Bottle cider in 2-liters?

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.

apocalikik

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2012
Messages
23
Reaction score
1
I have some ciders fermenting in their original apple juice containers (3 qt container) I was wondering if I could cold crash them and then pour it off into a few 2 liter soda bottle for storage. I figured this would hold the pressure for carbonation. Are there any problems in doing this?
 
It will hold pressure and I've bottled beer like this once before for a camping trip. The main things to avoid would be any light at all since the bottles provide no protection. Also, one of my beers tasted/smelled just a tiny bit like rootbeer. Plastic holds onto some of those tastes/smells more than glass so I'd use tonic or club soda next time. Also, it looks kind of crappy. Other than that, I think it's a go.
 
Ok thanks for the reply. I'm new to this So I'm wondering, what damage can light do to cider? I'm using bottles from cream soda, so if some of the flavor does seep in a bit I probably won't mind haha. Vanilla cider? Sure I'm in!
 
I should have prefaced my remarks with the fact that I've never made cider before. I brew beer and make wine but I'm assuming that light is bad for cider as well. It basically makes it go bad and can get kind of skunky. That's one reason why beer bottles are brown. Sorry for the lack of expert advice.
 
Ah ok I see. I wasn't sure about wine or cider because I know wine bottles are generally clear but yes I see what you mean about beer bottles...except for Newcastle strangely.
 
The reason it goes skunky is mainly from the hop oils being messed with by the sunlight. I have heard it said (never tried myself as I have lots of brown bottles) that unless you hop your cider they should be fine in a clear bottle. No experience in long term storage with clear vessels though.

Why do you feel the need to not store it in the bottles it's currently fermenting in? Other than to rack (clear the liquid of the lees (unsuspended yeast / other particles)) what is your purpose in doing so? I'd keep it in the original bottle.
 
That's basically the reason. I don't want it settin in there with all the dead yeast, I hear this can produce off flavors.
 
Also don't pour the cider into the new bottle, rack it with some tubing or you could oxidize it or worse make vinegar
 
I was planning on putting the new bottle directly into the fridge to cold crash, would oxidization or vinegar still be a concern in a cold environment if I pour it? Just don't know where to get tubing that's food safe around here, maybe lowes or Home Depot if I really need it. What do you think?
 
If you r drinking it right away it's prob not a problem, if you are going to age for a while id rack it. I hear you need tons of aeration to make vinegar so it's probably a long shot anyways, u r probably good
 
Cool thanks. If I'm planning on drinking it within a month would it be beneficial to transfer it to another bottle or is the bottle I'm making it in sufficient enough? I'm planning on back sweetening it but I don't want fermentation to start back up I hope if I store it in the fridge the yeast should go dormant and not consume all my sugar, however I am using champagne yeast and I hear they are awfully resilient to temperatures. Any thoughts?
 
Cool thanks. If I'm planning on drinking it within a month would it be beneficial to transfer it to another bottle or is the bottle I'm making it in sufficient enough? I'm planning on back sweetening it but I don't want fermentation to start back up I hope if I store it in the fridge the yeast should go dormant and not consume all my sugar, however I am using champagne yeast and I hear they are awfully resilient to temperatures. Any thoughts?

The bottles might blow up, if you don't stabilize the finished cider with sorbate and campden.

It's important to get the cider off of the lees before stabilizing, as sorbate only inhibits yeast reproduction to stop fermention from recurring. You need to have the cider clear (so there is less yeast), and with no lees dropping any more, before stabilizing and bottling. The fridge might slow it down, but it might not, so I'd be sure to do that.

You do need some tubing for transferring the cider. I got mine from Ace Hardware, so you probably could find what you need at Lowe's.

Light will ruin cider. It doesn't "skunk" but it does get lightstruck if left out where light can hit it. Covering it, or keeping it in a dark place, is all that is needed to protect it in clear bottles.
 
Ah great, everything I didn't want to hear haha thanks for the help though. Definitely appreciated it. Looks like I'm heading to ace and somewhere else in hopes of finding some sorbate.
 
Back
Top