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I've got a few glass bottles of clear applejuice in the cellar (just pure clear store brand applejuice) that I want to take to my computer room so I don't need to constantly go downstairs to refill my glass.

can I just put them on my desk and take refills from them over a 2-3 day period with the bottle being at room temperature and not stored in the shade? or would that detract from the quality, taste or healthiness of the drink?

Nzall
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Most of the apple juice sold in the US at least is Pasteurized. So unopened, you should have no problem storing at room temp. Once you open the bottle, microorganism's can get in. With a sugary liquid like Apple juice, wild yeasts will find a happy home, and ferment up a bubbly alcoholic apple beverage for you. This can take a week or two to happen, and the result is usually tasty rather than deadly. Sometimes you'll end up with vinegar rather than an alcoholic ferment. There's some small chance of picking up a nasty microbe in your apple juice over a three day period, but it was never enough to stop people from drinking unrefrigerated cider in the days before Pasteurization or refrigeration.

Wayfaring Stranger
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  • So if I understand it correctly, if it's only 2-3 days, the risk of anything unhealthy happening is very low? Does it make a difference that I'm in Belgium and not in the US? – Nzall Jul 09 '14 at 21:58
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    @NateKerkhofs Maybe better apples in Belgium? I don't know what their Pasteurization regs are, but apple cider/juice predates refrigeration, and has a reputation of turning to hard cider or vinegar over time, not poisoning people. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 09 '14 at 22:01
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    @NateKerkhofs Low risk, yes, but it's definitely *possible* for it to pick up something nasty, and it's hard to say exactly *how* low. As the answer says, people certainly used to drink it unrefrigerated all the time, but people used to do all kinds of crazy risky things, and they got food poisoning a lot more often. Thanks to the high-sugar environment, it's way way safer than, say, unrefrigerated meat. But it's not totally safe. – Cascabel Jul 10 '14 at 00:25
  • +1 to @Jefromi's comment. I'd drink it. There is no way in hell that I'd serve it to my kids. – Jolenealaska Jul 10 '14 at 14:59
  • I don't think there will be a problem. A) people get food poisoning more than they think, B) people don't get food poisoning as often as they fear, and C) that which doesn't kill you... I agree with @Jolenealaska that serving it to others may be a bit iffy, but I would drink it. Worse case, I die in horrible agony and don't have to worry about Student Loans anymore. – JSM Jul 10 '14 at 17:19
  • OMG You didn't just say that. They will *totally* find you now. – Jolenealaska Jul 10 '14 at 17:44
  • Not running about in a screaming frenzy over 3 day old juice rates a downvote nowdays? I'd drink it, so would many others, history is on our side. If people hadn't ever left grape juice unrefrigerated the world would not know what wine is, and civilization would have never gone beyond hunter-gatherer stage. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 10 '14 at 17:54
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I'm not doctor, but my understanding is that apple juice is to acidic for bacteria to live in, however, yeast will ferment the sugar in the apple juice and result in my warm glass of angry orchard

Michael Beasley
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