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Cider Digest #1879
Subject: Cider Digest #1879, 30 May 2014
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1879 30 May 2014
Cider and Perry Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Do the guidelines for force carbonation of beer apply... (Dick Dunn)
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Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
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Subject: Re: Do the guidelines for force carbonation of beer apply...
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 21:01:33 -0600
denniswaller@comcast.net asked:
> Do the guidelines for forced carbonation of beer e.g.
> http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php , also apply to cider?
Not as such: The chart gives useful temperature-vs-pressure, but the
colored regions are value judgments which apply to beer styles. You could
do a good job with that as a start, but use your taste to decide how much
carbonation YOU like in a cider--sketch it in between the curves.
The amount of carbonation people like in a cider varies all over the place,
I think far more than with beer. Some folks like their cider as fizzy as a
soda; others have no use for excess bubbles.
> I brew cider only for family consumption. I age cider for one to two years
> in glass 5 gallon carboys and when I when the time comes to drink it...
(that's context)
> 2) Can I add a small amount of sugar to the Cornelius kegs when I transfer
> the aged, still cider from the carboys into the kegs in order to reduce
> the amount of CO2 I would use for forced carbonation? If so how much
> sugar would you recommend for a 5 gallon keg?
If you've aged for 1-2 years, the yeast are seriously dormant; it might
take quite a while for them to wake up again...if they do at all. (I'm
doubtful.) If they did wake up and add carbonation, it would give you a
slowly changing cider.
Of course you could add new yeast to get a more predictable (and faster)
carbonation in keg. But then you'll also generate more sediment.
How much CO2 do you actually need to carbonate a keg? Somebody check me on
these numbers please(!) but carbonating to 4 g/l CO2 is pretty fizzy. That
is 80 g for a 5 gal Corny, so a 5-lb CO2 bottle is nominally good for 28
kegs. It's not quite that much since you waste some in the ullage as you
draw the keg down, but it's still not a lot more than 50 cents of CO2 for
a keg which is two cases equiv. Plus, you may want much less carbonation
than my BoE figure of 4 g/l (2+ volumes).
Obviously I'm biased to fermenting out and force carbonating. It gives a
clear, consistent cider, and it's easy.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
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End of Cider Digest #1879
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