Newstead Brewing Co has withdrawn and recalled all current 375ml cans of its Johnno Apple Cider, effective immediately, due to fears of refermentation.
The affected products have a Best Before Date of 09/07/19, 03/08/19 and 24/9/19 and Newstead said that it has made all its wholesale customers aware of the recall, adding that any consumers who have the affected product should return it to their place of purchase for a full refund.
In a statement about the recall, CEO Dr Mark Howes said: “Newstead Brewing Co has long been proud of its dedication to freshness and quality. Our 100% apple cider is sweetened with fresh apple juice following fermentation. This important sugar source provides a prime environment for refermentation.
“Newstead Brewing Co re-affirms its commitment to non-sterile filtration, which removes flavour. The risk, of course, is that the brewing yeast will ferment the new sugars. To combat this, we use Potassium Metabisulphite, a common yeast growth inhibitor. This has provided stability for the last six months of cider production without refermentation. This time, we got the load wrong.
“From today onward, all production of Johnno Apple Cider will be flash pasteurised to ensure safety and stability. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and satisfaction of our customers. Newstead Brewing Co unreservedly apologises for this oversight. We are a young company, learning as we go and we look forward to fixing this problem swiftly and getting Johnno back into cans for home consumption.
“We already have a solution in place, which has been implemented. We have effectively doubled-down on our search for stability. To our knowledge, Johnno Apple Cider is the first Queensland canned cider. It is a great product, using 100 per cent Queensland apples and we cannot wait to have it back on shelves.”
Any customers or consumers with any concerns or questions about the recall can contact Newstead Brewing at cheers@newsteadbrewing.com.au.