The journey to making cider is one with many questions. Whether you are new to your cider journey or you’re thinking of new ways to better it. The question, “Can I age cider in a keg?” Is one of these questions, and the answer is a resounding Yes, you certainly can! A keg is a fully enclosed and air-free container, and fermentation can happen in it regardless of whether it is a glass keg or made with stainless steel.
Cider is a type of alcoholic drink made from fermented apples. It can be either hard cider, referring to the alcoholic one, or sweet cider, usually non-alcohol. They come in different flavors, and their appearance also varies. The cider could either be clear or cloudy. The appearance bit is dependent on the filtration process. Almost all apple juice types can be used to make cider, though makers favor certain types of apples over others. Production and consumption of ciders have been around for centuries, and it is widely populated in European countries.
Based on preparation, cider can be aged in kegs or glass carboys. Kegs to be used should have a nice, open mouth for cleaning and in case of secondary fermentation. Brands of kegs include the Torpedo brand keg, Cornelius style keg, or Stainless steel ball lock keg. Kegs allow you to try out different methods while making your cider.
How long can cider sit in a keg?
For fermentation to occur, it has to be allowed to age in an oxygen-free environment. Ciders get better with age, so the longer they sit in the keg, the better it is. However, a lot of how long your cider should stay in a keg has to do with personal preferences. If your goal is to make low alcoholic cider-like mead, you need to let your cider sit for few weeks to a month. For something stronger, you can allow sitting longer, for as long as a whole year. There are, however, factors that affect the end result, and if you allow it to stay beyond this period, the results you want will not be gotten; instead, you’ll be going down a slippery slope. Quality depends on; keg condition and condition under which it was stored.
How long does a sealed keg last?
A sealed keg can last up to a year, especially under cold conditioning and with limited CO2. Aging beyond this time causes a decline in taste. This is also dependent on certain factors such as temperature, which is stored, and keg conditions.
Cider kept at room temperature can cause excess foam to form in it and make it taste stale. If it is kept at a higher than the recommended temperature, it can allow bacteria to grow in it also and spoil the beer; an environment that is too cold can cause it to freeze. Recommended temperature is 36-38 degrees.
Kegging vs. Bottling Cider [Does it make a difference]
Bottling, as the name implies, means moving your beer from where it was fermented(usually a big container) to smaller bottles. While Kegging is usually larger than bottles and aging of cider can take place in the kegs. The kegging system usually has aging, carbonation, filtration, and even dispensing features. Does it make any difference in the quality of your cider, whether to keg or bottle cider? Yes, it does in its own way; though you don’t need a keg to make great cider, it makes safely aging and storing ciders a lot easier and other advantages that make it a good if not better choice. Let us consider the pros and cons of making each of these packaging choices and see these differences.
A keg takes up a keg’s worth of space. If you do not have much space like those making Ciders from their apartments, bottling may be a better option. Bottling is also less expensive than kegging. Kegging needs the use of extra equipment, which means more cost. Kegging takes up the form of kegerators, mini-kegs, keezers, and others. These, however, are the only two main advantages of Bottling over kegging.
Pros for choosing kegging include:
- It helps save time. No need for sanitizing and capping that is involved in the bottling process. As long as your cider is in one place, you’re ready to go.
- Recycling of bottles and their effect on the environment: Bottles mean more recyclable materials. If you’re kind to mother Earth, kegging is the way to go.
- Carbonation: Carbonation which may be affected during the bottling process in different bottles, is actually consistent and faster in kegging.
- Sediments: Kegging makes your Cider sediment-free, unlike bottling that creates a sediment layer that is almost unavoidable in all bottles.
Overall, kegs solve the problem of always having too much or too little hard cider to fill carboys for aging.
How to Keg Cider
Step 1 – First, get the equipment
They include the following;
- Keg: Cornelius style keg or Stainless steel ball lock. The size of the keg to get is influenced by the amount of cider to be stored.
- CO2 bottle or tank: This can be refillable at gas stations.
- CO2 regulator: It regulates out pressure and measures the tank pressure.
- CO2 tubings and fittings: serve as connections between the CO2 tank, keg, and regulator.
- Liquid feed tubings.
- A wine thief or Siphon
- Other types of equipment are hydrometer, test jar, kitchen scale, and sanitizer solution.
Step 2 – Sanitize your equipment.
You can disassemble the inlet and outlet and soak in sanitizer. If your keg comes with cleaning instructions, follow them as you clean and inspect every seal that needs to be replaced.
Step 3 – Purge keg with CO2
After cleaning, reassemble the keg and attach CO2. CO2 is to remove the oxygen in the keg that causes oxidation and allows your cider to taste bad. Cider should be stored in an oxygen-free environment.
Step 4 – Test the sugar content in your cider using your hydrometer and adjust if needed.
Fetch some quantity of cider in a test tube and float the hydrometer inside. It measures the residual fermentation content in your fermented apple beverage. Most hydrometers have colored range marks that allow you to read them easily.
Step 5 – Adjust the sugar content.
Use a kitchen scale to weigh the amount of sweetener needed to be added. Potassium Sorbate may be added to prevent fermentation when sweetening; without this, the bottle might explode due to continued fermentation caused by the sugar. You can recheck the sugar content using the hydrometer after sweetening. However, it is worthy to note that if you over-sweeten the cider, it will not be wise to dilute it so that it doesn’t change the integrity of the cider you brewed, so we measure the sweetener carefully—better less sugar than more.
Step 6 – Fill your sanitized keg with your cider.
This can be done using an auto-siphon or a wine thief(A giant plastic straw used to draw up liquid and transfer it into kegs). This siphoning process can also be referred to as “racks,” racking the cider into kegs.
Step 7 – Attach the connections between the CO2 bottle and keg.
These are the CO2 tubing and fittings. Start by connecting the pressure delivery hose to the valve on the regulator and the CO2 bottle to the regulator.
Step 8 – It is now time for carbonation.
Carbonation is done by forcing C02 into the space between the headspace and the liquid in the keg under pressure. Adjust the delivery gauge on the CO2 regulator to about 15 psi. Carbonation is affected by the pressure and temperature, so the pressure might vary under a different temperature but most likely not higher than 15psi, rather between 10psi- 15psi. This process is called force carbonation, and it doesn’t require any additional equipment. It is preferable by most cider makers.
Step 9 – Listen for escaping gas from your kegging equipment.
This is important to constantly keep the oxygen-free environment cider needs. You can serve your cider straight from the keg without bottling it into smaller bottles and introducing oxygen to your already perfect cider when not done properly.
Step 10 – You can also filter your cider with your keg system.
Aging and filtering hard ciders make them sparkle.
Related questions
1. Can you age beer in a keg?
Yes you can. You can certainly age beer in a keg, it is very ideal.
2. Do untapped kegs need to be refrigerated?
Untapped kegs need to be refrigerated so they will not spoil. Kegs need to be kept between 36-38 degrees. An exception to this are imported beer which is already pasteurized. Pasteurized cider lasts longer than unpasteurized, and to know if it is or not, check online or contact the production company.
3. How long can cider sit in a carboy?
Typically cider can sit in carboys for as long as 3-5weeks.
Conclusion
Your cider just got a lot easier using the keg system! Now that you know you can age cider in kegs, how to keg it, how long it should stay, and its advantages over bottling, most of your questions have been answered, and it is time to start kegging today and enjoying the freshness of your cider.
Yes, you definitely can age your cider in kegs and enjoy it to its maximum!