Priming Cider

First I want to thank all of you for all of your help. As you can tell I am new to all this but very excited. I have made a hard cider from a simple recipe. seems to be working great. The recipe does say that if you want sparkling cider to prime before bottling, however it doesnt say how much sugar to use to prime it. I have seen different amounts in different recipes. One says use 1 cup, one says 3/4 and another says 1/2. These are all for a 5 gallon batch. The recipe I have is 40 lbs sweet cider, 3Lbs honey, 3 lbs brown sugar, and 2 packets of champain yeast. add all ingredients, let fermit to finish and bottle. age in bottle 2 weeks. If you want sparkling cider prime before bottling. Thanks ahead, Steve

Reply to
Stephen
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They are all right.

It really depends on the amount of carbonation you want in the finished cider. IMHO, 1/2 cup will be a little light. I would go with the 3/4 cup for the first batch. That is a typical amount used in bottle conditioned beer.

A full cup may result in gushers, but would probably still be ok if you chill the cider well before opening. Normally, cider doesn't have as much body as a beer, so gushers aren't as much of a concern.

This is assuming corn sugar is used. If granulated sugar is used, it is recommend to go a little lighter. If honey is used, go heavier.

BTW, weight is a better method of measuring the priming sugars as it will give more consistent results. 4oz of corn sugar, around 3.75 oz of cane sugar or 4.5 oz of honey.

Andy

Reply to
JEP

For a 5 gallon (23 litre) batch, 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar is fine, which is the rule of thumb for beers. When I made my cider, I used regular beer bottles (341 ml) with crown caps. About 3/4 tsp of sugar per beer bottle is another way to calculate it.

Reply to
Dan

When do I know when to prime and bottle it? I talked with a local supplier and he just said once the yeast is done you need to add another type of yeast and the sugar or bottle it before the yeast is done. If I bottle it before the yeast is done and add the 3/4 to 1 cup sugar will I be making time bombs?? Steve

Reply to
Stephen

One or the other, not both.

Better way (IMHO) is wait for the yeast to finish then add priming sugar and bottle. When your hydrometer readings stay the same over a week or so, the yeast are probably finished enough so it won't cause problems to prime and bottle. Just make sure the SG isn't too high which may indicate a stuck fermentation. There should be enough yeast left in the cider to ferment out the priming sugar.

Andy

Reply to
JEP

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