wtf just happened!?

[drewmedic23]

So fermentation went well, added wine conditioner and carmel extract then started to bottle...I forgot to add priming sugar! I only filed one bottle so no big deal...added 4 ounces of sugar (4gal cider) and all of the sudden, it was like a volcano project in high school. The cider started to foam up so I just started stirring...all in all, there is about a gallon of foam. I covered the bucket and I'm waiting for the foam to die down. What happened?

 

[Yooper]

So fermentation went well, added wine conditioner and carmel extract then started to bottle...I forgot to add priming sugar! I only filed one bottle so no big deal...added 4 ounces of sugar (4gal cider) and all of the sudden, it was like a volcano project in high school. The cider started to foam up so I just started stirring...all in all, there is about a gallon of foam. I covered the bucket and I'm waiting for the foam to die down. What happened?

It won't carb up in the bottle anyway, with or without priming sugar. The "wine conditioner" has sweeteners in it, as well as yeast inhibitors to keep your bottles from exploding.

Adding sugar when you did just caused "nucleation points"- foaming in other words, when the sugar grains hit c02 in the cider.

 

[drewmedic23]

It won't carb up in the bottle anyway, with or without priming sugar. The "wine conditioner" has sweeteners in it, as well as yeast inhibitors to keep your bottles from exploding.

Adding sugar when you did just caused "nucleation points"- foaming in other words, when the sugar grains hit c02 in the cider.

I don't remember putting any mentos in the cider lol. I guess I didn't expect, or taste, any co2 so I was thrown off.

I got the recipe from my lhbs and followed it to a t. What they didn't include was that they force carb'd then bottled rather than bottle conditioning. I called them and mentioned what you told me and the guy said since there isn't any SO4, it shouldn't kill the yeast but it will prevent more from growing...aka its gonna take forever to carb and will eventually blow up.

I think what I'm going to do is pour (carefully) all of the bottles into a keg and go that route. Then, maybe ill put it back in bottles

 

[Yooper]

What he told you was weird. I think you meant S02 (sulfite) and not S04 (gypsum), but neither kill yeast so he's wrong.

Sorbate and/or benzoate are used to prevent refermentation, and wine conditioner contains perservatives (those) so you can sweeten the wine/cider. There is sweetener in there too.

Sulfites (s02) are routinely used by winemakers. It doesn't inhibit fermentation at all, as wine yeast (and brewer's yeast) is very tolerant of it- that's why we can use it without stalling fermentation. It's used primarily as an antioxidant, as when it binds to the wine, it prevents oxygen being able to bind do it, as during racking. It also helps preserve the wine during storage/aging.

It will not carb up with the wine conditioner, no matter how long you leave it, if the wine conditioner did its work. Don't worry about it blowing up- it won't. You can keg, though, if you want to carbonate it. I wouldn't pour into the keg, as it could oxidize it, but you may not be able to rack it out of the bucket and into the keg without any problems.

 

[drewmedic23]

Thanks for all of the info. I've since opened the 45 bottles and transferred it all to a keg...it was a pain to do without splashing but I kept the co2 running the whole time. Thanks again