Hello everyone. I have a few one gallon batches that I stabilized at the same time the other day. One is a plain mead, one is a cherry melomel, and the other is a maple syrup wine. I added the sulfite and sorbate at the same time. I know some people do them separately but I heard it's ok to do them together. Anyway, I think I may have only added 1/4 tsp of sorbate to each one instead of 1/2. I'm not 100% sure but it's very possible. Will it still work with just the 1/4? Should I let them sit for a while and then add more sulfite and another 1/4 tsp of sorbate to each? I really don't want to add too much sorbate if there's a chance it could affect the taste, but I definitely don't want bottle bombs. I plan on letting them age for quite a while before I bottle. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
not enough sorbate
- Thread starter reese27k
- Start date
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Well I understand how the sorbate works but whether that's affected by the quantity or not, I don't know.
Is an extra 1/4 tsp likely to affect the taste ? probably not IMO. It'd be a case of either getting it right i.e. 1/4 +1/4 if you got it wrong the first time or overdosing by 1/4 if you got it right and are recalling wrongly.......
Your only likelihood of bottle bombs would be if new/increased fermentable sugars are present usually from back sweetening.
so if you're not planning on that, its less likely an issue. Or if you follow the normal sulphiting routines of once on first rack then every second racking etc, you'd probably be adding a dose prior to bottling so it wouldn't have any way of dissipating/off gassing and should prevent any further possible fermentation anyway........
So its up to you......
p.s. if you degassed before bottling anyway, the partial pressure of dissolved or gaseous CO2 should be low/small enough not to be an issue (plus while bottle bombs are a possible hazard, theyre often more of a worry for the newer wine/mead maker than a realistic probability)
Is an extra 1/4 tsp likely to affect the taste ? probably not IMO. It'd be a case of either getting it right i.e. 1/4 +1/4 if you got it wrong the first time or overdosing by 1/4 if you got it right and are recalling wrongly.......
Your only likelihood of bottle bombs would be if new/increased fermentable sugars are present usually from back sweetening.
so if you're not planning on that, its less likely an issue. Or if you follow the normal sulphiting routines of once on first rack then every second racking etc, you'd probably be adding a dose prior to bottling so it wouldn't have any way of dissipating/off gassing and should prevent any further possible fermentation anyway........
So its up to you......
p.s. if you degassed before bottling anyway, the partial pressure of dissolved or gaseous CO2 should be low/small enough not to be an issue (plus while bottle bombs are a possible hazard, theyre often more of a worry for the newer wine/mead maker than a realistic probability)
fatbloke made all the necessary points, but I have a request that will help to clarify things in my mind. Do any of these have any residual sweetness, or are you planning on backsweetening?
If not, then sorbate isn't even necessary. In fact, for a fully dry mead, one could argue that with careful sanitation of equipment and good bottling practice (i.e. minimizing the exposure to oxygen during the handling that occurs during bottling), you may get away with not even needing the sulphite.
If not, then sorbate isn't even necessary. In fact, for a fully dry mead, one could argue that with careful sanitation of equipment and good bottling practice (i.e. minimizing the exposure to oxygen during the handling that occurs during bottling), you may get away with not even needing the sulphite.
I plan on having them all a little bit sweet. One of them finished quite sweet on its own. One I already sweetened a little bit and the maple wine I plan on sweetening a little as well. Do you think this will be a problem if I didn't add the proper amount of sorbate?
