Super Kleer made my cider cloudy and it will not settle! Help!

[JeeperSean]

Help! I have been making small 1gal batches of cider from juice concentrate for several months now. All has been going well as, I would cold crash the cider in the fridge once it had mostly settled in secondary fermentation. Well I had planned to hand out bottles of this as a party favor this coming Sunday. After a long month of brewing a 5gal batch racking to secondary and letting it sit I added Super Kleer at the local brew shop’s recommendation since I don’t have the capacity to cold crash a 5gal jug. It instantly went cloud, which I expected, but over 48hrs later and it’s not settled nor is it showing any signs of doing so. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do in the next 24-48 hrs so I can save this and have it ready? it was clearing fairly well before the Super Kleer. Sooo Pissed and anxious.

 

[CiderRules]

It will usually make it look worse before it clears up. Lots of weird blobs and goop. I think it is usually recommended to let it sit for a while after adding to make sure it all settles out.

 

[TylerGuy]

cold crash in the tub with slow running cool water so it dosent overflow. this should get it to 6 degrees C or so.

 

[JeeperSean]

Ok thanks all. My local brew supply suggested breaking the batch out to smaller containers to fit in the fridge, so i did that. I expected it to get worse so to speak but i also expected it the advertised 4848hrs hr clearing. Here's the worst part. I had a 1/2 gal of the batch that was pullled off before the super kleer. That has settled on its own crystal clear.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Not sure about putting it in the fridge ... my understanding has always been that superkleer works best at room temperatue (70 to 75 or so)

Is the cider degassed sufficiently? ... the superkleer needs to settle out and if there is an excess of CO2 that might keep it suspended or slow it down. When you taste the cider does it have a fizzy mouthfeel?

Dumb question but ... you did stir the cider after the addition of *each* of the packets, and you did add them in the right order ... right?

Kieselsol (one of the two packets that comes with superkleer) always needs to be stored at room temperature. The closer it gets to frozen the more inert it becomes and then it will not remove the chitosan from suspension. Maybe you noticed solids developing in the kieselsol packet? ... if so, it may have been toast.
Even if the superkleer was stored in the refrigerator this could possibly be an issue. IF this was the case you could add a second batch of superkleer that you were certain had been stored properly. If degassing is not the problem you should have clearing at 72 hours at the outside ... otherwise there is likely an issue.

IF degassing/CO2 seemed to be the problem, personally I would take some tubing and rack to a bucket, leaving any sediment behind ... either splash-rack (against a hard surface in the bucket) or degass by stirring in the common way (spoon or degassing device). After degassing then return to the carboy or whatever you were fining it in. Hopefully that would then allow the chitosan and kieselsol to find each other and fall out. Though degassing will introduce oxygen, this should not be a problem by Sunday ... particularly as I assume you are going to eventually keep the finished cider at cold drinking temp in the fridge.

 

[JeeperSean]

Jacob wonderful advise best thing i have heard so far. ok to answer i think maybe degassing is it! I did stir cider after each packet and in the right order according to directions. The superkleer was at room temp and looked clear until use.

for the final part some of the cider will be kept at drinking temp, however i was planning on bottling about half of it for guests to take with. I will do what you suggest amd hope it helps.