Carbonating a cider.

[Syncman]

I brew beer in MR BEER kegs, 2 gallons a t a time. My first cider came out great. Clear and tasty. However the carbonation is very weak. I carbed as usual, 1 MR BEER carb drop per 15oz bottle. Same quantity as for beer. I believe 1 drop equals 1 teaspoon priming sugar.

 

[Maylar]

How long has it been bottled? And at what temperature?

 

[bernardsmith]

Beer contains proteins which will hold a head. Cider has none and so it acts like a sparkling wine. If you are looking for a head on a cider I don't know any way that you can achieve one unless you blend the cider with a beer. I am assuming the issue is not because you have not waited the two or three weeks it might take for all the primed sugar to ferment and all the CO2 produced to be dissolved in the cider.

 

[Lefou]

Wife got me the same 2gal Mr. Beer kit. It opened up a whole can of worms and great hobby. Anyway ....

I've used the PET bottles as a sort of carbing experiment before. To get sparkling, dry cider I used one glucose tab per bottle, but didn't fill the 750ml PET bottle fully. I squeezed the extra air out then capped it. The bottle gives a pinched appearance but as the cider carbs, the bottle fills out and hardens to its original shape. As a matter of fact, I still have one or two 750ml PETs left over from a year ago. Will have to check them out and see if the contents haven't turned into vinegar.
My wife will sometimes use cider I make to cook with. I also make malted and unmalted vinegar from cider The difference is just a bit of wort using crystal malt.

 

[Pratzie]

We need to know how long its been priming and roughly what temp it is sitting at.

 

[Syncman]

Its been priming for about 3 weeks, in the basement at around 78. Maybe lower than that at night.

 

[Maylar]

Seems like it should be done, especially at that temp. Nothing much you can do but give it more time.

 

[Vannyvanster]

We need to know how long its been priming and roughly what temp it is sitting at.

Sorry to hijack the post, but i just bottled my first batch of cider. Used a priming sugar for carbonation. The problem is, i ran out of bottles while bottling, and shops only open tomorrow. Can i leave this over night in my bottling bucket, do i close it up? Or do i throw it away?

 

[MarkKF]

I think overnight is fine. Especially if it’s in the 60’s. I got 9 bottles primed with dextrose a couple weeks ago and still no fizz.