How to bottle hard cider?
Bottle hard cider only when fermentation is finished or carefully primed: clean bottles, sound caps or corks, and leave headspace. Still cider can be filled quietly; sparkling cider needs sugar priming or force carbonation and pressure-rated bottles. Rushing unstable cider risks bottle bombs — measure gravity first.
Updated
Key facts
- Pressure packages. Sparkling cider needs bottles rated for CO₂ — crown-cap glass or suitable PET; still cider can use wine bottles with care. [1] [2]
- Stable first. Confirm fermentation is done (stable gravity) before still bottling.
- Sparkling. Priming sugar or tank carbonation needs proper bottles.
- Closures. Crown caps, cork-and-cage or quality swing tops — see twist-off notes.
Home context: how to make cider at home. Carbonation overview (no recipe amounts): how to carbonate homemade cider.
How do still and sparkling bottling differ?
Still fills are about oxygen pickup and seals; sparkling adds pressure. Opening later: how to open a sparkling cider bottle. Ancestral sparkle: what pét-nat cider is.
Why do closures matter?
Poor seals oxidise still cider; weak glass fails under carbonation. Twist-off culture: why some ciders do not use twist-off caps. Glossary: bottle conditioned.
Sanitation matters more than fancy gear: rinse and sanitise bottles, leave headspace for sparkling packages, and store finished bottles cool and upright until carbonation settles.
Related on Cider Radar
Cider, perry, calvados and pommeau are alcoholic drinks. Enjoy responsibly and follow the legal drinking age where you live.
Questions
Can I reuse beer bottles?
Only if they are scored for pressure and thoroughly cleaned; thin one-use bottles are risky for primed sparkling cider.
Sources
- The Science of Cidermaking Part 4 — Customising your cider (sparkling & bottling) — Wittenham Hill Cider Portal (Andrew Lea)
- Fermenting at home (NCHFP) — National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia)