Cider - shelf life?

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Vinotinto

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Do the TCs or kit ciders have a shelf life once bottled? I appreciate that they improve generally with age but does that improvement stop as with some wines and does there become a point where they degrade?

Edit - sorry posted wrong place. Chippy? Please move?
 
Do the TCs or kit ciders have a shelf life once bottled? I appreciate that they improve generally with age but does that improvement stop as with some wines and does there become a point where they degrade?

Edit - sorry posted wrong place. Chippy? Please move?

I think my very oldest TC's are about 6 months old (not very old I know), and definitely taste better with a wee while in the bottle. There's not many left of course :mrgreen:
 
A lot will depend on the alcohol levels, but traditionally cider was brewed in the autumn and not drunk until the following summer. If you can bear to keep it that long it does noticeably mellow a fair bit and is definitely worth the wait.
 
A lot will depend on the alcohol levels, but traditionally cider was brewed in the autumn and not drunk until the following summer. If you can bear to keep it that long it does noticeably mellow a fair bit and is definitely worth the wait.

This. Cider made in the autumn is drinkable by Xmas but a lot nice the following summer.

Anecdotally cider does not improve much after a year. But I can't comment from experience. All last autumn's batch got finished a few weeks ago :whistle:
 
I think my very oldest TC's are about 6 months old (not very old I know), and definitely taste better with a wee while in the bottle. There's not many left of course :mrgreen:

How much wee do you put in the bottle? :whistle:
 
I just found a few bottles of the mulled cider I made last October with the intent to drink over Christmas. It was a bit harsh in December and much mellower nine months later.....

I made cider from apples last September and once it cleared it was delicious. It was also somewhat mellower by spring. I saved a couple of bottles until late summer but they weremt noticeable better than spring.
 
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