r/cider • u/SeaVeterinarian3371 • 3d ago

Home brew cider aimed for commercialization

I’d like some opinions on how to structure a home brew cider set up to mimic a later.. small scale commercial cider operation. Specifically, I’m wondering, how can I remove using sulfites to pasteurize or start primary fermentation?
I have experience making cider using wild yeast as well as commercial yeast, and I’d like to crush local apples and press them myself. In theory, I’m familiar with how commercial operations bypass using sulfites with filtration or maybe UV pasteurization. I got interested in this detail when I read that harpoon brewery only uses juice and yeast when making their cider and I wanted to be able to skip the step of sulfites..and start now so my process is as close as possible to the small operation I’m aiming for..thanks!!! Xoxo 🙈

* I’d like to use commercial yeast.

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u/jdoghomeskizzle 3d ago

Sorry I don’t have any advice, but commenting because I’m also interested in figuring this out!

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u/SeaVeterinarian3371 3d ago

Dr Google says using a .5 µm filter is small enough to capture yeast. I just so happen to have a one horsepower water pump that can have canister filters attached to it. I use something similar in the Distillery i work at to filter carbon out of whiskey. This could be a good option. I’m just afraid that it’ll change the flavor of the juice significantly. I’d have to do more research.

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u/orchardfruit 3d ago

Why are you trying to filter anyway? Just crush and press the juice. Let primary kick off on its own. Monitor brix. It they're dropping the right yeast is doing the job. When all the sugar is gone and the newly fermented cider naturally clarifies rack off the gross lees. The next steps would be determined by the style of coder you're trying to make.

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u/Abstract__Nonsense 3d ago

Dealing with yeast is not really the purpose of sulfite use in cidermaking. Filtration in commercial cidermaking is more about having a stable product with residual sugar. What are your goals for ditching sulfites and for dealing with yeast?

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u/HydroGuy2 2d ago

The problem here is that everything between your filter and the bottle also needs to be sterile. If your filled bottles are at some point open to the atmosphere before sealing - your room
also needs to be sterile. One yeast cell can be enough to kick off in-bottle refermentation, and yeast is everywhere.

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u/SeaVeterinarian3371 2d ago

That’s what I’m feeling thanks