glass or plastic?

Jawbreaker · 11-25-2009, 08:05 AM

greetings, i have just finished my first ever batch of home brew, it is a cider. now im wanting to bottle it but have no idea what needs to happen. do i;

siphon from one bucket to another
siphon to fill bottles (how high should i fill?)
should i clean the bottles even if i bought them brand new?
can i use plastic 2 liter bottles or any cheap alternative?
how much corn sugar should i put in? and does it go in the bottle beofore, if so shoud i boil it in?
how long should i let it sit?
should i leave the bottles outside or inside or in fridge?

im sorry for the novice questions, im just lookin for a hobby and the seems great.

AMadsen · 11-25-2009, 08:56 AM

hey there... okay - i am all new to this here too but maybe i can help you out a bit until some pros start answering you =)
should you clean brand new bottles? i'd say yes, but that is just a personal view of mine... i mean, i am a chemist... i'd even clean my brand new equipment before using it.
you can use plastic bottles anytime but i'd always recommend glass since its a pain to clean plastic bottles - you'll never get rid of the smell, some even say that plastic bottles kind of falsify the taste of your brew as over a longer time the plastic reacts with the liquid inside.
how much corn sugar? well: add 1.5 pounds per gallon, that's what i would do...
when to add it... well... what kind of cider were you making?
as far as for the bottles i would leave them in the fridge.
man... i hope i could help you a little bit and that you will get many more posts to help you out even more =)

**Jaybird** · 11-25-2009, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMadsen

how much corn sugar? well: add 1.5 pounds per gallon, that's what i would do...

If you add 1.5 pounds of sugar at bottling time your gonna be very sorry.
you'll want 1 oz of corn sugar per gallon, siphon to the bottling bucket and use a bottling wand. You'll ed up w/ the proper amount of head space in the bottle. Clean and sanitize everything, even if its new.
Good luck
Jay

AMadsen · 11-25-2009, 05:44 PM

Oh man... so sorry, I meant oz!! Sorry for that mistake!

wyzazz · 11-25-2009, 06:38 PM

wyzazz says in his most Revvy-Like voice, "Read this and you'll be fine." Although I'm sure Revvy would have said it much more eloquently.