Carbonating Cider

[heyyu]

how much sugar do you add to 750ml of cider for good carbonation, i used three coopers carb lollies in screwtop pet bottles with little or no effect after 10 days.does cider need a lot longer. thankyou

 

[bum]

Cider often needs longer - but with 3 lollies maybe you don't wanna wait longer...

 

[heyyu]

they appear to have little or buggerall gas at all, maybe the lollies were stuffed

 

[bum]

My ciders and ginger beers usually take much longer than my beers to carb (i.e. months). I don't think extra sugar will make it happen faster I think it'll just make bottle bombs for your grandchildren.

 

[heyyu]

thankyou bum,might teach them a lesson :icon_vomit:

 

[mauriceatron]

+1 for leaving it longer.

Cider really needs a while to bottle condition if you're carbonating it, be patient. I'd not want to add any more sugar to the bottles as 3 lollies is quite a bit of sugar in there already. Just leave it for another week or so. Since they're PET bottles, give them a squeeze and you'll find them starting to firm up as they carbonate so you don't need to open them.

I doubt the lollies were stuffed. I don't think that they lose "sugarness" over time. Taste one of the lollies if you have any left and they should taste sweet.

 

[manticle]

Carb drops are a combination of dex and sucrose. They will always taste sweet. The only way they can lose 'sugarness' is by disintegrating.

 

[Mcstretch]

you can carbonate your cider by adding your dextrose straight into a second fermenter. disolve it with some boiling water then add your brew from your first fermenter. Let it sit for a while and then bottle. The cider will take a while to carbonate at least 4 weeks.

 

[heyyu]

opened one of the offending bottles today 27 5 09 carb was ok not good but ok,thats with 3 lollies and a little over a month in the bottle,apple taste is returning and alcohol content is good, bit woosy after one bottle.first time cider so a bit worried,used champagne yeast suprisingly tastes ok.