Carbonating cider

[dejavu34]

Hi,

I have 4 gallons homebrew hard cider actually coming to end of primary fermentation in demijohn. May I carbonate my hard cider using equipments instead of priming sugar in secondary fermentation? Injecting CO2 is the same as natural carbonating? If yes, what would you suggest as equipments for me to have? Carbonating in demijohn or when bottling?

Furthermore, what is the co2 level for a cider and how to measure it?

Best regards

 

[fuelish]

Only alternative to bottle carbing is using kegging equipment/setup ... bottling's a bit of a PITA, but it's cheap and easy

 

[Maylar]

You can't carbonate in a demijohn. The vessel must be sealed to build up CO2 pressure. There are 2 ways to do that - using a controlled amount of priming sugar at bottling time, or using a CO2 tank and a keg.

Typical carbonation level for cider is about 2.6 volumes of CO2. You can't really measure it (expensive equipment), but you can control it by choosing the correct amount of priming sugar or the temperature and CO2 pressure of your keg.

 

[Faxon7]

I have another version of this same question.
I've racked twice to where minimal yeast now in suspension.

Going back to batch carb in a keg, adding honey (trying 'natural' ingredients) and possibly also more activated dry yeast and/or nutrients.

Is there a guide for amount of new yeast needed?
Or should the new yeast not even be needed still after a couple rackings?

Any experiences or suggestions appreciated, thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I have another version of this same question.
I've racked twice to where minimal yeast now in suspension.

Going back to batch carb in a keg, adding honey (trying 'natural' ingredients) and possibly also more activated dry yeast and/or nutrients.

Is there a guide for amount of new yeast needed?
Or should the new yeast not even be needed still after a couple rackings?

Any experiences or suggestions appreciated, thanks!

You shouldn't need to add new yeast, unless you're over the alcohol tolerance of the yeast strain. If that is the case, though, new yeast won't help either.

If the cider is extraordinarily clear, and you fear there aren't a lot of yeast left in suspension, you can always add a pinch of dried yeast to the cooled priming solution. For a five gallon batch of beer that has been lagered for 12 weeks and is super clear, I've used 1/3 package of dry ale yeast. That's about 4 grams, so I'd guess that if you were using wine yeast, an entire 6 gram package, more or less, would be ok. No need to be exact, as yeast will reproduce just fine.

 

[FooFighter]

I have another version of this same question.
I've racked twice to where minimal yeast now in suspension.

Going back to batch carb in a keg, adding honey (trying 'natural' ingredients) and possibly also more activated dry yeast and/or nutrients.

Is there a guide for amount of new yeast needed?
Or should the new yeast not even be needed still after a couple rackings?

Any experiences or suggestions appreciated, thanks!

Unless you've pasteurized it, I'd say there will likely be enough yeast in suspension to carb.

I'm not sure how you would decide how much yeast to add (I've never had to do it); someone else will have to chime in.