Bottling my Cider

[avsfan2020]

I know there is some information on this already out there but i a super nervous about bottling my cider cuz I DO NOT want to make bottle bombs. I am going to basically give all the info on my situation and would appreciate any feedback.

I have two batches of one gallon each. Both batches were made with organic apple juice and mulling spices and 1 cup of brown sugar. I used champagne yeast in Batch A, and it had an original SG of 1.068. As of today the SG is 0.998. It has stayed at this level for the past two weeks. Batch B contained wine yeast and started with an SG of 1.070 and has stayed at 1.016 for the past two weeks.

My plan is bottle half of each without carbonating and the remaining half I would like to carbonate. How much sugar should I use to carbonate a half gallon of cider? I will be using normal white cane sugar. Also, would it be best to pour the sugar into the gallon jugs swirl and let sit for awhile then bottle or place the sugar in the bottles then fill with cider. This is my first time so I am looking for all the guidance I can. Thanks.

 

[manticle]

I know there is some information on this already out there but i a super nervous about bottling my cider cuz I DO NOT want to make bottle bombs. I am going to basically give all the info on my situation and would appreciate any feedback.

I have two batches of one gallon each. Both batches were made with organic apple juice and mulling spices and 1 cup of brown sugar. I used champagne yeast in Batch A, and it had an original SG of 1.068. As of today the SG is 0.998. It has stayed at this level for the past two weeks. Batch B contained wine yeast and started with an SG of 1.070 and has stayed at 1.016 for the past two weeks.

My plan is bottle half of each without carbonating and the remaining half I would like to carbonate. How much sugar should I use to carbonate a half gallon of cider? I will be using normal white cane sugar. Also, would it be best to pour the sugar into the gallon jugs swirl and let sit for awhile then bottle or place the sugar in the bottles then fill with cider. This is my first time so I am looking for all the guidance I can. Thanks.

I would suggest batch A is finished and is fine to carbonate. How much sugar is up to how fizzy you like it. try a carbonation calculator like this one: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html

or this one: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html (first actually has cider and perry in the drop down menus).

The second I would say has a stuck fermentation as wine yeast will normally drop to 1000 or lower. Search for the different ways of rousing and see if you can get it going again.

If you are going to bottle and carbonate exactly half then carbonate the finished half and leave the unfinished sweeter one not carbed. It may carb naturally in the bottle. Check them regularly and when they are fizzed as much as you want, keep them in the fridge - or keep them outside and wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap. This will contain any potential mess.

Does batch B taste considerably sweeter than batch A?

 

[avsfan2020]

I went ahead and bottled it all today. I used a tbs of sugar in each half gallon. Based on other measurements that seemed like the correct ratio. Sucks about the wine yeast possibly being stalled out. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it now. Everything is all bottled up. This is my first try so I guess i am bound to make a few mistakes. Thanks for the info. I will keep all of it in mind when I do another batch. Yes, Batch B does taste quite a bit sweeter than A.

 

[manticle]

Go with the plastic wrap trick for all the bottles in Batch B. It will contain any mess and be less dangerous. If bottles do start popping, carefully put them all in the fridge and start drinking them.

You need a good few layers of wrap but it will give you peace of mind.