Cider not clearing

[ThePrisoner]

I used pre pasteurised juice no additives.
Everything fermented fine but it has now been 2 months and no sign of the juice clearing in secondary.
Any ideas why?

 

[MarkKF]

Temp? Yeast? Did u use pectin enzyme?

 

[ThePrisoner]

No enzyme, it should clear naturally?
17 degrees constant.
Nottingham yeast.

 

[abrewnoob]

I used pre pasteurised juice no additives.
Everything fermented fine but it has now been 2 months and no sign of the juice clearing in secondary.
Any ideas why?

Did you boil your juice?

 

[ThePrisoner]

Pre pasteurised as in I bought it and it was already pasteurised. Not sure whether that was heat or UV.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Does pre heating fix the pectin?

 

[physics911]

Heating the juice to near boiling will set the pectin so it won't fall out of solution.
Take a sample of your cider and put in the fridge for a couple of days and see if it falls clear. This will let you know if you are dealing with pectin haze, or just a slow clearing cider. If the chilling works, cold crash the batch and dose it with gelatin. You can read a book through my cider with this method.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Heating the juice to near boiling will set the pectin so it won't fall out of solution.
Take a sample of your cider and put in the fridge for a couple of days and see if it falls clear. This will let you know if you are dealing with pectin haze, or just a slow clearing cider. If the chilling works, cold crash the batch and dose it with gelatin. You can read a book through my cider with this method.

If it was heated, will gelatin still work?
Cold crashed it for 3 days and still cloudy.

 

[madscientist451]

Some cider/juice/yeast combinations just seem to clear faster than others. 2 months isn't very long, but if you want it clear now, I'd use gelatin.

 

[dmf38]

Maybe sparkolloid would work.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/sparkolloid

 

[ThePrisoner]

My main question is if the pectin is already fixed, can it drop out of solution naturally or using gelatin or will it stay anyway?

 

[physics911]

Pectin haze, post-fermentation, is notoriously hard to clear, as it is actually part of the solution and not a suspended particle. You can try adding a dose of pectin enzyme, but it may or may not help.

Keep in mind, the haze is purely aesthetic, and any aggressive attempts to clear the cider may strip out flavor and/or body. I like to have my cider clear as well, but don't detract from the taste in an effort to make it more visually appealing.

 

[Hankhill11]

I've got two batches which i am experiencing similar non-clearing issues. One was made with pure filtered apple juice and following the sams choice sparkling cider recpie (2nd batch). The first batch was crystal. This batch cleared up at one point then got cloudy again right before i was going to bottle it.

I've finally gotten around to sticking it in the frig and added gelatin to see if that'll do it. This is my first attempt with gelatin. referencing this link http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06...latin.html?m=1 from a previous thread on HBT.

the other batch was a 'woodchuck clone' based on a recipe found in our recipe section. also the 2nd batch of it. the first batch cleared fine with no help from me. I'm letting the new batch sit in the cool basement for a bit longer but its already been two months. Possibly lagging due to unfiltered juice in this one, and i don't know if it was heat pasteurized or not. Trader Joes honey crisp.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Added 1 teaspoon of pectinase dissolved in a little juice from the wine thief.
Been 40 hours and still not clearing.

 

[Maylar]

It could take a couple of weeks. If you can cool it to 40F it'll clear faster.

 

[laredo7mm]

Pectinase? Is that the same as pectic enzyme?

If it is, I have read that pectic enzyme is not as effective in the presence of alcohol. I always add it before pitching the yeast or at the same time since it takes a while for the yeast to start their thing. After about 12 hours there is a ton of solids precipitating out and sinking to the bottom of the carboy.

I would take Maylar's advice and chill it to see what happens. I have also ready that pectic enzyme is less effective at cold temperatures. That would be a double whammy for you...alcohol and cold temps. But it can't hurt to try.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Pectinase? Is that the same as pectic enzyme?

If it is, I have read that pectic enzyme is not as effective in the presence of alcohol. I always add it before pitching the yeast or at the same time since it takes a while for the yeast to start their thing. After about 12 hours there is a ton of solids precipitating out and sinking to the bottom of the carboy.

I would take Maylar's advice and chill it to see what happens. I have also ready that pectic enzyme is less effective at cold temperatures. That would be a double whammy for you...alcohol and cold temps. But it can't hurt to try.

Think pectic enzyme (pectinase) should clear it in 48 hours?
Tried cold crashing before and didn't work either

 

[laredo7mm]

Think pectic enzyme (pectinase) should clear it in 48 hours?
Tried cold crashing before and didn't work either

I would think it would do its job in 48 hours, but like I mentioned above, I have read that the pectic enzyme gets denatured by alcohol. I don't know how effective it is when used after fermentation.

 

[Maylar]

I've had cider that took 3 weeks to clear with pectic enzyme added to secondary.

 

[dmtaylor]

I always use gelatin to clear all my ciders. It's always worked, with immediate results (24 hours). Try it.

 

[physics911]

You know, if you just start drinking it, the problem will go away soon.

 

[dmtaylor]

You know, if you just start drinking it, the problem will go away soon.

 

[Hankhill11]

I've finally gotten around to sticking it in the frig and added gelatin to see if that'll do it. This is my first attempt with gelatin. referencing this link http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06...latin.html?m=1 from a previous thread on HBT.

I bottled my *mostly* clear cider about a week ago. After putting it in the frig w/gelatin on 1/31, i racked and bottled it on 2/8 right outta the frig. I didn't take any pictures, but i will say it cleared up a lot from what it was. The geladin certainly works. I think the longer you let it in the frig the more it will clear, but i got results within 48 hours. It still has a haze but you can see through it.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Just going to have to bottle it cloudy I think
Nothing after 7 days.
The ones with pectic enzyme are still cloudy, in fact it even looked like they started fermenting again? air locks have liquid all on one side.

The one with sparkalloid just has all the sparkalloid sediment at the bottom and still cloudy.

 

[physics911]

If it is just cloudy, that's fine. But if you actually do suspect fermentation, don't bottle.

 

[ThePrisoner]

If it is just cloudy, that's fine. But if you actually do suspect fermentation, don't bottle.

It has been at least 4 months since I first started and then 2-3 ins secondary.
Seems strange for fermentation to restart? Unless the pectic enzyme gives off gas?

 

[physics911]

Always measure in place of assuming.
Mostly likely you are just seeing the fluid in the air lock move from temperature changes or something else innocuous. However, it is worth taking a hydrometer reading to make sure everything has stopped.

 

[ThePrisoner]

Has been 72hrs now outside where the temperature has fluctuated between -10 celsius and around 0 celsius.

Still hazy. I'm going to have to bottle cloudy I think and presume that when juice is heat pasteurised before fermentation, it will never clear.