Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider Bottled (March 16, 2013)

Bottled the hard cider yesterday--my first attempt at making the stuff. I dosed my three gallons of fully fermented liquid with 78 grams of dextrose to fuel a secondary fermentation in the bottles--which will give the cider a little sparkle. I hope I've calculated the sugar correctly; the proper amount is supposed to be 3/4 of a cup of sugar to five gallons of cider. I converted that to grams and reduced the amount appropriately for three gallons. Too much sugar will mean too much fermentation, which will mean too much carbon dioxide production and possibly more pressure than the crown caps can hold. I hope the bottles don't burst. I've been told that I should leave them at room temperature for about two weeks to do their thing (until March 30). Then I'm supposed to throw a couple bottles into the 'fridge and give 'em a try when they're nice and cold--that's the delivered theory anyway. Fingers crossed.