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isinglass bentonite or something else.. help?

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becon776

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Nov 17, 2010
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So my two mead/cider (can't remember the correct name for this) meider? hahah are in secondary and they were both quick to establish a nice honey colored but perfectly clear layer about 1" thick at the very top. I am in like 3rd week secondary but this layer is NOT getting any bigger and nothing seems to be falling out or settling. the layer below is cloudy not like a primary cloudy and sg at zero (about 15% abv) I know a watched pot never boils but i mean shouldn't these things be settling a lil at a time? I know I could wait these guys out but I would rather get some bottle conditioning time in.

So thinking about a fining agent like isinglass. All the threads I have read have talked about whether to use it or not and compared it against other products. My question is HOW to use it. do I just buy the packet and dump it in there? Do I have to remove some of the cider and mix it in then decant to the carboy? WAter? Or maybe I can't use it at all now. There is some lees at the bottom that I vigorous shake would stir up but I assume that would clear again quickly if I had to mix again.
Ready to make moves and getting thirsty ;)
 
Sounds like you are refering to a cyser? Those usually clear very well by cold crashing. Other than that, I've always found time to be the best clearing agent, although this season for some reason the ciders have been slow to clear, so I just started an experiment using different clarifiers - bentonite, isinglass, pectic enzyme, sparkolloid and super kleer. Its only been 3 days since adding the clarifiers, but so far the super kleer is the most clear. I cant vouch for what effect it might have on taste yet. For isinglass, you just pour it in and stir.
 
O.k. added a two part superkleer packet last night. Just checked there seems to be alot of settling but not much clearing yet. But then againg I did a pretty good stir so all the secondary lees got stirred up again.
 
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