OnTap Magazine

38 | Autumn 2025 | ontapmag.co.za FEATURE PASTEURIZATION IS SO 2024 CRAIG GROENEVELD CRAIG GROENEVELD INVESTIGATES RASLYSATION TM , AND THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS IT BRINGS TO MODERN BREWERIES. T ypical multinational cider production has apple juice concentrate (in South Africa the minimum allowed apple in cider is 80%) diluted down from approximately 70 °Brix to the fermentation gravity of about 20° Brix. It is then flash pasteurized elevating the temperature to about 80° Celsius, held there for a period of time and then it is cooled down to fermentation temperature, which is typically between 15° Celsius to 18° Celsius. As you can see, this requires two large energy sources: steam to heat the product up and refrigeration to cool the product down. Of course, the reason why flash pasteurization is carried out is to ensure that no unwanted contaminants can grow in the liquid in which you have just added yeast and yeast nutrients. Microbial contamination could lead to off flavours formation like diacetyl or acetic notes or even stuck fermentation. Enter the Raslysation process supplied by Danish company, Lyras; the newest UVCcider tech tomakewaves as agroundbreaking shift in cider-making. Signal Hill Products started cider production using Raslysation, which has reduced energy usage by over 70%, while increasing production capacity and also enhancing product quality.