Cider question

Hey I moved my batch of cider into my secondary and it is not clear at all... do I need to let it clear, or will it clear?

how exactly dd you move it? What recipe are you using? How long has it been in primary?

It shouldn't matter if it is not clear. Depending on what recipe you are using, it might never be clear. I have heard of things you can add including pectin which helps to bind everything that is floating around and then you can rack it off but I haven't used any yet.

Need to know more information to give you a better answer

Ok when I embarked on making a cider I talked to the guys at the beer store and the gave me this recipe and directions: 5 gallons of cheap cider, 2 pounds of honey, yeast nutrient, and red star Premier Cuvee. Directions mix in fermenter, and let set for a week or until the air lock slow way down. Then move to a secondary and let sit for a week. Then prime and bottle.

Why do people at homebrewing shops (some people and some homebrewing shops obviously) give such blatantly inadequate advice?

You could ferment cider for 2 weeks or 2 months. It needs to have finished fermenting before you bottle it otherwise the bottles can explode causing mess and shards of broken glass, possibly in your eye.

Did they say nothing about temperature or measuring gravity? Just bung it in for two weeks and she's done? The airlock may not even bubble at all.

My advice - when you are certain the brew is finished (measure with a hydrometer to get stable readings over 3 days that are in the region you would expect - probably 1000 or thereabouts) then put the whole fermenting vessel in the fridge for 24 hours. Dissolve a teaspoon of gelatin in some boiled water (a teacup) that's been allowed to cool a bit. Cover and let cool to below 50 degrees C, add to the brew (no need to stir) then put back in the fridge for at least a week. The cider will clear up if the haziness is due to yeast in suspension.

Swcoxe said:

Hey I moved my batch of cider into my secondary and it is not clear at all... do I need to let it clear, or will it clear?

Click to expand...

Yes. As long as you didn't boil the juice, it'll clear on it's own in time, it'll be clear enough to read a newspaper through. Regards, GF.

Adding pectic enzyme a few hours before the yeast really helps to clear things.

Honestly, being clear doesn't affect the taste. It just looks prettier.

manticle said:

Why do people at homebrewing shops (some people and some homebrewing shops obviously) give such blatantly inadequate advice?

Click to expand...

I was in my LHBS a few months ago buying a few supplies and a guy comes in that hasnt done any fermentation before. he wants to do a cider. The guy behind the counter just goes to town with liquid yeast, pectic enzyme, bentonite, acid blend, tannin, and all sorts of other crap you dont need to do a first batch with. You just need cider, yeast, fermenter, airlock, and hydrometer. Then experiment from there.

Thanks everyone, any idea how I know if it is yeast in suspension? All I know is it is almost gold in color.... I thought since I put clear liquids in, the end result would be clear.... When I racked into my secondary the gravity reading was 1.012.

at 1.012 it is not fully fermented out, which isnt a bad thing if you like sweeter ciders (like I do). Normally if left to finish, it would go down to .998 or lower unless it stalled.

The haze is mostly yeast. It does clear on its own, especially when cold crashed for an extended period. Time depends. I have some clear in 2 weeks, sometimes much longer. Personally I dont care if it clears because it is just as tasty with or without haze

ok so if I I like it sweeter, can I crash it and still bottle carb it? Also if I can what is the proceedure?

yes you can cold crash. This will get most of the stuff to fall out.

bottle carbing is tricky with cider that hasnt fermented out all the way. At 1.012 there is alot of sugar left, enough to make bottle bombs. It becomes an experiment in checking the bottles once a week or so. Some people bottle a couple plastic bottles so they can check hardness as it goes along. Then when it is done carbing, all of them have to go in the fridge.

vespa2t said:

I was in my LHBS a few months ago buying a few supplies and a guy comes in that hasnt done any fermentation before. he wants to do a cider. The guy behind the counter just goes to town with liquid yeast, pectic enzyme, bentonite, acid blend, tannin, and all sorts of other crap you dont need to do a first batch with. You just need cider, yeast, fermenter, airlock, and hydrometer. Then experiment from there.

Click to expand...

What you need is good, correct and easy to follow advice so you can get a grip on the fundamentals. I'm kind of assuming that's what you're saying and it's what I'm trying to get at too - the HBS guy should have given simple advice about temperature, reading hydrometers and understanding the basics of fermentation. Advising someone to ferment cider for two weeks and then bottle, without giving qualifiers is actually potentially dangerous advice.

Swcoxe said:

ok so if I I like it sweeter, can I crash it and still bottle carb it? Also if I can what is the proceedure?

Click to expand...

I would advise against it unless you have someone with you who's experienced in it. Exploding bottles are no joke. There's a recycled photo on the other HB forum I frequent of glass from an exploding bottle embedded in someone's ceiling.

There are ways and means though: You can wait till they carb to your liking and refrigerate all of them (if you have fridge space for 20-30 700mL bottles) or wrap every bottle with a few layers of plastic wrap to contain glass explosions, or bottle in plastic bottles (they have been known to explode but less often and possibly less dangerous) or not add priming sugar and allow the unfinished ferment to carb up the cider or buy a kegging system.

I have sucessfully worked out a procedure to bottle carb sweet cider, but have still given that up and switched to kegging. It is risky as hell, and my beer fridge has a hard time containing 50-55 12oz bottles until all consumed after carbing is at a good level.

You can go crazy and put it in a keg then filter the cider with <1 micron as you transfer it to a second keg to CO2 carbonate, and counter-pressure fill it back into 12oz bottles. It's one hell of a process but it'll be clear, sweet, and carbonated.

Unless you don't have a kegging system or filter..................

I dont filter. I just dont care that much

Kegging. Way safer than bottle carbing if it is sweet cider. I got my kegging system up and running for just a little over $100 by buying everything used (except for new hoses).

Like I had mentioned earlier, you can bottle carb. No priming required since you have tons of sugar left in it already (1.012 was it?). I think some people recommend only using plastic bottles for this. I have used glass, but only the ones I know can take extra pressure (Belgian ones, the kind that they bottle with ~4 volumes). But be forewarned that bottle bombs have a high probability of occuring. I have switched to kegging for my sweet carbed cider. Its just safer.

Yeah, not kegging yet.... I am going to just be safe on this batch and do a dry sparkling batch. Hey where do you find used kegging stuff?