Pasteurization One-Page Instructions (alpha version)

Pasteurization Explanation, Cider Making and Pateurization Process, and Pasteurization Calculator

Equipment: glasses or goggles, face mask, hoodie, shoes, Geekhom grill gloves, latex palm-coated work gloves, 2 kitchen towels, Thermapen MK4 thermometer or ThermoPro BBQ thermometer, 2 small Thermoworks EXEC 4.8" thermometers, 9-quart stainless steel (SS) pot and lid, 1-gallon measuring cup, 1-quart measuring cup, 2 five-gallon enamel stockpots, five-gallon pot lid, 5 empty 12-oz bottles, 2 corks with hole drilled through middle. Gas stove with at least two burners, sink with running water, and cooling rack on countertop for hot bottles. 48 12-oz bottles in two cardboard cases, filled with carbonated cider (with sufficient headspace) and capped.

Preparation:

Prepare two test bottles with room-temperature water, plugged with a cork that has small a hole through the middle, and put EXEC thermometer through the hole.
5G enamel pot on stove: fill with 3.5 G hot water (to middle of top ring) and add BBQ thermometer. Start heating to 185°F with lid on.
5G enamel pot in sink: fill with 3.5 G of 130°F water (middle of top ring). (By this time the tap water should be about sufficiently hot.)
9-quart SS pot: fill with 3.5 quarts, bring to boil (lid on). Once hot, maintain a low boil (covered).
Add 10 bottles of cider, plus one test bottle, to warm-water pot in sink. Frequently mark times and temperatures on calculator worksheet.
Put on protective gear: hoodie with hood up, face mask, glasses or goggles. Always wear shoes.

For Each Batch:

When hot water in 5G pot is 185°F, turn off heat and transfer bottles from warm water (sink) to hot water (stove), using Geekhom glove (R) and work glove (L), supporting bottom of each bottle.
Mark temperature of test bottle at least every 2 minutes (should start at approx. 120°F). Write times and temperatures on calculator worksheet.
Remove 3.5 qt from pot in sink using measuring cup, put it into 1G container (don't dump it!).
Transfer the 3.5 qt of boiling water from the stove into the sink's 5G pot. The final temperature should be raised from about 115°F to about 130°F.
Transfer the 3.5 qt from the 1G measuring cup into the 9-qt SS pot; heat and maintain boil (covered).
Transfer 10 room-temperature bottles plus one test bottle (next batch) to warm-water pot in sink. Start recording times and temps.
When test bottle on stove reaches 158°F to 160°F (or after 10 minutes), use Geekhom glove (R) and work glove (L) to carefully transfer each bottle to cooling rack.
Re-heat stove water to 185°F with the lid on.
Record times and temperatures as this batch cools, for at least 10 minutes. Then transfer bottles back to case, drying each with towel.
Remove cork and dump hot water from test bottle. Prepare a new room-temperature test bottle with room-temperature water, cork, and thermometer.

Repeat from "For Each Batch" five times to pasteurize all bottles. This process should yield more than 100 PUs in each bottle.

Important Disclaimer: I hope that you find this page useful, but I make no guarantees about the accuracy or suitability of the results. While I have pasteurized hundreds of bottles of carbonated and sweetened hard cider for years without incident, there are always risks when pasteurizing at home. There is the definite risk that during the pasteurization process an exploding bottle will send shards of sharp and burning-hot glass into your body, possibly even into your eye. Very hot glass bottles may cause burns even when they're intact. The hot water may scald or burn your flesh. The hot stove may burn your flesh or your clothing. Bottles full of hot cider may break due to a sudden change in temperature or a manufacturing defect. You might drop a bottle, sending burning hot liquid and sharp shards of hot glass all over your floor. The computed pasteurization units on this web page, while based on the best information available to me, are only an approximation. The computed values might also be incorrect due to temperature readings that are not taken at the coolest region within the bottle or possible bugs in the code. Bottles that have not been sufficiently pasteurized may explode at any time. This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that might go wrong, even under the assumption that you know what you're doing. Please prepare well, use great caution, always assume that anything might go wrong at any time, and accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions. Nothing on this website absolves you of that responsibility or transfers any of that responsibility to me or this site. Use the information provided here at your own risk. With all of that said, I hope that you have the best of luck, many years of safe and incident-free pasteurization, and many delicious pasteurized beverages!