Posted: 9/26/2023 5:45:51 PM EDT
| Going to try my hand at bottle conditioning my cider. Got my measurements sorted out (1.5 tablespoons of white sugar per gallon) and will place the bottles in a "bomb shelter" for two weeks. I'll transfer the cider to a pitcher this weekend, mix sugar, and bottle in swing tops. Anyone have recommendations? |
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Let us know how it goes... When I bottle conditioned, I was never able to really get the carbonation consistent from one bottle to the next using the batch priming method. I don't know about cider, but with beer, you don't want to stir much due to oxygen exposure concerns, and you're already compromised using the bottling bucket here anyway. Shortly before I went to kegging, I started using the "fizz drops", sold under a number of brands; they are sugar tablets that are a consistent dose in each tab, and depending on your target CO2 volumes, you drop X number of tabs in each bottle. This gives consistent carbonation, and you should also be able to bottle straight from the fermenter and skip the oxygenating bottling bucket step. The tabs are a little more expensive than batch priming for sure, but in my opinion, worth it... ymmv. |
| Bottle conditioning is a micro fermentation. Keep your bottles at ideal ferm temps for the duration, then cool them off. Also, make sure you prime with enough of the right kind of sugar. Ciders are not robust fermenters so you need to hit your numbers and temps pretty close. |
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Originally Posted By JacobusRex: I basically didn't get any carbonation. Luckily the cider is good anyway. What yeast, what OG, what FG (at bottling time?) I give mine a solid 3 weeks in the bottle to carbonate after sugar priming. |
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: What yeast, what OG, what FG (at bottling time?) I give mine a solid 3 weeks in the bottle to carbonate after sugar priming. D47 is the yeast. 1.046 and 1.000 on the gravity. I'm about 4 or 5 weeks out now and it does appear to be picking up a little carbonation at this point. |
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EE: 100% (42)
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Looking at a priming sugar calculator, 2 tbsp/gallon seems about right. You didn't do anything to drop or kill the yeast right? Some people add fresh yeast to bottle condition; I never saw the point and never had lack of fermentation as a reason to not like bottle conditioning, but again I'm speaking entirely from beer experience. But it should be similar. Also, your bottles are truly sealed and stored at room temp during the conditioning period? |