First time cider batch coming up to a turn.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SegmentedMonkey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
59
Reaction score
0
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
So this is my first batch of cider, after multiple wines and meads. I more or less made up my own recipe consisting of 3 Gal Unfiltered Cider, and enough brown sugar to bring it up to a starting gravity of 1.051.

I added some yeast nutrient (3 tsp) some pectin enzyme (2tsp) and some vitamin C (1tsp), then pitched a packet of "Cooper's" ale yeast. It was very active and bubbled like mad since I pitched it around the beginning of January.

Now, nearly a month later, it's gotten down to 1.001, and is starting to coast to a stop on the bubbles.

I'm looking for suggestions at this point as to bottling options. I want to carb in bottle, so I guess I'm most curious about my options there. Should I let it go to full dryness, sitting in carbuoy for another few weeks to a month, then prime with dextrose or carb tabs and bottle, or is it ready to bottle at this point?

How much priming sugar should I be using for this? One teaspoon per 12oz bottle?

Its a little cloudy still, so I added a little more pectin enzyme, thinking it might be just a protein haze, so at the very least, i'll let that work its magic for a few days. Thanks for any feedback.
 
Should I let it go to full dryness, sitting in carbuoy for another few weeks to a month, then prime with dextrose or carb tabs and bottle, or is it ready to bottle at this point?

There ya go. Let it sit in the carboy at least until it is crystal clear, as in you can read a newspaper through it. When it is perfectly clear, prime just as you would beer, not sure per bottle, but 1 oz per gallon mixed before bottling should do it.
 
per bottle I use 1/2 tsp of cane sugar, which is a bit lower than some people like it, but I enjoy it. normal carb would be about 3/4 tsp.
 
Or 1 oz by weight (per gallon) of corn or cane sugar dissolved in a little boiling water. Let it cool thank put it in the bottling bucket and siphon the cider in and bottle.
 
1 oz for 3 gallons seems a little low. I've helped bottle beers before, and they usually take around 80 grams, or nearly 3 oz, for a batch this size. Is that just a personal taste thing, or is there a reason to carb ciders less than beers?

Edit: Unless you mean 1oz per gallon, which makes sense, and I didn't read back far enough.
 
Back
Top