Carbonation. How to.

[shaunramseygriffin]

Yes sir. In the initial mix and a sugar cube per bottle

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

How could I have killed my yeast ?

 

[ericbw]

I don't know. Try adding another cube or 2 and recapping?

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

The temp hasn't gone below 60. I can add another cube and see. how does adding sugar create carbonation. I don't really understand.

 

[ericbw]

When you ferment things, the yeast eats the sugar. You add a little sugar and then bottle. The yeast eats the sugar, producing CO2. Since it is contained, the liquid absorbs the gas, and that's what carbonation is.

Alcohol can kill yeast. What was your starting gravity again?

 

[ericbw]

Ah. With cider and a cup of sugar, you might have gotten more alcohol than the yeast could tolerate.

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

Should I not add any sugar to the primary ? I also used a tolerant champagne yeast

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

Qa23 btw.

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

So if I used cider from an orchard and not apple juice then I shouldn't add any more sugar?

 

[ericbw]

I don't know what that yeast is, but if it's champagne it should be fine with higher levels. It should also work at lower temps than some yeasts (ale).

Are you sure your caps are sealed? Are they new? I got some novelty caps, and they don't have a plastic liner, so not an airtight seal. I think they are meant for crafts, not real use.

Any chance your capper isn't crimping them all the way?

If the caps aren't sealed, the gas could escape?

Is there sediment in the bottom of the bottles? That would indicate that you got bottle fermentation, but the gas escaped. If there's no sediment, then it probably didn't ferment in the bottle. And that "refermentation" is what gives the carbonation.

 

[ericbw]

So if I used cider from an orchard and not apple juice then I shouldn't add any more sugar?

There's really no rule on this. The best way is to use a hydrometer to check the gravity, then adjust it if needed to increase the gravity. You should have around 1.050 to 1.070 or even higher, depending on the alcohol you want.

Most cider it juice is probably 1.040 to 1.055 to start with. So your sugar addition was good.

I have 2 gallons going right now, and I added 10 ounces of sugar, which was about a cup I guess. They was just to tweak the gravity and raise the alcohol some.

That was fine to add the sugar. My experience is that you get a better finished product when you start with fresh cider from an orchard rather than something that was bottled to be stored at room temp. I might be fooling myself, but it seems like it's better.

Yours tastes good but is just flat, right?

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

Yeah it tastes fine but flat. All of my carboys and equipment were purchased brand new as well as my capper. The caps are new too so I doubt there were any leaks.

And when you say increase the gravity you are talking about sugar levels right ? Sorry, I am still new to this. Thanks

 

[ericbw]

Yeah it tastes fine but flat. All of my carboys and equipment were purchased brand new as well as my capper. The caps are new too so I doubt there were any leaks.

And when you say increase the gravity you are talking about sugar levels right ? Sorry, I am still new to this. Thanks

Yes, the gravity means the amount of dissolved sugar. The more sugar, the more alcohol.

Did you refrigerate it after it fermented, before you bottled? What about after you bottled?

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

No I did not. 2 weeks In primary 2 weeks in secondary. Bottled now for 2 weeks. There is some sentiment on the bottom of the bottles too. So it clearly still has life. Haven't refrigerated it yet.

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

.

 

[ericbw]

Keep it at 70 degrees.

 

[shaunramseygriffin]

2.5 weeks later and I have carbonation. Going to pasteurize on Wednesday. Tastes soooo much better with some fizz after it has mellowed. Thanks guys

 

[ericbw]

It just needed a little more time. So it was 2.5 weeks in the bottles total? That's in the right range. But each time could be different, so you have to watch it.

There seems to be sort of a break point where there's no carb, no carb, no carb... and then there is. Maybe it just seems that way, but I've seen it with bottle carbing and with kegging, too.