Help! Apple champagne is flat!

Please send help!! We tried our apple champagne we made for new years but it was pretty flat. We made it simply from pressed apple juice as per Mother Earth's article; had lots of bubbles in the gallon jug, but when we transferred it to the 750 ml bottles, the tons of bubbles were in the syphon and we lost the syphon a few times because of all the bubbly... is there a way to "fix" the flatness? I read a couple of old articles (i.e. early 1900's) that spoke of putting some sugar in the bottle then the apple "juice" after the first fermentation and then wiring down the corks; would this work and how much sugar should we use? It sure was a pain to try to get the juice into the bottles!

We're new to all this and really don't understand all the ins and outs of the different chemicals, etc. The Mother Earth article was nice and simple, and I'm sure all our great grandparents/grandparents on the farm did stuff like this!

Reply to
Cathy Boer
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To get "sparkling" cider, you ferment the cider till it stops fermenting (the gravity stops dropping - usually around S.G.=1.000. Then add sugar, bottle and cap and wait. IIRC, I used 1/2 teaspoon per 12oz bottle, or maybe 2/3 cup for a

5 gallon batch.

Google "hard cider recipe" for a lot more info.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

You're lucky. My still apple wine (which I added sorbate to) is fizzy.

Now I have to drink it all young, before the corks start popping.

Reply to
Madalch

You could re-bottle it in beer or champaigne bottles. I don't think cider is as sensitive to oxygen damage as other things like beer and wine.

Reply to
Bob F

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