Mild Crisis!

[Jezter]

HI all hope everyone is having a great new year.

My heating bill to heat a living quarter attached to my garage was unnecessary. This is where I was storing 2 carboys of melomel. It was heated to only 5c. The carboys were on the floor (carpet over concrete) so likely even colder.

So when i brought them into the house not even half an hour later I noticed one of them was bubbling!!!I even though how crazy? The temperature could only be between 5-10c at that time. Both had been racked onto potassium sorbate and a second shot of campden tablets November 14.

QUestions are, is this some degassing going on or have these yeasties took right off again? I don't want it any dryer or any more alcohol. The yeast used was 1116.

Is it ok to double dose on potassium sorbate?

 

[danr]

Moving the mead to a warmer location can definitely cause dissolved CO2 to come out of solution and degas. Have you tested the specific gravity?

 

[Vance G]

You shouldn't need to double the sorbate. Are you going to sulfite too If the room was heated until the mead quit fermenting, it is doubtful it has started back up this quickly.

 

[kudapucat]

No. Do not use excess sorbate.
Use only in conjunction with metabisulphate unless of course you like icky geranium smell.

 

[kudapucat]

From http://nanaimowinemakers.org/Notes/Sorbate.htm

Sorbic acid is not effective against many bacteria. It MUST be used in conjunction with SO2 to control acetic acid and malolactic bacteria. The major danger in adding sorbate to wine is active malolactic bacteria. They can metabolize sorbic acid and produce a disastrous bi-product called hexanedienol that has a strong geranium-like smell. This will ruin the wine, and there is no way to recover from this fault. Therefore, make sure ML bacteria are under control (via Lyzozyme, pH, and SO2) before you add sorbate

 

[Jezter]

Moving the mead to a warmer location can definitely cause dissolved CO2 to come out of solution and degas. Have you tested the specific gravity?

Yeah s.g is 1.06 there is sugar to restart fermentation. I'm hoping degasing is what it is because even when I racked it onto campden tablets and sorbate I turned off the heat down to 5c in that building and crashed it at the same time. When I did this there was still some active fermentaton happening.

You shouldn't need to double the sorbate. Are you going to sulfite too If the room was heated until the mead quit fermenting, it is doubtful it has started back up this quickly.

The batch has been sulfited twice already and sorbated once. Wasn't thinking of sulfiting again was only wondering about another shot of sorbate. The mead was cold crashed and stabilized kept cold for months, brought back into warmth and within half hour there was bubbles!

No. Do not use excess sorbate.
Use only in conjunction with metabisulphate unless of course you like icky geranium smell.

Do they need to be applied together at the same time? I have already put two doses of sulphites. One at mixing of must and a second time on second racking and added sorbate at this time.

 

[kudapucat]

Sulphate needs to be added first or at least simultaneously. You need to squash the bacteria the post talked about, so they can't eat the sorbate.

 

[Chevette Girl]

If your SG is stable (which it should be if you've sulphted ywice and sorbated once), it's probably just degassing, same thing happens to me when I bring a batch upstairs from the cooler basement.

 

[Jezter]

Thanks chevette girl. Forever appreciate your advice!

 

[chal4oye]

I Like it.....

 

[Jezter]

If your SG is stable (which it should be if you've sulphted ywice and sorbated once), it's probably just degassing, same thing happens to me when I bring a batch upstairs from the cooler basement.

Chevette girl how long has some of your stuff degassed for? I brought mine back in last night and its still bubbling tonight. I've been watching s.g doesn't really seem like its moved but it hasn't even been 24hours. It was also the same scenario within half an hour it was bubbling.

If it is indeed fermenting what should I do? Its had two shots of campden tablets and 1 dose of sorbate.

Actually now looking at my records I did a first racking Nov.14 and added sorbate and cold crashed.

Dec.05 racked for a second time onto campden tablets. Is this perhaps why it could be fermenting? Because I added sorbate then campden tablets almost 3 weeks later?

So how can I proceed from here? I don't want to have excessively high levels of additives.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Chevette girl how long has some of your stuff degassed for? I brought mine back in last night and its still bubbling tonight. I've been watching s.g doesn't really seem like its moved but it hasn't even been 24hours. It was also the same scenario within half an hour it was bubbling.

If it is indeed fermenting what should I do? Its had two shots of campden tablets and 1 dose of sorbate.

You could do campden once more without hurting anything but I'd give it a couple of weeks. I had one batch that bubbled without the SG changing for a year, but that batch was just weird.

Typically, a couple weeks should have it degassed, and if your SG isn't changing, it isn't continuing to ferment so it's just gonna take its time. If you're in a hurry to bottle this batch, then stir it gently a couple of times a day with something sanitized.