How do I know when the hard cider can be racked and should I expect the unfilter

ShellinTX

Hi everyone,
I started my first batch of five gallons of unfiltered apple juice. I had an extra sterilized jug, so I poured some off of each to avoid overflowing. I am using Nottingham yeast. I added a little peptic enzyme today. It has been fermenting for 7 days. I have been swirling it each day to make sure the fermenting is going strong. (I am not sure I am supposed to do this.) There are a lot of bubbles still after swirling. To look at the jugs on the counter sitting before the swirl, not much is happening in the gallon jugs. Am I ok to rack to a bigger carboy now? If I am wanting to add fruit for secondary fermenting, should I do it now or wait? Do I have to wait for it to totally clear before racking? I'm sorry for all of the questions. The unfiltered apple juice has not cleared as fast as our muscadine wine, so I am a little worried.

brewSJ

Fermentation doesn't have to be 100% done when you rack. You just want to get the cider off the bulk of the yeast (the gross lees). Once the airlock mostly stops bubbling, you can rack it at any time (don't wait for it to clear, that can take a few months). It's only when you want to bottle that you have to be 100% sure its done.
I don't use fruit, so I'll set someone answer that one.
Racking to bigger carboys is not good as it leaves too much room for oxygen. If you need to, rack temporarily to something else, clean out the original carboy, then siphon back. Empty headspace is your enemy after fermentation has stopped.

ShellinTX

Thank you so much for your response. I will rack tomorrow!

dmtaylor

I agree with @brewSJ. You can add your fruit at any time as well.
Please be patient with your cider. It can take months for it to clear to your satisfaction. Often it will clear in just a few weeks, but sometimes it takes much longer. The pectic enzyme won't work after fermentation has begun. It must be added to the raw juice early to have any effect.

ShellinTX

Thanks so much. I didn’t know that about the peptic enzyme. Lesson learned. Would you advise buying filtered apple juice over unfiltered? I wondered how everyone ways in on that. Last night, I racked the apple cider last night and tried one with the additional farm grown blackberry juice. Beautiful color. It did kick off the fermentation again lol.

ShellinTX

*weighs in

dmtaylor

Unfiltered juice is best. It should not affect the clarity of the finished product.

ShellinTX

Thanks!

DaveC73

Pectic enzyme added after fermentation will work, but much more slowly than if it were added prior to fermentation. The alcohol inhibits the enzyme, but doesn't "kill" it.

ShellinTX

Fingers crossed. I’ve put the Carboys in a closet. Time will tell. Do you ever just go ahead and bottle? I’m a little impatient lol.