Bulk aged hard cider - how to carbonate?

So, last Oktober I made 25l x 3 of hard cider with some variation in yeast etc. per batch. Primary for 1-2 months, and then secondary in whine-baloons in a dark chilled room 'till this date. I would like some Sparkling and some still, and I'm in need of advice.

I guess that all the yeast is pretty much died out by now after a full year - is this so, or can I just add 6g pr liter for carbonation without adding more fresh yeast and let time pass? If I add fresh yeast for carbonation, how is the best way to proceed?

It is likely that the yeast is now incapacitated permanently, but there is always the chance of some survivors. Either way, at this point it would be a good idea to add some champagne yeast and your measured amount of sugar to prime the bottles. For each 25L I'd say half a packet or rehydrated yeast into the bottling container will do the trick. Just make sure it is mixed thoroughly and bottle quickly before it has a chance to settle.

porterpounder said:

It is likely that the yeast is now incapacitated permanently, but there is always the chance of some survivors. Either way, at this point it would be a good idea to add some champagne yeast and your measured amount of sugar to prime the bottles. For each 25L I'd say half a packet or rehydrated yeast into the bottling container will do the trick. Just make sure it is mixed thoroughly and bottle quickly before it has a chance to settle.

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Do you think that I should use the same yeast as I did in the primary, or just use champagne yeast regardless? Thanks for the Quick reply

Ec-1118.

Eilertso said:

Do you think that I should use the same yeast as I did in the primary, or just use champagne yeast regardless? Thanks for the Quick reply

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If the ABV isn't higher than the yeasts tolerance, I'd use the same strain you did in primary. I've bulk aged cider & graff for a year, never added more yeast & they carbed up just fine. What strain did you use?
Regards, GF.

If it's fermented out all the way, any strain will do. Dry champagne/wine is cheaper than a new liquid pitch and easier to measure.

gratus fermentatio said:

If the ABV isn't higher than the yeasts tolerance, I'd use the same strain you did in primary. I've bulk aged cider & graff for a year, never added more yeast & they carbed up just fine. What strain did you use?
Regards, GF.

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Thanks for all the replies, boys.
One 25L with Wyeast English Ale yeast, one with Edinburgh Ale yeast, and one with Safflager 04 dry yeast. If that's your experience, I'm tempted to bottle with no added yeast. hmm...

As a first time cider maker, I have one more if anyone is still in this thread:

Any thoughts on carbonating with sugar versus apple juice..?

Eilertso said:

Thanks for all the replies, boys.
One 25L with Wyeast English Ale yeast, one with Edinburgh Ale yeast, and one with Safflager 04 dry yeast. If that's your experience, I'm tempted to bottle with no added yeast. hmm...

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I haven't used the 1st 2 strains, but 1 of the graffs I aged for a year used S-04 yeast. Didn't need to add any additional yeast, carbed up just fine. If you're really concerned, then be sure to get a wee bit of slurry when you rack to your bottling bucket. You only need about a teaspoons worth, just nudge the slurry (sediment) with your racking cane/auto-siphon once & you should be good to go. Don't get too much or you'll have more sediment in your bottles.

As to your question of priming with juice, it's been done. Not sure exactly where, but there is a thread here somewhere that discusses it. They also discuss priming with juice concentrate. Seems like it was the "Man I Love Apfelwein" thread, but that's a HUGE thread. You should be able to find the info you're wanting using the search function though.
Regards, GF.

I have primed using apple juice concentrate. I believe I used 1 can of concentrate for 3 gallons of cider. It carbed up just fine in about 10 days time. I plan on doing that again with the current batch but may add a little more concentrate this time and pasteurize when the carb level is right to retain a little more sweetness.

Sugar is going to be easier to measure than juice. The amount needed to carbonate won't usually change the flavor enough to worry.

Thank you for all your kind advice - this is most helpfull!

Eilertso said:

As a first time cider maker, I have one more if anyone is still in this thread:

Any thoughts on carbonating with sugar versus apple juice..?

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Ive noticed in many of my ciders the fermented flavor overpowered the apple flavor , I could taste apple but it was in the background instead of the foreground , more apple wine than hard cider. My last batch of cider I used concentrated apple juice for carbonation and it seemed to help bring back the apple in the finished product. Results may vary probably but Im glad I read about using the apple juice , I will carbonate that way from now on.

ohiochris, you don't mention how long you aged your hard cider after bottling. In my experience, I made some high proof hard cider once that took over a year to get the apple flavor back. The person to contact is Yooper, she has been making hard cider/apfelwine for years, and she would be my go to person, without even a blink.

MindenMan said:

ohiochris, you don't mention how long you aged your hard cider after bottling. In my experience, I made some high proof hard cider once that took over a year to get the apple flavor back. The person to contact is Yooper, she has been making hard cider/apfelwine for years, and she would be my go to person, without even a blink.

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I have never aged cider yet. Unfortunately it never lasts long around here. If it tastes good its gone in a month or two.

If you're concerned about yeast viability you could always toss a little bit of sugar or juice into your secondary and see if it starts bubbling up in a few days.

If you are making 5 or so gallon sized batches, you wouldn't really miss a couple of bottles, would you? Your patience will be greatly rewarded if you can wait 3 or more months before drinking. Oh, wait a minute, maybe that is a bad idea after all.
Aging cider requires the production of even more cider, that way you will have something to drink while you wait for the cider you just made to age, so you can drink the cider you just made after it ages. Got it? If you have never made applejack, you are really missing something spectacular in my opinion, and aged applejack is really amazing. The only downside to making a/j is, 1 gallon of 1.045 cider only makes one 12oz bottle of high ABV hard cider. Just my $0.02

MindenMan said:

If you are making 5 or so gallon sized batches, you wouldn't really miss a couple of bottles, would you? Your patience will be greatly rewarded if you can wait 3 or more months before drinking. Oh, wait a minute, maybe that is a bad idea after all.
Aging cider requires the production of even more cider, that way you will have something to drink while you wait for the cider you just made to age, so you can drink the cider you just made after it ages. Got it? If you have never made applejack, you are really missing something spectacular in my opinion, and aged applejack is really amazing. The only downside to making a/j is, 1 gallon of 1.045 cider only makes one 12oz bottle of high ABV hard cider. Just my $0.02

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I hope to get to that point , but just now getting to where I feel I have better control over the process and can turn out good drinkable cider routinely , without worrying about something going wrong , .....the first thing I need to do is invest in more bottles....so I can have more than one batch in bottles at once. I have a ton of 12 oz bottles but got tired of capping so many so Im working on my collection of larger ones now that I use exclusively.

I used to bottle carb my cider but never got the carbonation I was looking for! Now I keg it at 12 psi and what I don't drink after about a month I transfer to bottles! Every bottle is perfectly carbed!

christpuncher123 said:

I used to bottle carb my cider but never got the carbonation I was looking for! Now I keg it at 12 psi and what I don't drink after about a month I transfer to bottles! Every bottle is perfectly carbed!

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How do you fill the bottles without losing the carbonation?


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Chill the bottles, I stick a piece of clear tubing inside a picnic tap (I cut a 12" piece off an old racking cane). Turn off the gas, vent the keg, and then turn the gas on just enough that the cider or beer starts to fill! I fill about ten bottles and cap immediately! Works like a champ!

I do the plastic tube in the picnic tap route as well with chilled bottles. My problem is that the carbonation starts to foam as soon as I put it into the bottles, I can usually fill a bottle about half way before the foam over flows. Then I wait for foam to subside and then add some more cider. It becomes a very long process and I end up losing a LOT of carbonation.

How do you keep the carbonation in the cider and not turning to foam when you bottle?

- C. Thomas

check out the biermuncher's bottle filler, you'll need a number 2 stopper.

cthomas said:

I do the plastic tube in the picnic tap route as well with chilled bottles. My problem is that the carbonation starts to foam as soon as I put it into the bottles, I can usually fill a bottle about half way before the foam over flows. Then I wait for foam to subside and then add some more cider. It becomes a very long process and I end up losing a LOT of carbonation.

How do you keep the carbonation in the cider and not turning to foam when you bottle?

- C. Thomas

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I think you are either too carbonated or the gas pressure is too high! It takes about 20-30 seconds for me to fill a quart bottle. I raise the tube off the bottom and pull upwards in one slow motion.

Depending on your available funds, you can purchase the Blichmann Beer Gun.
Easy to use and you'll get perfect results every time.