Carbonate my cider

billyb56 · May 12, 2016

Getting close to bottling and would like to carbonate. I know I can rack juice and add sugar but I'm a little afraid if the yeast will still be active and possibly pop the bottles. If SG is 1.0 is it safe to add sugar at this point? I'd rack off one more time before adding sugar. Any help appreciated.

Kerrbrewer · May 12, 2016

My ciders usually come in around .998 with champagne yeast and I bottle with the sugar drops. Havent had a bottle bomb yet.

eigua · May 13, 2016

billyb56 said:
Getting close to bottling and would like to carbonate. I know I can rack juice and add sugar but I'm a little afraid if the yeast will still be active and possibly pop the bottles. If SG is 1.0 is it safe to add sugar at this point? I'd rack off one more time before adding sugar. Any help appreciated.

Is there any bubbling going on? Assuming you have it in a clear container, I check for tiny bubbles coming off the yeast cake at the bottom. Also you would see some at the very top of the liquid just around the edges. My cider finished at 1.002 with S04. If the SG doesn't change in about 3 days, I would figure it's done.

MindenMan · May 14, 2016

1.0 isn't enough decimals, did you mean 1.000 or 1.010, or something else? Since ciders are known to ferment below 1.000, I would take a gravity sample, wait three days and sample again; if there is no change, then you can prime and bottle without worry.

billyb56 · May 16, 2016

What size bottles do you use?

eigua · May 16, 2016

billyb56 said:
What size bottles do you use?

I use 18 oz plastic bottles from Crystal Geyser flavored sparkling water. I bought a 28 pack at Costco for about $9, which comes out to about $0.32 each. That's much less than buying Mr. Beer PET bottles from Amazon, plus I get to drink the water. The only issue is they are clear, which isn't a problem unless you're making beer and don't store them in a box or closet. I use plastic because I'm just getting started homebrewing and I don't want to deal with dangerous glass bottle bombs if I do something wrong. Plus, it's very easy to tell when they are carbonated. You can also squeeze out most of the air before you seal it for less O2 exposure which you can't do with glass.