How Long to Leave Cider on Berries?

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hey guys.

I make cider far less often than beer, so I’m unsure on this one.

How long is it considered ‘safe’ to leave my cider on the berries I have it on?  Should I rack it off the berries after a week?  Two?  Should I let it age/condition on the berries or will they go bad?

Thanks.

2

I guess this is a tougher question than I thought!  lol

3

When I do my rasberry cider, I leave it on them a good three months. Neber had it go foul on me. Not like I’m the cider council here, but it works for me.

4

OK.  Thanks.  I’ll leave it for a while.

I have the fermenter at around 66-68 degrees.

5

I threw some craisins in my last batch of cider.  I don’t recall how long they sat, but it was extended.

I don’t think anything bad can happen.

The taste was awesome, and it’s on my list to pop open a keg and throw in some craisins to the non-craisined batch of cider.

Once they’re in the keg, I would pretty much just leave them until the keg kicks.

6

I haven’t made a cider in a long time.  I’m not sure what you’re worried about - if it’s contamination, anything living on the fruit will be in the cider as soon as you throw the fruit in, taking the fruit out won’t change that.

If you’re worried about extracting something nasty from the fruit, that will depend on what kind of fruit it is, how much there is, how you treated it (seeds or skins removed?  diced or whole? frozen first?), and the composition of the cider.

7

I guess I just wasn’t sure if the berries would impart any off flavors or other undesirable effects if left too long.

-Cider is based on 5 gallons of organic apple juice - already fermented in 1st fermenter
-Strawberries - whole, frozen (thawed) added to 2nd fermentation bucket
-I mashed them a bit w/ a sanitized potato masher after adding to fermenter & before racking the cider on to them
-10 lbs of strawberries (5 gals of cider)

8

I would taste it and decide when to pull it.  I think you’re fine leaving it on there as long as you like, but the strawberry flavors tend to fall off quickly in my experience, so when it tastes good I’d rack it and drink it.

9

Gotcha.  It’s been on the berries for 1 week.  So I’ll leave it 1 more week before checking it.  I also have some strawberry extract so I can ‘fine tune’ the flavor if necessary.