Bottling Still Cider

[WildHomer]

I've read a bunch of different threads on this but am still somehow unclear -- I'm probably just dense. I have 4 gallons of cider I want to bottle. If I bottle in capped 12 and 22 oz beer bottles how long will the cider keep? Am I at risk of oxidation, since there will be a bit of headspace? Would bottling and corking in wine bottles also be an option? I know if I were to carbonate the cider wine bottles are a bad idea, but if I leave it still it should be fine, right? Ideally I'd like the bottles to keep for 6+ months, although I'm sure I'll drink some before that.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

It will be fine either way. Just store it out of direct light & in a place where the ambient temp isn't too hot or too cold; you don't want it exposed to 90* F nor do you want it to freeze. If you can maintain stable cellaring temps (55-60*F) great; if not, judt do the best you can. Your cider isn't going to go bad because you let the house get up to 70*F. The basement would be great, but a closet will do just fine. If you're really that concerned about oxidation, you can use oxygen absorbing crown caps, but ordinary crown caps are just fine. As long as you don't shake 'em up, oxidation shouldn't be an issue. I've bottled still wine in flip-tops several times, never had an issue.
Regards, GF.

 

[MarkKF]

If you don't kill all the yeast and bottle in wine bottles with corks there is still a chance a cork will push out over time. (Don't ask how I know). That's why I use sparkling water bottles with crown caps for my still cider. Just in case.


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[bernardsmith]

When you say a "bit of headspace" how much do you mean? You want to have a very small head room in every bottle to allow for the expansion of the liquids and gases when the ambient temperature and/or air pressure changes. Indeed, that is one of the huge advantages of using a wand bottle filler as the amount of displacement of the liquid by the wand is exactly the amount of head room you want and so when you remove the wand to fill the next bottle that head room is provided.

 

[WildHomer]

When you say a "bit of headspace" how much do you mean? You want to have a very small head room in every bottle to allow for the expansion of the liquids and gases when the ambient temperature and/or air pressure changes. Indeed, that is one of the huge advantages of using a wand bottle filler as the amount of displacement of the liquid by the wand is exactly the amount of head room you want and so when you remove the wand to fill the next bottle that head room is provided.

Bernardsmith, I will be using my bottling wand so ... yeah, the headspace that's left when I take the wand out is all I meant by the very imprecise " a bit." If this is the perfect amount, awesome! Based on the feedback here I'm just going to use regular bottles with standard caps. I'll avoid the wine bottles so I don't have a MarkKF experience. They'll be stored at about 60-62 degrees (I'm a poor graduate student so that's my fall/winter apartment temp), so there shouldn't be any problems with exposure to extreme temps. I'm sure by the time summer rolls around they will be all gone.

Thanks everyone!