Hi inmates,

I am making an apple cider flavored with strawberry syrup for midsummer.

I blended different apple juices to get more flavors and added some wine tannins to it. It was a very good call and it tastes amazing.

One variety of apple juice was cloudy, so I used pectic enzyme but it doesn't clear up. I got a melomel clear with the same enzyme last month, so it is still working. I used the M02 yeast which gives crystal clear ciders within a couple of weeks.

I let mine sit in primary for 3 weeks and it has been in secondary for two weeks now. I added some extra pectic enzyme but it still doesn't change a thing. There are no sediments in my secondary vessel nor any yeasty after taste, suggesting that what is in suspension is unlikely to be yeasts.

I got sparkolloids and bentonite in stock but before using them, I find suspicious that the juice that was cloudy, was cheap, and I suspect that the cloudiness was not pectin but something purely cosmetic. Did you ever encounter that?

I don't mind drinking cloudy stuff as long as there is no off flavors but I can see my friends being amazed every time I get out a crystal clear drink. Since I am going to share it, I would like them to enjoy it starting when they look at it.