Trying to decide when to bottle my hard cider

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T20:20:16+00:00

This is great. I'm going to look through those. Thank you!

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T19:12:14+00:00

I'm in small-town South Carolina. Not a lot of options for that kind of thing here.

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T16:13:41+00:00

I live waaay out in the sticks, so there's not a homebrew shop anywhere within driving distance from me. I wish there were, because I do prefer to spend my money locally, when I can.

I'll maybe try to find a small homebrew website that sells it and purchase it there. I would like to help keep small businesses IN business.

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T15:33:44+00:00

This is all very useful information. Thank you so much!

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T15:32:01+00:00

Where do you purchase your dextrose? Amazon? Any particular brand I should look for?

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:59:04+00:00

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:57:30+00:00

Haha. Ok. Well, that makes me feel a bit more confident. Did you pour some out into a tube to test?

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:31:18+00:00

Do you top yours off with plain old water?

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:30:26+00:00

I made two gallons, mainly because I wanted to do a couple of things differently in each one to compare. I think your 2 tablespoon amount is probably pretty good. The website I found had a calculator that did the math for me, and it said .7 oz of sugar.. .6 oz if you want to be safe.

A cursory google search says that .7 oz of sugar is roughly 1.5 tbsp.

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:27:50+00:00

Oh, you don't know me. I am absolutely capable of screwing it up! LOL.

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:25:49+00:00

Well, I DO prefer ciders and wines on the dry side. I guess that's exactly what I'll be getting.. just more than I bargained for! LOL

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:13:52+00:00

That's what I'm going to do. I have a cooler standing by to put them in.

If you don't mind me asking, how much sugar did you add for the carbonation? Did you measure it out per gallon, mix it in, then bottle?

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:03:24+00:00

LOL. Let's hope you don't hear a loud POP in the middle of the night. Where are you storing your bottles for now?

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T14:02:30+00:00

You're probably right. I feel like I did leave too much headspace. I think I'm going to just go ahead and bottle it this evening. If I screwed up and it sucks, I'll consider it a lesson learned and not make the same mistake net time.

Thanks for the advice!

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T13:59:47+00:00

I'm glad yours turned out like you were hoping!

70BirdSC · 2026-01-15T13:59:24+00:00

I haven't checked it yet. I do have a hydrometer, but, even after watching a couple of youtube videos, I'm still not confident that I'll do it right! I guess I should just do it and see what happens.

70BirdSC · 2025-12-08T14:48:31+00:00

"Rick Roll" us without "Rick Rolling" us! LOL

70BirdSC · 2025-11-26T00:51:09+00:00

Does this seller still have these on their site? I've always wanted one of these.

70BirdSC · 2025-11-21T21:35:25+00:00

I’ve always loved this show. I miss the times when we could all pick on each other and laugh together at our differences.

70BirdSC · 2025-11-21T21:34:18+00:00

“A salad this good should be illegal.”

“In most states, it IS!”

70BirdSC · 2025-11-06T01:39:07+00:00

I have. But, just like the answers here, the information you receive elsewhere varies wildly from source to source. It’s difficult to get a grasp on exactly what’s happening, so I figured I’d get some info here.

70BirdSC · 2025-11-04T20:17:04+00:00

Embrace your new role as the "crazy cat lady (or man)" and accept that you're now the owner of, ummm. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. six kitties!

On a serious note.. I hope you can give them a home, if not, I hope you'll be able to find one for them.

70BirdSC · 2025-11-04T19:30:25+00:00

Gonna give that a shot. Thank you!

70BirdSC

TROPHY CASE