That's it. my LHBS is off limits...

I'm about to ruin a batch of cider.

I made a batch of cider and wanted to bottle them as a champagne/sparking cider.

stopped at the local store, run by a bunch of home brewers, and if they're selling beer AND wine making equipment, I figure they OUGHT to know what they're doing!

wrong.

I asked the guy, "what do I need" and he gave me 2 cases of 750ml bottles marked simply as "12-750ml 9WL" some plastic caps and wires to hold them in. figured I was good to go.

I just bottled 5 bottles, with the rest in the bottling bucket, priming sugar added, and these plastic caps fit VERY loose. figured maybe the wires would hold them tight. wrong.

put the wire on, twist it down tight, and I can still pull up on the cap with relative ease, and watch it move up and down 1/4" or so in the bottle.

great.

now what? am I doing something wrong? they didn't have any other caps, and I don't think corks will work, nor do I want to go buy corks and a corker. I'm going to have to go get some more beer bottles ASAP if I can't get these plastic things to seal.

not only are their prices a bit high, which I've been willing to pay because it saves me shipping, gets me stuff in hand the day of, and supports the local guys, but when I asked about a grain bulk order, he said "yea, we could take off like, $.20 per pound if you order a whole sack" when the online guys are about half price for a whole sack...and they gave me bad advice when I tried my first all-grain, and I had to do all my own online research...

I think I'm done shopping there.

Most of us ignore the advice of our LHBS employees...

Maybe you have some 2-liter bottles or something like that laying around. I have used standard 20 oz. Coke bottles in a pinch before and everything turned out fine.

Sounds like you got wine bottles, not champagne bottles. If not, Champagne bottles will take a beer cap in an emergency. It's not pretty but it seals.

That's probably it... There's no crown for a cap on these bottles.

How many hours do I have in the bottling bucket to get things sealed up? Its covered and everything was sanitized, but I don't want my priming sugar to be consumed and all that CO2 vented off and get flat apple wine in a year. I also dot want to add more sugar and risk bombs

IffyG said:

Most of us ignore the advice of our LHBS employees...

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That's what I would do if I knew better, but I've only been doing this for 9 months and have a LOT to learn. This is my first attempt at using something other than beer bottles.

It's frustrating when someone proclaims to be an expert, only to end up causing more harm than good, why is it so hard to simply state, "sorry dude, I have no idea" ??!

If you can't figure the bottles out, I'd probably just leave the rest in the bottling bucket, throw a lid and airlock on it, and give it time for the yeast to eat the priming sugar completely. And then go ahead and add more priming sugar later and bottle as normal. At least that's what I'd do.

Qhrumphf said:

If you can't figure the bottles out, I'd probably just leave the rest in the bottling bucket, throw a lid and airlock on it, and give it time for the yeast to eat the priming sugar completely. And then go ahead and add more priming sugar later and bottle as normal. At least that's what I'd do.

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Wut he said. Then I'd go in and give the LHBS a piece of my mind.

mcarb said:

Wut he said. Then I'd go in and give the LHBS a piece of my mind.

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At the very least, I would get my money back for the bottles and caps.

Got pics?

Too bad. In Southern Oregon we've got an awesome LHBS with an owner that knows what he's doing. I prefer to pay his slightly higher prices rather than shop online. Definitely get your money back on the stuff you didn't use.

Plastic corks suck. Can't emphasize that enough. You'll be fine if you dose the bottles with a bit more priming sure (A BIT) and recork with real corks and cages.

well, I guess not all is lost. I called them up and while they don't have any Champagne bottles in the store, they will have them by Thursday, and will trade me these wine bottles for the champagne bottles. seems that the co-owner who KNOWS what he's doing was there when I called, and they just happened to be putting an order together now. the guy I delt with earlier today is who answered the phone and said "hold on, let me check...I'll have to call you back"

and 10 minutes later he called back said they'd have them in by Thursday, and he ended the call with "sorry about that...learned something new today"

so...back into the fermenter the cider went, and it'll sit there till we get back from vacation (we leave Friday for a week...that ought to be enough to let the priming sugar ferment out and allow me to re-prime later)

Pic 1...

Pic 2...

very cool...the iphone app for the forum lets me upload pics straight from the phone! I don't have to take a pic, email it to myself or sync the phone to the computer, then do my post and attach it on the computer! too bad the other forums I'm on don't have an iPhone app too!

That's why the corks were too small. Champagne bottles have slightly smaller openings.

They sold you regular wine bottles. It was good faith for them to do the exchange. I'd keep buying from them but always go in knowing what you need. Ask us instead!

Better yet, convince the LHBS to join HBT!

I'd seal the bucket then go online and rush ship an order of bottles - I like flip tops, but any kind will work.
I think that I'd take a chance on making a rough assumption about how long carbonation would have taken - say 7 days, or maybe ten - than I'd replace what has been eaten. If it sits in the bucket for 2 days assume 20% of the sugar is gone and replace it. With good bottles you should have enough leeway to do it safely.
Alternatively, as someone wrote above, seal the bucket and give a week or ten days for the yeast to eat the sugar, then start over. I think you'll be okay either way.

DMartin said:

That's why the corks were too small. Champagne bottles have slightly smaller openings.

They sold you regular wine bottles. It was good faith for them to do the exchange. I'd keep buying from them but always go in knowing what you need. Ask us instead!

Better yet, convince the LHBS to join HBT!

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yea, they earned back a little business/trust when the guy on the phone said 'oh yea!!' when I told him I was in earlier and bought 2 cases of bottles. in fact, I didn't even really get into the problem yet, I just said "I was in there earlier today and bought 2 cases of bottles" and he remembered exactly who I was...and then he admitted his mistake, said "I learned something new today" and then said they'd take them back, and get me what I needed.

Its a good thing the corks didn't fit... those would have exploded.

^^^ yep