Whole Foods Apple Cider - Clearing Problem?

[jamesjensen1068]

I did a 5 gallon batch of Whole Foods Apple Cider. It is an unfiltered organic cider. It fermented out and I had it in primary for 2 weeks then transfered to secondary about 3 weeks ago. I don't plan to bottle it until it's about 6 months old. I have two questions:

1. Should I use pectic enzyme, gelatin, or cold crash to clear it? Or not worry about it and let it clear on it's own?

2. Now that it is in secondary I've noticed a lot of particles falling out of suspension to the bottom (1/4 inch worth) Do I need to rack it off of this material at some point or do I just leave it until time to bottle?

Cheers

 

[hroth521]

I did a 5 gallon batch of Whole Foods Apple Cider. It is an unfiltered organic cider. It fermented out and I had it in primary for 2 weeks then transfered to secondary about 3 weeks ago. I don't plan to bottle it until it's about 6 months old. I have two questions:

1. Should I use pectic enzyme, gelatin, or cold crash to clear it? Or not worry about it and let it clear on it's own?

2. Now that it is in secondary I've noticed a lot of particles falling out of suspension to the bottom (1/4 inch worth) Do I need to rack it off of this material at some point or do I just leave it until time to bottle?

Cheers

I used this juice last year to make my first batch of cider. 2 things: do the best you can to leave it alone for at least 6 months. It tastes amazing after that.

It dropped crystal clear after about 8 months with nothing added to it.

 

[jamesjensen1068]

Cool...love it when I can get some real world advice. Will wait 8 months then. Good thing I have 5 gallons of Graham's English Cider made a month before this one....that'll ease the pain of waiting.

Cheers

 

[vinylrooster]

Cool...love it when I can get some real world advice. Will wait 8 months then. Good thing I have 5 gallons of Graham's English Cider made a month before this one....that'll ease the pain of waiting.

Cheers

Any updates on how this went? I'm doing a cider from the whole foods 365 unfiltered Apple juice. It was really cloudy when I first bought it, so I'm fine if it doesn't clear, but SWMBO will want it as clear as possible.

 

[Unferth]

You can always add bentonite and pectin enzyme if its not clearing

 

[jglazer]

I used the organic apple cider from whole foods that came in the glass jugs. 6 months now and it still is hazy. I would use pectic enzyme if you are concerned with clarity, or wait 8+ months

 

[UpstateMike]

Any updates on how this went? I'm doing a cider from the whole foods 365 unfiltered Apple juice. It was really cloudy when I first bought it, so I'm fine if it doesn't clear, but SWMBO will want it as clear as possible.

When you rack into a secondary, add Sparkolloid per the directions on the bottle, then wait 3 weeks. You will be able to read a newspaper through the carboy when it is done.

 

[vinylrooster]

When you rack into a secondary, add Sparkolloid per the directions on the bottle, then wait 3 weeks. You will be able to read a newspaper through the carboy when it is done.

Thanks Mike. I just have one question...did you start with a clear juice or the whole foods 365 juice, which is realllllly cloudy. I know that fining agents are quite good at clearly protein aggregates and yeast, but I'm not to sure if they will clear pectin (I'm assuming the cloudyness in the 365 juice is from pectin due to pasteurization). I'll gladly try the sparkloid, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Specifically I have read from a howtomakehardcider.com

"Whole Foods 365 Organic Apple Juice - Labeled as apple juice, not cider, but this is still a wonderful base for cider. It has many more suspended solids, so it does not yield quite as clear an end product. If you would like to go organic, this is an excellent choice. $6.49 at Whole Foods Denver Summer 2009. This juice will yield a cloudy cider, no matter what you do, because of the pectin haze that is formed when they pasteurize it. Oh well, it still tastes just fine."

I attached a picture of what my cider looked like before fermentation to show you just how cloudy it was right off the shelf.

 

[UpstateMike]

Thanks Mike. I just have one question...did you start with a clear juice or the whole foods 365 juice, which is realllllly cloudy.

I have never used Whole Foods 365. I have used fresh pressed cider right from the farm, and that looked similar to what you have there. Sparkolloid worked on that batch too.

 

[vinylrooster]

I have never used Whole Foods 365. I have used fresh pressed cider right from the farm, and that looked similar to what you have there. Sparkolloid worked on that batch too.

Awesome. Thanks Mike. One last question, did you cold crash prior to using the sparkaloid fining? It sounds like from your previous post that you didn't, but I thought I'd ask just to be sure.