how long to clear?

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JLem

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My cider has been sitting in secondary for a month in a cool basement. It is still very opaque. I thought I would see some signs of clearing by now. Another month? Two?
 
If you have a very cool or cold area you can locate the cider into, move it there and allow it to sit for several days to two weeks to drop out some of the sediment still in suspension. You can also use a long spoon or stirrer to de-gass your cider. Trapped CO2 will keep wine and cider from clearing properly. Did you use any pectic enzyme in your recipe?

One month is really not that long for a wine or cider to clear completely. From what I have read here, many brewers consume their ciders early and may not wait for it to become crystal clear. It is a personal choice I guess.

Good Luck.

Salute! :mug:
 
One month is really not that long for a wine or cider to clear completely. From what I have read here, many brewers consume their ciders early and may not wait for it to become crystal clear. It is a personal choice I guess.

I have no problem waiting - just thought I'd see some change by now.

what did you use for a recipe?

I used a very simple recipe - 3 gallons of all natural, preservative-free apple cider from Whole Foods, 3 tsp of yeast nutrient, and an ale yeast, no additional sugars or pectic enzyme. OG = 1.050; FG (or last I checked) = 1.002. I racked it to get the cider off the lees and it has been siting at ~55 degrees for 4 weeks.
 
I've got the same apple "cider" from WF, and I have the same issue...
Started mine Jan 29th,
Racked it 3/16/09 (had 1.5" of "junk" on the bottom")
And it hasn't cleared in the least.

That's 61 weeks (dog weeks)...
But, hope springs eternal, or something like that.

I just racked it to a new jug and I'm getting ready to cold crash it, on the shelf of my housemate's 'fridge, for a few days.

On the plus side, I've got another gallon of (clear) apple juice to go into the vacated jug. :D
 
I've got the same apple "cider" from WF, and I have the same issue...
Started mine Jan 29th,
Racked it 3/16/09 (had 1.5" of "junk" on the bottom")
And it hasn't cleared in the least.

Wow. That's 2 months - and still no clearing?!?!? I shouldn't complain with only about 1 month in.

Is clearing a gradual process or something that happens relatively all of a sudden? I figured it would take a few months, but I'm getting worried that I'll have to wait 6 or more at this rate!
 
My Hard Cider made from Whole Foods cloudy cider was similar to yours, just the juice, nutrients, and some WLP005 ale yeast, and it took about 4 months to clear, which is longer than my usual, but not too much longer than cloudy juice normally takes, which comes in at about 2-3 months. must be that there is just so much cloudy stuff in there.
 
I forgot to update... I racked to the new container and capped it, and put it in the fridge... there was some initial clearing w/in 12 hours, and at 24 hours, there was a very distinct difference. I'm back to 3/4 of an inch of apple and yeast junk at the bottom. I will see it again Monday night, and if it looks clear enough, I'll rack one more time or maybe just bottle and let 'em sit. And sample some more. ;-)

I'm getting ready to do another set w/ clear apple juice... now that I have the glass jug.
 
When you say cap, do you mean cap as in seal? If there is still some co2 in there, sealing it will probably dissolve the co2 into solution, make sure you degass before bottling.
 
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