Bottle Carb Question

[woozl]

Last year I racked into secondary to condition.
All cleared in two months. I primed and bottled
two batches, all came out nice. Two batches sat
for two more months, primed bottled and no carb.
Totally still. Should I add a bit of yeast a couple of days
before I bottle? And if so how much? I plan on a
two month condition, so I should be ok, but want
it to sparkle. BTW I am making dry cider, so
bottle bombs should not be a problem.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

You mention that you primed it, then you mention that you are making dry cider, if you are trying to carbonate it, it will be a sparkling cider, that said, some brewers add 1 gram of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast per 5 gallons of beer when priming their lagers, added to the bottling bucket and stirred in well like you would with the priming sugar, due to the possibility of the yeast being dead after months of lagering.
I've done this and it resulted in a very nice carbonated beer and not one bottle bomb, even after a month, it can't hurt, but I wouldn't add more than 1 gram per 5 or 6 gallon batch.

 

[woozl]

Thanks sounds good. Yes I am going for a dry sparkler, I got this with the first
batch. The 4 mo. batch never carbed. I will try a touch of yeast prior to priming.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Cool! keep us posted!

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

The term, "Dry Cider", typically refers to very low to zero residual sugar remaining after fermentation. (a low final gravity) "Dry Cider" can be "Still" or "Carbonated/Sparkling".

"Still Cider" typically means cider with no carbonation and could be either "Sweet" or "Dry".

Now that I've made it confusing...priming will definitely get you a sparkling cider

I agree with Pumpkin, a gram of 1118 or similar dry wine yeast should do the trick for you.

 

[woozl]

Yes I make a dry sparkler. The ones that sat 4 months never carbed.
Should I add yeast when I bottle? Or add it several days before,
and or proof the yeast? The ciders are 1.000 or less, so bombs
should not be a concern.
thanx for the input

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

I've never had problems with enough yeast remaining to carb bottles, so I'm winging it a little with my suggestion.

Since there is no residual sugar in the cider, adding the yeast a few days before bottling won't make a difference. They won't have anything to eat until you prime it. You definitely want to make sure it gets incorporated well into the bottling bucket so I would probably suggest proofing it with your priming solution (cooled down to a temp that won't shock or kill them of course). You are correct, as long as you have primed for the appropriate carb volumes, bombs won't be an issue at all. Let us know how it worked out and your methods.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Add it to the bottling bucket, I usually add the cooled priming sugar solution, add the gram of yeast, rack the beer or cider on top of it and stir. Then I bottle. Usually within 3 or 4 days you have a nice level of carbonation.