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Storage

How long an opened bottle keeps

How long does cider last once the bottle is opened?

In short

A sparkling cider loses its carbonation within a day or two even with a good stopper, and within hours if it is left uncovered — that is usually what ends it rather than any change in flavour.

A still cider recapped and refrigerated is generally sound for three to five days, and a tannic one for longer; what limits it is oxidation, and eventually acetification, since a partly full bottle has a large headspace of air.

The single most effective step is to reduce the headspace: a half-litre of cider in a full 500 ml bottle keeps far better than the same cider spread across a 750 ml bottle with air above it.

Three clocks, running at different speeds

Carbonation is the fastest. Dissolved carbon dioxide leaves as soon as the pressure holding it in solution is released, and every subsequent opening, pour and agitation removes more. An open bottle left on a counter is flat within hours; a well-stoppered one in a fridge holds usable carbonation for a day, sometimes two. Cold slows this considerably, because carbon dioxide is more soluble cold.

Aroma and flavour are next. Oxygen from the headspace dissolves into the cider and reacts with phenolics and aldehydes; the fresh fruit fades, and a stale, flat, slightly cardboard character replaces it. Over three to five days this is noticeable in a light cider; a tannic cider resists longer because its phenolic content absorbs the oxygen.

Acetification is the slowest and the most decisive. Acetobacter species need oxygen and warmth, and given both they convert ethanol into acetic acid. A partly full bottle at room temperature can start to smell of vinegar within a week or two; refrigerated, it takes far longer, because these bacteria grow poorly at low temperature.

None of these is a safety process. An opened cider that has gone flat, stale or vinegary is unpleasant, not dangerous.

Working expectations

Opened cider: how long before it stops being what it was
SituationCarbonationFlavourNotes
Sparkling cider, uncovered, room temperatureHours1–2 daysThe gas is gone long before anything else happens
Sparkling cider, sparkling stopper, refrigerated1–2 days3–4 daysA proper sparkling stopper is markedly better than a cork pushed back in
Still cider, recapped, refrigerated, low headspacen/a4–7 daysTannic ciders at the longer end
Still cider, recapped, refrigerated, large headspacen/a2–4 daysHeadspace air is the limiting factor
Still cider, room temperature, partly fulln/a1–2 daysAcetification risk begins within a week or two
Bag-in-box, tap only, cooln/aSeveral weeksThe pouch collapses; no headspace forms
Opened can, refrigeratedHours to a day1–2 daysWide opening, large surface, no reseal

What actually helps

When to stop drinking it

The reliable test is the nose. A sharp, pungent, vinegary smell means acetic acid, and it will only increase. A solvent or nail-varnish note is ethyl acetate, often arriving alongside it. A cider showing either has spoiled in flavour terms and will not recover.

A film or skin on the surface of an opened bottle is film yeast growth. It is not harmful in itself, but it indicates a cider that has been standing open in air, and it strips flavour as it grows.

Cloudiness that appears after opening is usually harmless: chilling can drop out a haze, and disturbance can rouse settled deposit. Cloudiness accompanied by a sharp or unusual smell is a different matter.

A cider that has turned is a cooking ingredient, not a hazardA cider that has become acetic is on its way to being cider vinegar, which is a deliberate product in its own right. Nothing dangerous is happening. It simply stops being cider some way before it becomes vinegar, and that middle ground is not pleasant to drink.

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