Clearing wine

[bighooligan]

Ok so I have been waiting for my wines to clear up. It seems to be taking a while. One I blended the fruit and I know that was a mistake. The next batch I kept the fruit whole and it seems to be clearing very slowly. My mead is clearing a lot faster.

I went to the local brew store and they gave me come clay substance that is supposed to help. It says it takes 2 weeks but it has not done that much to help it has a little bit. Anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance. I have had a lot of good advice on here so far.

 

[crispbrew]

Did you use any pectic enzyme? Suspended fruit pectin will create a haze that is pretty difficult to clear on its own.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I agree with crispbrew, that said, the product that the LHBS gave you was probably Bentonite,
I recommend using Sparkolloid to clarify it. I've had a lot of success with Sparkolloid, just follow the directions and within a few days you'll see an improvement.
Keep us updated,
Thanks

 

[Paps]

http://cdn3.volusion.com/gzgkm.qmvrb/v/vspfiles/photos/CASSK-2.jpg?1397724126

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Agreed, Super Kleer K.C. works very well, but not much will clear up the pectic haze.

 

[bighooligan]

I didn't use any pectic enzyme at all. I used the bentonite clay and it cleared it a lot but not all of it. WHen I transferred it it was pretty clear but not totally. Maybe I should re rack and add more. They didn't have anything else to use at the store at that time.

 

[Pyg]

I didn't use any pectic enzyme at all. I used the bentonite clay and it cleared it a lot but not all of it. WHen I transferred it it was pretty clear but not totally. Maybe I should re rack and add more. They didn't have anything else to use at the store at that time.

Any time I make a fruit wine, I always use peptic enzyme.
Then I use superkleer, which clears in days instead of sparkalloid's weeks.
Superkleer also packs the goop down tight, so you loose less wine.

but only use Superkleer/Sparkalloid when you have no time for time!
Time is the best way to clear wine, that is unless you have no time, in which case Superkleer does the job in a fraction of the time!
:rockin:

 

[bighooligan]

I will have to see what I can find at the brew store. I just dont want to add anything to my wine that is not natural. I am also worried about the flavors.

 

[butterpants]

Superkleer + Cold Crashing works awesome. I don't even degas. Brilliant in a few days

 

[bighooligan]

Superkleer + Cold Crashing works awesome. I don't even degas. Brilliant in a few days

Is this the stuff that you use in the fridge? What would be the shelf life of the wine?

 

[butterpants]

you don't have to chill it when using superkleer but it's soooo much more effective that way

 

[bighooligan]

But I already have it in bottles. What can I do now? I was thinking to just throw it back in the carboy and Try it again but Wont that mess it up?

 

[Pyg]

The only issue I have ever had with Superkleer is how it is failing to clear my current bactch of Skeeter Pee.
The superkleer has cleared all the sediment but did not clear the haze.
I usually use Sparkalloid on SP, but tried something different.
Super Kleer has worked wonderfully for all my other wines, not sure what the issue is this time around

peptic haze?
Sorbate Haze?

Eitherway Superkleer has failed me!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

One thing that I haven't asked is what kind of wine are we talking about?
Normally,time is the key; if this is a red wine made from grapes, 6 months in a carboy and the wine is fairly clear, as for whites I usually add sparkolloid to clear it and I always filter my whites for a nice "polished" look.
My whites age at least 6 months before bottling, my reds age between a year and a half to 2 years before bottling.
If this is a fruit wine, pectic enzyme is a must.
I wouldn't uncork all of the bottles and put it back into a carboy, you will run a high risk of oxidizing your wine, it is one of those times where the old saying "the cure is worse than the disease" can be true.
I would live with a cloudy wine this time and prepare for your next batch.

 

[bighooligan]

It is a fruit wine. Apricot, mango, peach, and loquat. I uncorked it and added it back to the carboy and put in some pectic enzyme and charged it with co2 to keep it from getting too much oxygen. I hope this will work. I also added pectic enzyme and clarifier to my mead and my red grape wine the same day. I did them all at once. I am using biofine as a clarifier, they dont have superkleer where I go. I hope this will clear it out. I have it sitting in carboys airlocked in a box with a towel over the box to keep the light out and hope it will age well this way. I am building a pantry next week with the whole bottom dedicated to my wine so I can bulk age stuff and have the room for it.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

These wine will need to age and will improve substantially with age, can you find sparkolloid? This has worked well for me with fruit wine.

 

[bighooligan]

I will try to see if maybe I can find it online. The brew shop I go to doesn't have it. I will age this for a few months before I bottle it. I hope it will clear out by then.

 

[bighooligan]

See it looks cloudy even after everything.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

This looks just like many of my fruit wines before aging and clearing.

 

[bighooligan]

I am hoping with some aging and the clarifier it will help it. I have started about one batch a week so far this summer. I have been harvesting a ton of fruit so I have been making a lot of wine. This fall I will have blood oranges. That one will be interesting.