I've been in the winemaking industry for over a decade, but this is only my second homebrew, and only the first that I have fermented at home. You would think I'd be more patient working with a product that takes two years for completion, but alas...here we are.
Primary fermentation was slooow. I split the batch with a friend and he was done in a week. Mine was a touch colder and ran closer to two. After the gravity stopped moving, I shoved the carboy into a fridge in an attempt to cold crash. The only change was I removed the airlock and sealed the typical orange cap. After about nine days, and no crystal clear clarity, I talked to a buddy who used to do this semi-pro and he recommended moving to a secondary and putting the airlock back on. So I did that, and in the process of racking I noticed the the residual carbon dioxide was fairly present. Winemaker me thinks that is the main culprit in keeping small amounts of lees in suspension.
So now it's been three to four days later, and I'm seeing no appreciable gains. Is it just a waiting game? If I keg it, will it eventually settle despite the increase in C02? Should I clarify if it's that important to me?
If it will eventually clear in keg, that would be doable as I get to "check on its progress" when needed.
I like the idea of clarifying, but not if it strips the beer. I'm leaning toward Polyclar or maybe gelatin.
Yeast was WLP051 California V, listed as Medium to High floc.
