Hard cider and preservatives

[sharkguy05]

So my wife wants a couple gal of hard cider for the fall time. I usually use non pasturized and preservative free cider. For some reason this year i cant find any peservative free cider, will cider with preservatives still ferment? I thought it wouldnt but i wanna double check. Thanks!

[snowcapt]

Sulfites will kill the yeast. Just get some generic 100% apple juice and throw the sweet mead yeast in it. Thats all I did and it is tasting pretty darn good, if I dont say so myself!

[sharkguy05]

true but i was looking to go with a dark cider. Has the spicer feel. I'm gonna try a few farmers markets or see if there is an orchard near by. thanx snow!

[Bugeater]

Different varieties of apples will give different character to your cider. Big differences in sweetness and acidity. For this reason I also often go with the cheap store brand apple juice (without preservatives). These are blends of a wide variety of apples, generally relegated to juice for cosmetic reasons. These blends tend to balance out all those differences and produce a nice cider. I often add some spices by gently heating a little of the juice with some cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and fresh ground nutmeg. A sweet mead yeast makes the best cider as it leaves much of the apple flavor and aroma in the finished cider.

Wayne

[spiderwrangler]

I use juice too. Did my first batch with fruit puree added (raspberry), tasted good in samples, need to bottle it soon.

[snowcapt]

The one I made a while ago is now kegged. I added some spices to it after I did to my pumpkin ale.
Tastes great, and it will only get better.

[Quin]

I read somewhere you can add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to get rid of sulfites in wine for making vinegar. I found the link. http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/winecomp/so2.htm

I would think you could do the same thing with apple juice.

[sharkguy05]

i think i just stick to making my own cider outta juice. dont really want any peroxide in my cider! Thanks though