Opening to soon?

[Paul Warner]

I have bottled 16 litres of cider about five weeks ago, it has cleared nicely with just a bit of sediment in the bottom .
I thought I would open one yesterday but it just fizzed up and streamed out of the bottle.
Have I opened it up too soon, it is bottled in kilner bottles, I put half a tea spoon of sugar in each half litre bottle, and it stored in the garage.
I have used eating apples from our garden , and used a hydrometer.
Any advice please

 

[The Baron]

How long did you ferment it?
what was the FG?
looks like you may have bottle too early but provide more info and the forum will generally get to the bottom of it

 

[Paul Warner]

How long did you ferment it?
what was the FG?
looks like you may have bottle too early but provide more info and the forum will generally get to the bottom of it

It was about 28 , and was fermented for about 9 days, seemed to stabilise though that's why I bottled it

 

[The Baron]

did you mean 1.028 was the final gravity ( or was this your starting gravity)if so you certainly have bottled it too soon also 9 days is also a little early 2 weeks is the consensus of opinion on this forum. Your FG should be usually 1,010 for beers etc ciders may go a little lower to 1.008 or lower

 

[Paul Warner]

did you mean 1.028 was the final gravity ( or was this your starting gravity)if so you certainly have bottled it too soon also 9 days is also a little early 2 weeks is the consensus of opinion on this forum. Your FG should be usually 1,010 for beers etc ciders may go a little lower to 1.008 or lower

Yes that the final reading, sounds like I've messed this one up, is it all salvageable?

 

[The Baron]

well yes it is looks like you have been very lucky that the bottles have not exploded by the way are the bottles you are using meant to take pressure as that is what you should use. Second I would get your fermentation bucket and open the bottle over it and let the cider go back into it as you do not want any of the bottles to explode and from what you said they are under a lot of pressure and gushing(not a ideal situation as it will allow oxygen into the cider). Once all the cider is in there take a hydrometer reading and if not 1.012 or lower let it ferment a little longer hopefully it has redone this in the bottles. If the reading is low enough you will have released the pressure and co2 out of the cider so you can then re-bottle but maybe with a little less sugar than before - normally half a teaspoon is ok but make sure it is a level half as a heaped one is generally too much. It may not be a ideal situation but at least it will give you something to drink and to learn the process so that next time you will get it right.
Ps make sure the bottles are suitable for holding pressure

 

[braziliain]

As has been said above, I think you are at risk of exploding glass bottles .

My cider usually finishes at a gravity of 1.000. 1.028 is very high meaning there is a great deal of sugar left in solution. The yeast is still consuming these remaining sugars and creating CO2 in volumes far greater than you require for carbonation. It is not unheard of in these situations for bottles to explode from the excess pressure, depending of course on what type of bottle you are using. Even if you were using Champagne bottles, that is a lot of residual sugar.

There are not many unfermentedable sugars in apple juice (if any) so the gravity usually ends around 1.000 unless you have brewed it to such a high abv that the alcohol has killed off the yeast before it finishes the job.

 

[The Baron]

As Brazilian said I don't brew cider as a general rule and it can go down very low which is what dry cider is. Just get the bottles released asap in a safe area as they will gush maybe wrapping a small tea towel around each one as you release it to be safe. If as Brazilian has said it has killed the yeast off depending on the hydrometer reading you may well have to add a little yeast to try and reactivate the fermentation or even yeast nutrient but just let us know and somebody on the forum will advise the best action to take. Personally I would dump the brew or alternatively open one bottle and try and take a hydrometer reading first so that you can determine what action the next step is. Persevere you have asked the right questions and will benefit next time

 

[Paul Warner]

As Brazilian said I don't brew cider as a general rule and it can go down very low which is what dry cider is. Just get the bottles released asap in a safe area as they will gush maybe wrapping a small tea towel around each one as you release it to be safe. If as Brazilian has said it has killed the yeast off depending on the hydrometer reading you may well have to add a little yeast to try and reactivate the fermentation or even yeast nutrient but just let us know and somebody on the forum will advise the best action to take. Personally I would dump the brew or alternatively open one bottle and try and take a hydrometer reading first so that you can determine what action the next step is. Persevere you have asked the right questions and will benefit next time

Thanks for the advice guys, I think to be on the safe side I will dispatch it into the garden, I have got a small amount of pear cider in the bucket at the minute, this has been in a week so I haven't looked at it yet, but because it's only a few litres , we only have a small pear tree, this could be a good exercise in getting it right.
Bit disappointing but it's a learning curve, at least the apples didn't cost me anything

 

[IainM]

No need to chuck it, just empty the bottles into a bucket or something and let it finish fermenting, then bottle it once it's done.