trying my first cider

[ewebb]

So i have approximately 4 gallons of cider that has been sitting in my carboy for just over 2 weeks. Fermentation has died down very well, with only the occasional odd bubble.

I used the following:

2 gallons of unfiltered cider
1 gallon of natural apple juice (the 365 stuff from whole foods)
1lb honey plus 1/2c molasses dissolved in 1 gallon of water.

WY 1272 farmed from a batch of amber i did previously was pitched in, as well as yeast nutrient and some enzyme. I pitched more enzyme in a week later, having realized too late that i shouldn't have added it with the yeast...


Here is my question. The contents of the carboy do not have the finish look so far of what is purchased commercially from large providers (angry orchard) and looks more like the organic offerings (Crispin). Not cloudy, but not transparent. It needs to be racked to a smaller carboy and topped off with some juice concentrate but, will my batch ever reach the level of clarity of a Angry Orchard (my desired effect), or will it stay looking like Crispin?

 

[Yooper]

So i have approximately 4 gallons of cider that has been sitting in my carboy for just over 2 weeks. Fermentation has died down very well, with only the occasional odd bubble.

I used the following:

2 gallons of unfiltered cider
1 gallon of natural apple juice (the 365 stuff from whole foods)
1lb honey plus 1/2c molasses dissolved in 1 gallon of water.

WY 1272 farmed from a batch of amber i did previously was pitched in, as well as yeast nutrient and some enzyme. I pitched more enzyme in a week later, having realized too late that i shouldn't have added it with the yeast...


Here is my question. The contents of the carboy do not have the finish look so far of what is purchased commercially from large providers (angry orchard) and looks more like the organic offerings (Crispin). Not cloudy, but not transparent. It needs to be racked to a smaller carboy and topped off with some juice concentrate but, will my batch ever reach the level of clarity of a Angry Orchard (my desired effect), or will it stay looking like Crispin?

It should clear with some time!

I used only 100% apple cider from pressed apples (in my yard) and S04 ale yeast, with no pectic enzyme at all and it's about 2 weeks old now.

Here's a photo:

 

[ewebb]

Well, this is what mine looks like at 2 weeks



that's right... my brewery DEFIES GRAVITY!




or i just cant use my camera phone....

 

[ewebb]

Seriously though, is there something i could be doing wrong here to cause this clarity issue? Should i not be using unfiltered cider? My plan is to rack it to a smaller econdary by end of week, then top of with a can of concentrate.

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

Some yeast takes longer to floc out than others. Depending on OG, temp, solid content of juice/cider yours could just take awhile.

If you are ready to rack it, stick it someplace really cold (fridge if it will fit) for 3 maybe 4 days and it will clear up real nice.

 

[Culbetron]

It will clear. Give it time. It tends to happen faster after racking to the secondary. Also, chilling it down a bit helps.

 

[ewebb]

Racked to secondary last night, with the addition of a can of juice concentrate. Made the mistake of grabbing the wrong siphon and sucked up a bit of the yeast cake. A taste shows from the primary shows that it is rather dry and still a bit green. I will definitely have to back sweeten and then do the bottle-carb-Dishwasher-pasteurize-dance...

I'm making use of the cold weather and have the secondary sitting in an un-insulted back stairwell, so its around 40*...

 

[Redking]

I have 6 gallons of unfiltered organic apple juice from Sprout's Market (pretty similar to the 365 AJ from cotsco) that has been sitting in secondary for almost 3 months now, no pectic enzyme or anything added just the AJ + Cotes des Blancs yeast. It's back in my hometown which is a 3 hour drive from where I go to college, and last time I was home a week and a half ago I checked on it and it had still not cleared. I did notice however that there was a lot more sediment that had collected at the bottom of the carboy...and perhaps it was clearer by comparison to the previous time I checked 3 weeks before that, but I didn't take any pictures to compare. I've read that it takes months for some people! Especially with fresh pressed/unfiltered organic juice.

 

[Culbetron]

I ferment in the primary for 2 weeks, transfer to secondary for 2 weeks and it's always crystal clear well before then.

I really like a dry, carbonated British cider. About 6.5% ABV. The only problem is keeping my friends away from it!

 

[Redking]

I ferment in the primary for 2 weeks, transfer to secondary for 2 weeks and it's always crystal clear well before then.

I really like a dry, carbonated British cider. About 6.5% ABV. The only problem is keeping my friends away from it!

What kind of apple juice do you use, and do you use pectic enzyme?

 

[Culbetron]

I use cheap stor bought apple juice. The clear kind which is 100% juice and contains no preservatives. I add a bit of black tea, some lemon or lime juice, and maybe a bit of yeast nutrient. No pectic enzyme. I've made four batches of this withoneanother the way. Primary for 2-3 weeks, secondary for 2-3 weeks, the bottle to 3 volumes. It's great. My wife loves it.

 

[Redking]

Ah gotcha, yea that is what I usually use and yes it clears up nice in a few weeks. The one batch I made with the unfiltered organic fresh squeezed stuff (with all the sediment still in) it is taking much longer to clear up, but I think it'll be worth the wait