WastedCider
Active Member
Hey Homebrew Talk,
I recently clarified a really muddy store bought pasteurized cider (2 galls Langer's apple juice, .5 galls Ocean Spray Cranberry - red star champagne yeast) with gelatin and it looks like the gelatin may have gotten the pasteurized juice cloud out. It's only been in the bottle for five days and is as clear as a macro light beer. My last batch that has been bottled and cold crashed still has the cloud after over a month in the bottle. I didn't use gelatin on the older batch.
Needless to say I am amazed with the results and I am glad I used gelatin for the last two weeks of conditioning in the fermentor (3 gallon better bottle). When I read the "Results from juice, yeast and sugar experiments" thread I thought there was no hope for a clear cider made from pasteurized juice. But this has posed a problem somewhat larger than a cloudy cider. How can I make a cider this clear without using an animal based product?
I don't really care that gelatin is cow bone marrow. But I live in LA and you can guess that some of the people who want to taste my beer would be really offended if I gave them cider that had a meat based product as part of the process. Their lifestyle aside, I would like to know if I can get the same effect with Irish Moss. I use Irish moss in my homebrew batches with great results, but I add it during the boil. Can you get the same clarity in a cider/Apfelwine with Irish Moss? I have a new batch sitting right now (2.5 galls Langers + 11.5 oz Langers concentrate) that I would like to reduce the store bought cloud in. I never had this problem with unpasteurized juice sources, but Los Angeles is kind of short on unpasteurized supply.
Also, I ferment at 75+ without any really bad results other than the fact that I have to back sweeten and then cold crash after a week of bottle conditioning. I don't know if that is making the cloud more dramatic, but I live in a 16x18 efficiency and I don't have any means of controlling the fermentation temperature or the smell of fermentation when I come home.
Thanks,
Scott
I recently clarified a really muddy store bought pasteurized cider (2 galls Langer's apple juice, .5 galls Ocean Spray Cranberry - red star champagne yeast) with gelatin and it looks like the gelatin may have gotten the pasteurized juice cloud out. It's only been in the bottle for five days and is as clear as a macro light beer. My last batch that has been bottled and cold crashed still has the cloud after over a month in the bottle. I didn't use gelatin on the older batch.
Needless to say I am amazed with the results and I am glad I used gelatin for the last two weeks of conditioning in the fermentor (3 gallon better bottle). When I read the "Results from juice, yeast and sugar experiments" thread I thought there was no hope for a clear cider made from pasteurized juice. But this has posed a problem somewhat larger than a cloudy cider. How can I make a cider this clear without using an animal based product?
I don't really care that gelatin is cow bone marrow. But I live in LA and you can guess that some of the people who want to taste my beer would be really offended if I gave them cider that had a meat based product as part of the process. Their lifestyle aside, I would like to know if I can get the same effect with Irish Moss. I use Irish moss in my homebrew batches with great results, but I add it during the boil. Can you get the same clarity in a cider/Apfelwine with Irish Moss? I have a new batch sitting right now (2.5 galls Langers + 11.5 oz Langers concentrate) that I would like to reduce the store bought cloud in. I never had this problem with unpasteurized juice sources, but Los Angeles is kind of short on unpasteurized supply.
Also, I ferment at 75+ without any really bad results other than the fact that I have to back sweeten and then cold crash after a week of bottle conditioning. I don't know if that is making the cloud more dramatic, but I live in a 16x18 efficiency and I don't have any means of controlling the fermentation temperature or the smell of fermentation when I come home.
Thanks,
Scott
