Is it necessary to pasteurize or cool?

If you prime with dextrose (recommended amount), is it necessary to pasteurize the bottles after a few days or put them in a fridge?
Or can you just leave them in the bottle?
I’m going to end up with around 40 old Hacker-Pschorr bottles so there’s no space in the fridge.

The problem with cider is that you can never be totally sure it’s done fermenting. So you never know what your FG is. So there is always a higher risk of bottle bombs with priming of cider. One of the batches I made this fall was a recipe posted by Jim R Maine. After fermentation activity has stopped, add 3 cans of frozen apple juice concentrate and then bottle with one of the bottles being a plastic soda bottle. When the soda bottle is firm, pasteurize in a 170 degree F bath for 20 to 30 minutes. It’s the best cider I’ve made so far. Everybody loved it. I don’t have any left! If you want sparkling cider, pasteurization would reduce the risk of a dangerous situation.

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Thanks for the kind words brewdvm! Was it the Gunslinger Graf? My batch from this year turned out real well too.
One minor nitpick- with 3 cans of FAJC, if one were to let it go to completion, it would definitely create bottle bombs. So, definitely would need to be pasteurized before reaching full carbonation. But that’s the point with pasteurization, right? Retain some residual sweetness and flavor without overcarbonating.

It wasn’t the Graf, just straight cider, but I’m thinking of making the Graf next fall. My apple trees are on a 2 year cycle. On the good years, I make cider. On the bad years, I make apple ale. I hope to get enough next fall to make a batch of that Graf. That does sound delicious!

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