that you need to stabilize the cider to prevent the residual yeast from eating up any added sugar. OR you need to find some process to stop fermentation in mid flight, kill or eliminate every last yeast cell and so you will have a sweeter cider (but stopping a fermentation in mid flight is a lot like trying to stop a bullet between your teeth - That may be a great magician's trick but it ain't something you are going to want to try at home if you don't know what you are doing.
Re: Can you store or reheat mulled cider?
Thanks for the feedback guys.
Bernard, I was basically asking whether there is anything in spices that might cause spoilage or further fermentation if it add it to the hard cider once brewed. I think the answer is yes, maybe. I think things like vanilla or any other extract are made with much higher alcohol content liquids like vodka etc. Which yes, would prevent it spoiling, but I think cider at 6% is just too low.
I'll play it safe and just tie a bag of spices around the neck of the bottle.
And as far as storing pre-made mulled cider, I'd leave it in the fridge for a few days and then consume or throw it out. As has been pointed out to me, the alcohol may evaporate either during cooking or when in the fridge, and things may ferment further now that the honey has been added so the flavour probably won't improve. I guess in theory if it will ferment, it could go back in the demi-john. An experiment to be had I suppose.
Cheers
Bernard, I was basically asking whether there is anything in spices that might cause spoilage or further fermentation if it add it to the hard cider once brewed. I think the answer is yes, maybe. I think things like vanilla or any other extract are made with much higher alcohol content liquids like vodka etc. Which yes, would prevent it spoiling, but I think cider at 6% is just too low.
I'll play it safe and just tie a bag of spices around the neck of the bottle.
And as far as storing pre-made mulled cider, I'd leave it in the fridge for a few days and then consume or throw it out. As has been pointed out to me, the alcohol may evaporate either during cooking or when in the fridge, and things may ferment further now that the honey has been added so the flavour probably won't improve. I guess in theory if it will ferment, it could go back in the demi-john. An experiment to be had I suppose.
Cheers