Need Help with clearing

Need some help. I want to use gelatin to clear my cider, but have no way to cold crash it. Is cold crashing really necessary?
Also need to find out, Can I use Ball liquid pectin? It’s the stuff most people use when making jams and jellies. Is it the same stuff as pectic enzyme?

Cold crashing is certainly NOT necessary. It just might take 72 hours to clear instead of 48 hours. Something like that. No big deal.

Gelatin and pectin and pectic enzyme are three completely different things. No need for either pectin or pectic enzyme. Just the gelatin will suffice. Works great. Give it a few days, and it should clear very nicely. If not, shoot it with a second dose. That happened to me once. It normally works very well the first time. Just needs a few days to settle everything out. Then age, if desired, then bottle.

Thanks dmtaylo2. This is what I wanted to know. :cheers: My cider should be ready by Sunday to move to secondary, should I pitch the gelatin then or a couple of days before I rack?

Either way.

Thank you. :mrgreen:

Let me bring this thread back to life.

I haven’t made hard cider in prolly ten years. About six weeks ago I spotted gallons of pasteurized (no chemicals) cider in the grocery so I picked one up to try my hand at it again. It has finished and cleared nicely so far but remains cider color. I seem to recall my cider years ago turned out clear as in looked like water. I don’t really care what color it is since the taste is what counts. The cider that came out clear might have been apple jack that I let freeze and scooped out the ice. Would that have made a difference?

To bring this up to date, Racked the cider after 3 weeks in primary. Added the gelatin and left it in secondary for one week, added 3 quarts of apple juice, and 3 tbsp. of apple flavoring, then bottled on may 31st. Cleared nicely, have some sediment(yeast?) in the bottom of the bottles. Tasted last night, tastes like the Angry Orchard Hard Cider, which is the taste I wanted. Thanks for the help:cheers:

Did you stabilize it prior to bottling? If not, the yeast will ferment out the remaining sugars and blow you bottles.

[quote=“HD4Mark”]Let me bring this thread back to life.

I haven’t made hard cider in prolly ten years. About six weeks ago I spotted gallons of pasteurized (no chemicals) cider in the grocery so I picked one up to try my hand at it again. It has finished and cleared nicely so far but remains cider color. I seem to recall my cider years ago turned out clear as in looked like water. I don’t really care what color it is since the taste is what counts. The cider that came out clear might have been apple jack that I let freeze and scooped out the ice. Would that have made a difference?[/quote]

Your remark about the clear cider brings back a memory. Thirty years or so ago my father and I visited a farmer in a distant neighborhood in search of some hardware for farm implements. We met the gentleman, and after conducting our business, he asked us if we would like a cup of cider, to which we agreed. He took us to his basement (basically hand dug from under an existing farmhouse between huge wood foundation blocks) and proceeded to pour us each a half coconut shell of crystal clear cider out of one of several enormous (at least it seemed at the time) oak kegs. I remember my father taking a look at the cider and asking him, “what’d you do, run it through a (cream) separator?” to which the farmer nodded his head in the affirmative. Apparently the separator spun all the sediment out of the cider (as I would expect), probably along with almost all of the yeast as well, and that cider was by far the best I have ever tasted, with a nice residual sweetness, just a bit of body, and a generally mellow apple flavor with just a bit of an edge. And a pretty serious kick, as I remember…

To your question about the freezing and color–Apple Jack that I’ve been associated with-both frozen and skimmed, and distilled–has been crystal clear. So maybe the freezing and skimming process removes suspended particles that contribute to the color.

[quote=“65SS427”][quote=“HD4Mark”]Let me bring this thread back to life.

I haven’t made hard cider in prolly ten years. About six weeks ago I spotted gallons of pasteurized (no chemicals) cider in the grocery so I picked one up to try my hand at it again. It has finished and cleared nicely so far but remains cider color. I seem to recall my cider years ago turned out clear as in looked like water. I don’t really care what color it is since the taste is what counts. The cider that came out clear might have been apple jack that I let freeze and scooped out the ice. Would that have made a difference?[/quote]

Your remark about the clear cider brings back a memory. Thirty years or so ago my father and I visited a farmer in a distant neighborhood in search of some hardware for farm implements. We met the gentleman, and after conducting our business, he asked us if we would like a cup of cider, to which we agreed. He took us to his basement (basically hand dug from under an existing farmhouse between huge wood foundation blocks) and proceeded to pour us each a half coconut shell of crystal clear cider out of one of several enormous (at least it seemed at the time) oak kegs. I remember my father taking a look at the cider and asking him, “what’d you do, run it through a (cream) separator?” to which the farmer nodded his head in the affirmative. Apparently the separator spun all the sediment out of the cider (as I would expect), probably along with almost all of the yeast as well, and that cider was by far the best I have ever tasted, with a nice residual sweetness, just a bit of body, and a generally mellow apple flavor with just a bit of an edge. And a pretty serious kick, as I remember…

To your question about the freezing and color–Apple Jack that I’ve been associated with-both frozen and skimmed, and distilled–has been crystal clear. So maybe the freezing and skimming process removes suspended particles that contribute to the color.[/quote]Marty, The cider thing brings back memories for me too. When I was younger I was a phone man and work a lot of rural areas, some of it apple orchards. Even when there was a disaster and their phones would not be restored for days the farmers would give me cider. Raw cider, no preservatives, no anything but cider. Wonderful even before you made it hard.

Off topic. 65SS427 would be a very powerful Chevy? I had a “69SS396” Camaro back when was young and foolish.

Marty, The cider thing brings back memories for me too. When I was younger I was a phone man and work a lot of rural areas, some of it apple orchards. Even when there was a disaster and their phones would not be restored for days the farmers would give me cider. Raw cider, no preservatives, no anything but cider. Wonderful even before you made it hard.

Off topic. 65SS427 would be a very powerful Chevy? I had a “69SS396” Camaro back when was young and foolish.[/quote]

Yep, I agree, farm fresh cider in any form is hard to beat. As to my username, I have a '65 Malibu SS that I transplanted an L88 “clone” and a five speed in, along with a few other select goodies. Unfortunately, life these days prevents me from spending a lot of time with it…

I remember a couple of those SS396’s around town when I was in high school. I don’t recqll that they got messed with a lot by other car owners.

[quote=“65SS427”]
I remember a couple of those SS396’s around town when I was in high school. I don’t recqll that they got messed with a lot by other car owners.[/quote]
No it could pass anything but a gas station :roll:

Did you stabilize it prior to bottling? If not, the yeast will ferment out the remaining sugars and blow you bottles.[/quote]

Nope, forgot to stabilize it. No battle bombs but had to release the carbon build up every couple of days. Tested for ABV today, and if I’m reading the hydrometer right, it’s at 13%. Have to back sweeten each glass, but it sure taste good. :mrgreen:
This is only the 2nd time I have made cider, I will remember to stabilize it next time.