Bottle Carbing Question

[tampa911]

not sure if this is the right forum or if it should go in the cider forum, but I have a general question about carbing.

Do larger bottles carb at a different rate than smaller bottles?

I bottled a cider last weekend that had numerous posts about bottle bombs if it is not pasturized at the proper time. I bottled about half of the batch in normal 12oz bottles and half in 22oz bottles. I don't want bombs, but I also don't want a half batch of flat tasting cider.

Any thoughts or experience?

 

[JimRausch]

Good Q about whether the size of the bottle affects carbonation. My guess is no, although I have nothing to back it up. If the head space is equivalent, then carbonation should be similar.
But experience- last fall I did a cider, and after it was finished, I bottled it with 2 cans of apple concentrate. Bottled in both 12 oz. and 22 ozers. No bombs, good carbonation in both size bottles. She's dry,dry,dry, but good bubbles.
Personally, I think all the cider posts on bottle bombs are maybe an exageration. If you are confident that you have fermented to completion( steady SGs a couple days apart over a week), then there is nothing magical about cider that will give you an explosion. But, make sure your fermentation is done.

 

[Paradingbull]

As pertains to beer, I have seen posts by those far more experienced than I that state 22 oz. bottles often take more time to carb up than 12 oz. bottles, all other factors being equal. I only use 22 oz. bottles in my brewing, they do seem to take more time to carb up right. Maybe one of the guys who know why will see this and can explain why.

 

[Hanso]

The pasteurization reference is for those who back sweeten their cider. If you ferment out to completion and follow normal bottling procedures as you would for beer, then the bottle size makes no difference in your risk for bottle bombs. use a calculator and keep it 3 volumes or under and you will be fine.
If you want sweet cider and are bottling it with a lot of extra sugars that is where pasteurization comes in because you want to halt yeast activity in the closed bottle before the pressure gets out of hand. Again though bottle size should not matter if you are mixing it all in the same bucket prior to bottling.

 

[unionrdr]

The larger bottles' greater volume with about the same head space makes them take longer to carbonate than a normal 12oz. My 25oz Cooper's PET's took an extra week (4) to get carbed really well.

 

[homebrewdad]

Pretty much everything you ever read suggests that bigger bottles take longer to carb up. No need to adjust the priming sugar or anything similar, but give those bigger bottles an extra week or two.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah. Bulk priming takes care of the sugar,regardless of size. The bigger ones just take longer due to their greater volume.

 

[Revvy]

I have some pints, 22 oz bombers and other sizes that I often use, but since I enter contests I usually also do a sixer or two of standard 12 ouncers for entering. And inevitably the 12 ouncers are done at least a week faster than the larger bottles....some times two weeks ahead of time...

Also the rule of thumb is 3 weeks at 70 degrees for a normal grav 12 ounce bottle....to carb and condition....It takes longer for the yeasties to convert the larger volume in the bigger bottles to enough co2 in the headspace to be reabsorbed back into the solution...A ratio I don't know how much by...

Big Kahuna gives a good explanation here...

Simple. It's the ration of contact area just like in a keg. The c02 will need to pressurize the head space (Which takes LESS TIME) in a bigger bottle (More Yeast and sugar, roughly the same head space) but then it has to force that c02 into solution through the same contact area...thus it takes longer.

Here's some folks who have actually experienced it.

In my experience, a 22-oz container will condition more slowly. This has only been apparent to me with beers that are really slow-conditioning anyway, like my red ale that I screwed up. It had some pretty significant heat-related off flavors that disappeared from the 12-ounce bottles WAY before they left the 22s.

I have done both 12 and 22 oz bottles. About the only difference I have seen is the big bottles take a few days longer to carb. They do save bottling time (less bottles to sanitize,fill,cap). Somehow I seem to run out of beer faster though

I regularly use both 12oz and 22oz bottles with no noticeable taste difference. The 22 ouncers might take longer to carb up but by the time I get around to drinking them I have never noticed a difference.

I always bottle my batches into 2 cases of 22oz bombers and then end up with a little left over that goes into a couple of 12oz bottles. In my experience, the 22oz bottles usually take longer to carb. Sometimes 1 to 2 weeks longer (4 to 5 weeks total bottle conditioning time).

Well here's one to support the 22oz taking longer.

When trying to convince people to not carbonate in growlers, you have talked about the CO2 pressure building up in the headspace and then being absorbed into the liquid. There's the same amount of surface area and volume in the neck of a 22 or 12 ounce bottle. Wouldn't the greater ratio beer to surface area make the CO2 absorb slower in the larger bottle?


edit:
Should of read the whole thread first.
Now I see your BigKahuna quote.