Turbo cider priming

canadakirk · Oct 4, 2017

Hello all,
I have a minor issue. It seems if I allow my cider to sit too long in the secondary fermenter for clearing purposes that there doesn't seem to be enough yeast left in suspension for carbonating. What kind of time frames would be ideal for clearing but allow carbonation? I am using 1.5 teaspoons of white sugar per 650ml bottle. As a side note I am not fussy if my cider is clear or not and also because of my failed carbonation's I seem to have developed a taste for still cider. It would still be nice to have some fizzy ones though.
Cheers
Kirk

Ken L · Oct 4, 2017

Personally, I don't bother racking and just let it partially clear in the main FV which typically takes a couple of weeks. Even if something has come up to delay bottling and it's fully clear when I bottle it, there's enough yeast dropping of the sides of the vessel to ensure carbonation.
Personally, I only carbonate with half a teaspoon of sugar per pint and one and a half is probably risking bombs.

pvt_ak · Oct 4, 2017

I donÃ¢â¬â¢t rack other than when ready for bottling and then empty into clean FV with sugar water in it at the rate of 1tsp per 500ml.
I normally ferment 1-2 weeks and bottle when it hits 1.010 or just under.

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AdeDunn · Oct 4, 2017

By any chance are you using sweetened yeast? Been reading quite a lot of posts lately where folks have had trouble priming after using this and allowing the cider to clear before bottling.

I've only done one TC yet (23 litres). I didn't rack it at all, but did allow it to clear in primary. I then transferred it to my bottling bucket to batch prime before bottling it. I then sweetened some of the bottles using liquid sucralose (flippin expensive, since found it cheaper in a local supermarket). Seriously nice and fizzy. I use CML yeast though, which doesn't contain any sweetener so produces very dry cider.

Sounds to me like the strain used in the packets with sweetener is maybe a bit too flocculant perhaps? So when you let it totally clear in secondary there's not enough left in solution to prime with when you bottle.

Roddy · Oct 4, 2017

I hear ya buddy

I've had a few issues with underfizzy cider, and I've come to the conclusion it's from letting it sit in the primary for too long, until it's starting to, or nearly cleared. That's usually because I've been too lazy to bottle it once it's finished fermenting (down to 1.000), which usually takes about 10 days from the start (at around 20-22deg C)

I'm a 'user' of the Cider yeast with sweetener, and there could be something in the theory that the yeast doesn't have the legs to carb up that well once bottled. This, coupled with letting it clear before bottling, I think were the main contributors to my less that lively TC's in the past

Clearing-wise, I've never felt the need to rack and let it clear, and then bottle as a separate (later) exercise. I'm always quite amazed how I can bottle up the TC which has the clarity of pond water, look at it a week later and see that every bottle is crystal clear. Obviously the cloudiness at bottling results in a little bit (a few mm's at worst) of sediment, which packs down after a few weeks and isn't a problem so long as you don't 'glug' the bottle when you're pouring it. Equally, I'm of the opinion that there's yeast suspended in the cloudiness, so that's gotta help with carbing

I also like a fizzy cider too, and batch prime my 23L carboy worth with 350g of sugar (or equivalent sugar content of fruity syrup), which comes out at approx 7.5g per 500ml. (not had any bottle bombs so far, touch wood !)

Also, using at least some PET /plastic bottles will let you gauge the carb process, by how firm the bottle is to the squeeze (although you've probably worked that out of for yourself !)

Vinotinto · Oct 4, 2017

Have to go with Roddy on this one. I have limited experience but have found that once the test pet bottles firm right up ( 1 week - 2 ) then stick them outside. ( The rest were in 500ml swing tops ) . Even after a couple of weeks they were not great on fizz. A week after that they were much improved. My last attempt I got lazy and the cider had almost cleared before I bottled. It therefore took longer to carb up but still managed it. Patience is the key. They are getting better and fizzier with age. Always chill right down before opening. Absolutely no point in racking. That said, yes I did rack off the sediment but only so I could batch prime and add flavour with a good old stir immediately prior to bottling. If carbing direct into bottles then no need to do the rack.