Malic acid/ cloudy cider?

[WVbrewer]

I've made this cider at least a dozen times with perfect clarity:

5 gal store bought juice (absorbic acid preserved)
1lb light brown sugar
s-04 yeast (or whatever ale yeast slurry is handy)
a bit of apple flavoring...usually 1/3 of a bottle

Ferment to 1.006 or so....rack to keg with gelatin and cold crash in kegerator. Carb for 10 or so days and serve. Perfectly clear and carbed.

Last 2 batches I wanted to eliminate the apple flavoring and just use 1 can frozen concentrate (my wife finds the apple flavoring a touch too artificial....jolly rancher-esque). Both batches will not clear and the only ingredient variable is frozen concentrate with malic acid as an added ingredient. The flavor is quite nice, but the clarity is not up to snuff. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[UpstateMike]

I don't think that malic adid is causing your problem. It's probably already in the juice you use anyways, since malic acid is to apples what citric acid is to oranges, grapefruit, lemons, etc.

Try adding pectic enzyme just before you add the frozen AJ concentrate, it may help with the haziness.

Just had a thought. When you add the FAJC, do you add it frozen, or do you let it thaw to room temp and then add it?

 

[WVbrewer]

Hi Mike, my standard procedure is to gently heat (not boil) a half gallon of juice to dissolve the brown sugar and thaw the concentrate, then add that to the fermenter with the remaining juice, then pitch yeast.