cider bombs

[Zywo]

quick question:

People on the cider forum seem to talk quite a bit about bottles exploding (cider bombs). Is this something that beer brewers must be careful of as well? (currently have my 1st batch of beer in bottles and my first cider in my primary) Or is it only an issue with cider since so much sugar is often added to back-sweeten?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Daze]

exactly, when you brew beer you ferment out all the fermentables and then prime with just enough sugar to carbonate, but with cider a lot of people want it sweet so they add more sugar than what is needed to prime. this is not a problem if you pasteurize to kill the yeast once the desired co2 levels have been reached but can be a problem if nothing has been don to stop the yeast once the correct co2 levels are attained.

 

[dinnerstick]

the wort that is fermented to make beer contains a certain amount of carbohydrates (complex sugars and starches) that brewer's yeast can't ferment. that's why beer can retain sweetness and body, and can still be primed and bottled. the yeast just eat the simple priming sugar but can't touch the complex stuff that our taste buds can still perceive. all of the sugar in apples can be easily fermented by yeast. so a beer that has finished fermenting at 1.016 can be primed and bottled, and the yeast can only eat the new priming sugar. ciders keep fermenting until there is no sugar left, ie gravity below 1.000, with a few exceptions such as lack of nutrients for the yeast, super high alcohol, or if you kill off the yeast.