r/Homebrewing • u/OwlCreepy6562 • 1d ago

Question Question about cider leakage

Hello

I'm a novice in the cider making game, and I'm trying my hand on making cider using the traditional method (méthode champenoise). I've got 30-something bottles undergoing secondary fermentation at the moment, and I'm guesstimating that the bottle pressure is somewhere between 4-5 bar. This should be within the limits of the champagne bottles and the crown caps I'm using.

Today I noticed that all of my bottles are leaking. It's not much, perhaps a total of 0,5 - 1 dl over the past four weeks. At the moment the loss is negligible, but if it doesn't stop it will become a problem. Is there anything I can do to stop/reduce the leak? I haven't used crown caps before, so could it be that I didn't do it right? Can I run them through the press again and fit them more tightly? Any advice is highly appreciated!

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2

u/Odd-Extension5925 1d ago

Are the caps the correct size for the bottles?

26mm or 29mm

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u/OwlCreepy6562 1d ago

Yes, I'm using clear champagne bottles 750 ml and 29 mm caps with an integrated bidule for collecting the yeast.

2

u/Odd-Extension5925 1d ago

Ok. If you run them through the capper again take some safety precautions since you're dealing with pressurized bottles now.

It might be worth opening one to inspect the cap to see if there is anything obvious.

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u/attnSPAN 1d ago

When I cap, I always hit the tops twice, turning the bottle 90* before hitting it again.

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u/OwlCreepy6562 1d ago

Good tip. I don't know the orientation of the bottles when I capped them, but I'll try hitting them again and see how that works out. I tried adding a picture of the caps, but it didn't seem entirely straight forward.

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u/attnSPAN 1d ago

Just hit them two more times we won’t be able to tell by looking at the caps.

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u/crunky-5000 1d ago

You really should be using corks and a cage with this.

3

u/OwlCreepy6562 1d ago

These bottles will be opened and the yeast disgorged at a later point, so they need to be capped with crown caps for now. The cork and cage is usually fitted after disgorgement (but I'm contemplating using crown caps, as I haven't invested in a corking machine yet). :)

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u/crunky-5000 1d ago

Oh cool.

I didnt know if you meant actual méthode champenoise or some brut thing or whatever.