Secondary not clarifying... Tertiary?

[ItsRoz]

So I went apple picking w my gf in late sept, got 2 bushels, 1/2 was golden delicious, 1/2 was like Fuji, 1/2 was red delicious and 1/2 was some weird mix of jonogold and like gala or something.

In any case, I juiced about 1.5 bushels and it yielded almost 6 gallons, I pitched champagne yeast along with 2 pounds of sugar in the raw.

After about 2 weeks airlock activity was down to almost once a minute or less.I racked to secondary (5 gallon carboy), and I'm like 99% sure I sucked up a bunch of crap from the bottom because it was my first time w an auto siphon and I trusted the sediment guard way too much.

In any case, aside from a very thin 1cm depth at the top of the batch which is slightly less cloudy than the rest, the batch looks the same opacity as when in primary.

Airlock activity is once every like ten minutes or more, but I did notice a layer of something on the bottom, my assumption is its lees, but I imagine it could also be sediment. The last batches I did clarified much quicker am I just impatient or should I rack off the sediment into tertiary, which would probably mean several 1 gallon glass jugs.

Note: I am really kinda trying to keep it as natural as possible and as such have used sterile technique throughout, and added nothing but apples yeast ad sugar. The first time I made a batch I used brewers yeast and when I racked it I threw in like a teaspoon of Irish moss (I know everyone is gonna say only works if boiled) and it clarified crystal clear in a week. Should I use that? I also have on hand bentonite and pectinase, and have heard gelatin works wonders but SWMBO is a vegetarian so....

Thanks for your time guys I know I'm kinda long winded.

 

[Yooper]

I'd try the pectic enzyme, at about 1 teaspoon per gallon if it's the powdered stuff.

Dissolve that in a little water, and gently stir it in. That should break up the pectin, and clear it if it is a pectin haze.

Time helps alot, too, so wait at least 60 days and then rack to a new vessel, especially if you have lees 1/4" thick or so.

 

[ItsRoz]

Pectinase was what I thought too. So that batch is 6 gallons or so, a teaspoon of pectinase in how much water? And I've included a photo of the batch just to be sure, like I said don't wanna add anything not absolutely necessary.

 

[Yooper]

1 teaspoon per gallon is the "dosage" usually.

You have WAY too much headspace in that carboy. It's important to top up to the narrowest part of the carboy, just below the bung, to protect the cider from oxidation and infection. You can add more apple juice, or siphon to a smaller carboy, or take up some of the headspace with sanitized marbles (but you'd need boxes and boxes of marbles for that much headspace).

If you don't want to add the pectic enzyme, that's ok too. In a couple of months, the cider might clear well on its own anyway. Also, if you put the finished cider in a very cold (near freezing) place, that will also clear it up. That's called "cold stabilization".

 

[ItsRoz]

I've heard the marbles thing and only since I couldn't find any in NYC I just kinda crossed my fingers that the remaining yeast would produce enough co2 to protect the cider, and since the airlock does bubble albeit slowly, and there is no infection (that I can see) I trust that's what happened but when I first racked Into that carboy I was terrified at that much headspace.
Anyway, I guess I'll give the pectinase a shot and see what happens gonna keep the airlock open only for a split second to get the enZyme in.

Edit: the reason I don't want to add more juice is bc I wanted this to stay at dryness and not start another primary full blown fermentation since I can see the lees it's sitting on from my ****e rack

 

[Yooper]

Edit: the reason I don't want to add more juice is bc I wanted this to stay at dryness and not start another primary full blown fermentation since I can see the lees it's sitting on from my ****e rack

Then racking to a smaller carboy is important, especially since you're going to have a ton more lees as it clears, and you'll be racking this at least once more.

 

[jerrodm]

+1 for long term storage in a cold environment. I just finished my last bottle of dry cider from last season, it looked like fine champagne after two months in the secondary at 45F, and no chemicals required. Beautiful, golden color, tall, lacy head, wish I had taken a picture! Should have asked my wife to take one, she takes pictures of every other damn thing on the planet!