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I've bottled plenty but (excuse the pun) never had the "bottle" to do secondry bottle fermentation. But I'm going for it with my cider this weekend.

I've read the safest amount of sugar to add is around 10g/litre, this will cause a slight prickeling, which is exactly what I want. Without hopefully the expolding bottle problem. The cider has been brewed to full dryness, havent measured it yet, should of last night but ended up drinking it instead...it is very dry, and very strong, in fact I still have a thickhead!

However do you add the sugar direct to the bottle (500ml old cider bottles), or do you disolve it up in the cider, or water or in add to the main bulk of cider before bottling??


Anyone....

we added straight to the bottle on top of the cider at a rate of 1 tsp/ 2 litre bottle. worked, with both the cideer and the beer kit ale.

A cautionary (and true) tale........
A great many years ago, way back when I brewed my own, and was still living with my parents, I made a batch of stout, and bottled it in pint bottles with crown corks............the only place to store it was behind the loo in the little-used "gardener's loo" - one very hot August day, we heard a godalmighty explosion, and shrieks from aged Grannie...........somehow, she's gone to the loo, and banged a couple of the bottles together with her foot - they'd exploded, and taken several others with them - a physically (miraculously) unhurt Grannie was found standing on the loo seat, shrieking because a tide of beer froth was climbing up the loo towards her!
(she never forgave me!)

Heheh,

But don't you suspect that she might have gone in to drink said homebrew?...my Gran would have, she was a right old soak, in fact she's the one that got me into homebrewing at a very early age.

And the explosion was to cover her tracks, in so far there were fewer bottles than before...elementary dear Watson!.

hi on the first Brew leave it till there is no bubbles siting on top of the brew.
then leave a day or 2 more this allows more sediment to sink.
add as much sugar as you dare the sugar turns to alcohol and in the proses produces co2 more sugar = more alcohol = more co2 but there is a limit the alcohol kills the yeast so always use brewing yeast it is more tolerant to the alcohol, and less of a yest flavor.
the longer you leave it in the bottle the better,.
when you are ready to drink it put it in the fridge to chill well or it wont poar and any sediment will rise.
you end up with some thing akin to champaign at least the way it explodes in your mouth.
the longer you leave it the stronger it gets so at all stages it pays to wait that bit longer.
or just produce more batches. take care enjoy
plastic pop bottles work grate never seen one burst yet.