Bottled my cider, my first foray into fermentation

[Kaitala]

I know it's not wine, but I bottled my cider that I made so I'd have something drinkable right away. It's pretty darned good. Nothing I'd say was the best cider ever, but tasty, easy drinking, and still effective in the alcohol department.

However, bottles seem like they're just a pain in the butt. Tempted to just rack into a 5 gal water bottle and put in the water cooler we have.

Kidding, I know bacteria and contaminants and such would be a bad thing.

Come to think of it, makes me want to run some sanitizer through the cooler apparatus. Wonder what's breeding in there for the last 10 years.... ewww....

 

[BernardSmith]

First, let e congratulate you on bottling your first batch of wine. Cider is just a term for a lower alcohol drink usually made from apples but it is a wine, not a beer (made from grains) or a spirit (distilled alcohol). The bigger problem with using a five gallon container as your bottle is that as you drink the cider (or wine) air will replace the liquid you have removed and air will oxidize the contents. This is why a half a bottle of left over wine begins to taste quite different the next day and will taste all but undrinkable a month or so later. Bottles are designed to be finished at a sitting. Of course, if you are serving wines or ciders at a party or family gathering then you might go through 5 gallons...