Carbonation. How to.

Good morning.
I am curious on how you get carbonation naturally. I have two 1 gallon batches going of store bought cider and one gallon from a cider mill as well. All three are a week in of secondary racking and I am looking to bottle within a week or two. I am just curious as to what my options are. I am pretty new to all of this and looking for whatever help I can get. Thank you

Can't say without more info (yeast, FG) but I can tell you the really easy method that I use. I use redstar champagne yeast and lactose (for a little unfermentable sweetness). When bottling, I just toss in a single sugar cube (yeah, the kind your grandparents used in tea) in each 12oz bottle and it yields perfect carbonation. Perfect, easy cider.

I used qa23 for the yeast. I cup of white sugar.

I really like dry ciders. My friend seriously makes the best cider that is not very sweet at all and I love it.

That yeast is very alcohol tolerant.
I would just do the same thing I do - add a single sugar cube per 12oz bottle at bottling. The yeast will eat it right up and you will have carbonated (but completely dry) cider after a few weeks in the bottle. Of course, there will be dregs but oh well.

I don't mind the sediment. Any advice on how to avoid sediment in the future? Thank you btw

Did you mean that you added 1 pound of table sugar per gallon?
That's going to be very strong cider - I would guess around 9-10%abv. It should still referment in the bottle though. I'm not sure how to avoid sediment... Hopefully someone with more experience than me can chime in...

One cup sorry! I pound would be nutty. I read through a lot of recipes before I actually brewed anything. My friend is good at what he is doing but pretty tight lipped about his process.

So with 1 cup added you should have a SG of around 1.068 or so. Should be pretty nice. If you wanted a little more tartness, 1/8 to 1/4oz of lactic acid per gallon before bottling would be a nice addition, but not necessary. Also any thoughts about cinnamon?

I will try that. I will add some to half of a batch and see how that works. Thanks for the lactose suggestion as well. I like dry but not crazy dry cider.

Cheers and good luck!

Just started a Brett cider experiment myself...

Fantastic. There is a cider recipe on here that has Blackberrys that is going to be my first 5 gallon batch. Can't wait!

I've seen a few people on these forums say that they back-sweeten the batch before bottling but with an amount of sugar that is way too much for the bottle to handle if it were competely consumed by the yeasy and then they pasteurize the bottles when they get the level of carbonation they are looking for.

With this method pasteurization is a must because otherwise you end up making "bottle bombs."

Yes I have read up on that too. I plan on doing on my stove or dishwasher. How soon should I pasteurize after bottling ?

shaunramseygriffin said:

Yes I have read up on that too. I plan on doing on my stove or dishwasher. How soon should I pasteurize after bottling ?

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You will have to continue to check bottles to see how carbonation is coming along. When one hits your ideal level of carbing, pasteurize to stop the process.

Thank you

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule on it. One person, whose recommendation I'm going to follow the next time I make cider, said to open a bottle after about 3 days and another bottle every other day until you have the desired level of carbonation and then you pasteurize.

I worry that I won't know the right time to pull and I'll end up with busted bottles, but brewing is never a risk-free endeavor.

Fantastic. Thank you

So I have a question. I about 2 weeks in primary and a little less in secondary and then bottled last Friday. I put one sugar cube in each bottle and then capped. 4 days later I pooped one open to see how the carbonation was going and it's still completely flat. I am wondering what I did wrong. Any ideas?

Did you put in a straight up regular sugar cube, like you'd put in tea, or something else that you're just calling a sugar cube? Either way, 4 days isn't enough time - leave it 2 weeks minimum, 3 would be better.

Nope. Straight up sugar cube. Thanks for the advice. I'll check back on them in a couple weeks to make sure they don't blow up haha!

If you just dropped in a straight cube of sucrose, get ready for a ride. The yeast can consume it but the process is so variable that you might be checking in a month wondering if it has been enough time while being worried the whole time if you're gonna blow up your bottles.

Yeeeaaahhh... typically corn sugar is used after it has been heated with water into a simple syrup. Next go around, skip the 'one lump or two' and go with a measured amount of corn sugar in your bottling bucket. Still wait the 2-3 weeks before opening, but it should be far more controlable and consistent.

There are a number of brewers who swear by the simplicity of sugar cubes, as a cheap alternative To carb drops. As long as your sugar cubes all weigh the same and thy weigh the right amount there's no technical reason you shouldn't use them. Giveyourself at least 3 weeks for carbing, the a day or two in the fridge. If you're not stovetop pasteurizing there's no hurry or worry as long as you calculated the necessary amount of sugar correctly



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Though mixing with boiling liquid i
Almost required for bulk priming. And the heat dissolves your sugar and allows you to mix it evenly and will also sanitize your priming solution if you're worried that your sugar May habit nasties. I prime with apple juice concentrAte because I bulk prime and don't want to deal with boiling water for my prong solution


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shaunramseygriffin said:

Yes I have read up on that too. I plan on doing on my stove or dishwasher. How soon should I pasteurize after bottling ?

Click to expand...

For one bottle, use a plastic soda bottle. When it is hard as a rock, the carbonation is done. Pasteurize that day. THAT DAY. Put the plastic bottle in the fridge for a day and drink it within a week or so. The cold will slow the yeast but might not stop it.

Ok, given that you're pasteurizing you will have to monitor your bottles for carbonation much earlier than 3 weeks and you will have to monitor more frequently the closer you get to your desired level


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I always recommend using at least one PET bottle (used soda bottle) but two is better. The soda bottles are your gauges to carbonation. Go to the store and buy a soda bottle the same size as your testers. Bottle one- first tester, bottle two- second tester, bottle three- unopened. By having a soda bottle that is unopened, you can somewhat feel how hard the tester bottles need to be. You can crack a tester bottle open, but because the CO2 has not been absorbed by the cider, it will look like a gusher, and you will want to rush to pasteurize. DON"T! Bottle carbing when pasteurizing isn't an exact science, but after two or three batches you will know what to expect. I wish you good luck, and if you need any extra help, PM me.

Great advice everyone. I know what to do next time for sure. End of a week and a half and still no carbonation. Totally flat. Wonder what I did wrong?

Could your yeast be dead? Are you sure you added sugar?

Yes sir. In the initial mix and a sugar cube per bottle

How could I have killed my yeast ?

I don't know. Try adding another cube or 2 and recapping?

The temp hasn't gone below 60. I can add another cube and see. how does adding sugar create carbonation. I don't really understand.

When you ferment things, the yeast eats the sugar. You add a little sugar and then bottle. The yeast eats the sugar, producing CO2. Since it is contained, the liquid absorbs the gas, and that's what carbonation is.

Alcohol can kill yeast. What was your starting gravity again?

Ah. With cider and a cup of sugar, you might have gotten more alcohol than the yeast could tolerate.

Should I not add any sugar to the primary ? I also used a tolerant champagne yeast

Qa23 btw.

So if I used cider from an orchard and not apple juice then I shouldn't add any more sugar?

I don't know what that yeast is, but if it's champagne it should be fine with higher levels. It should also work at lower temps than some yeasts (ale).

Are you sure your caps are sealed? Are they new? I got some novelty caps, and they don't have a plastic liner, so not an airtight seal. I think they are meant for crafts, not real use.

Any chance your capper isn't crimping them all the way?

If the caps aren't sealed, the gas could escape?

Is there sediment in the bottom of the bottles? That would indicate that you got bottle fermentation, but the gas escaped. If there's no sediment, then it probably didn't ferment in the bottle. And that "refermentation" is what gives the carbonation.