2nd Batch fermenting Longer??

[ram6519]

My first batch of Cider went off without a hitch but the 2nd batch not so easy.

1st Batch:

2 Gal Motts Apple Juice
1 lb Corn Sugar
2 Tsp Yeast Nutrient
Acid Blend
1 tube White Labs Sweet Mead Wine Yeast WLP720

First day I had good activity so I it ferment away. I had to go out of town and when I got back on day 18 Cider was clear (reading 1.000). I transfered to a secondary added sorbate waited 48hrs back sweetened and bottled. No problems and taste pretty good right now. (I didn't have a Hydrometer when I started my first batch)

2nd Batch:

4.5 Gals of Motts Apple Juice (reading 1.050)
2 lbs of Corn sugar
4.5 TSP of Yeast Nutrient
Acid Blend
1 tube of White Labs Sweet Mead Wine Yeast WLP720

Reading before I added the yeast was 1.068.
First day I had good activity so I let it ferment away. I figured I just doubled everything so it would be clear by day 18. Day 18 gets here and it's still cloudy. I take a reading 1.001. I transfer to the secondary and add the sorbate because I don't want it any dryer. 24 hrs later it's still cloudy.

Is it still OK being cloudy and why is it still cloudy if the first batch was clear after 18 days? Will it continue to clear the longer I leave it on the secondary even tho I have added the Sorbate? Just looking for a little insight.

Thanks guys

 

[alexroussos]

Give it time and it should clear -- you probably just have a lot of yeast left in suspension because you sorbated while they were still fermenting. You can always try cold crashing or adding a fining agent.

I can think of a few possible reasons for it fermenting differently. One that I can definitely say applies to you is your pitch rate -- the number of yeast cells per volume of cider was cut in half, which will definitely affect your fermentation profile. It makes sense that it would ferment more slowly with a lower cell count. Probably better to let it go to completion and back sweeten, but I've had decent results with your method as well.

Some other variables affecting your fermentation profile could be yeast health (date of manufacture and storage conditions), fermentation temperature, or possible contamination.