Cider is an alcoholic beverage that is brewed and made from raw apple juice. The average alcohol level of cider ranges from 3% to 8.5%. But certain continental ciders have 12% of alcohol.
There are only a few methods you can use to make your hard cider or plain apple cider sparkling. The most popular way to carbonate cider is to simply wait until it is bottled and let the yeast do its work.
The method, however, needs the presence of live yeast cells in the cider. Yeast in soda drinks converts sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Many people wonder if it’s possible to make carbonated cider using a SodaStream. SodaStream produces fizzy water. You can use it to make sparkling water from tap water.
Using a soda stream machine to add carbonation to your cider is a viable option. Continue reading to find out several ways to accomplish the force carbonation of cider if live yeast is absent.
A Brief Overview of Cider Carbonation
Your home-brewed cider will start to develop tiny bubbles on its exterior soon after users add the yeast.
Natural carbonation will slightly boost the amount of CO2 in your quick fix. There are three ways to add carbonation to your cider to make it fizzy.
Nearing Exhaustion of Carbonation
This carbonation technique isn’t very accurate but numerous people utilize it effectively. As the yeast uses up the available sugar, you keep an eye on the amount of carbonation in your cider.
If you time it correctly, there will still be sufficient sugar and yeast in the bottle to produce carbonation.
Reverse Carbonation
It’s a more managed option because you can calculate the precise quantity of sugar and yeast.
An additional source of sugar is added right before bottling. This will typically be brown sugar, or corn sugar.
Feeding the residual yeast will cause the bottle to carbonate. The approach that is most frequently used while carbonating cider with sugar is this one.
Forced Carbonation
CO2 is added from a tank after the cider has finished fermenting.
Since it is a quick, effective, and dependable method of carbonation, this is essentially how all commercial cider makers produce carbonated cider.
There are many devices available for force carbonation. However, you can use a soda maker for forced carbonation if you’d prefer to avoid using a CO2 tank.
Use a SodaStream to Add Fizz to Cider
Regarding apple cider, this process will be more suitable for forced carbonation if it is chillier and has very few particles.
You’ll always have access to sparkling water made sustainably by using a SodaStream. The bottles are reusable. With the help of its CO2 canisters, Soda-stream easily carbonates cider.
SodaStream can also carbonate any liquid juice, iced tea, and others. With carbon dioxide gas, which is pressurized into the liquid in a special container, cider then is made carbonated.
This fizz enhances the flavour and prolongs the shelf life of the juice. Although carbonated cider typically costs more than non-carbonated juice, it is also more widely consumed for its mildly different flavour.
SodaStream Carbonation Procedure
Firstly, in a genuine SodaStream bottle, pour the cider. Complete the bottle’s connection. Press the gas pedal once, then release it to operate the machine. Don’t press the button for a long period.
Chill your cider as far as you can. It will carbonate more readily the colder it is.
Confirm the cider is free of any impurities. To achieve this, allow it to ferment in the vessel several times. Another effective method for precipitating droplets from your cider is to submit it to cold crashing.
Then insert the cider bottle into your soda maker, and slowly press the carbonation button. Avoid over-saturating the cider, which can cause it to foam up and possibly overflow.
After the bottle has finished carbonating, delete it from the device and cap it to stop any further gas leaks.
To give the CO2 enough time to properly disintegrate into the cider, chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
Preventing Issues with Soda-stream
When using a SodaStream to carbonate cider, the main thing to keep in mind is that the process moves quickly.
This will result in an oversaturated beverage that will foam and possibly even overflow the bottle. Alternatively, there might be a problem with the soda maker’s carbonation cylinder valve.
If you frequently experience overloading, check your carbonation canister. To make the best of your SodaStream, you should follow these steps:
- Pour cold water into the SodaStream.
- Place the CO2 cartridge inside.
- Press the power button to start the SodaStream.
- Don’t overfill the container.
You must ensure that there are no fruit or yeast droplets in the cider. Finally, enjoy your fizzy beverage after removing the CO2 cartridge!
Why Should You Carbonate Cider?
To add some fun, you may want to carbonate apple juice. Hard cider microbrews may have very good practical justifications for doing so.
One of the most typical explanations is that you filtered out your yeast even though you wanted to halt the fermentation earlier. Due to the retention of some sugar, this method can produce a sweeter cider.
A backup fermentation issue could also be to blame for the still cider rather than the sparkling beverage you were hoping for.
As it frequently filters out the yeast to make the finished product extra stable, this is a popular approach for large-scale microbreweries of beer and cider to carry out.
Conclusion
Cider has a fascinating history, to put it mildly. People usually choose Sparkling or still cider when starting to make this type of drink.
With its CO2 containers, soda stream typically carbonates apple juice. SodaStream equipment can also be used to carbonate other beverages, including water and fruit juice.
Using a SodaStream machine to carbonate your cider is possible, but there are a few considerations you should make.
The cider must first be as thoroughly cooled as possible. Second, avoid overfilling the bottle because the foam will form and spillage could result.
Last but not least, you must ensure that the cider is free of any fruit or yeast particles as they will catalyze the rapid degassing of CO2 from the beverage and may result in overfilled and machine destruction.
