Sorbate and long term aging
- Thread starter Dwhite
- Start date
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If you use too much, I'm not sure how much that is, some people claim that it can add off flavors. There are plenty of good guides on how much to use along with campden tablets to prevent your yeast from starting up again.
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1941&Itemid=14
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1941&Itemid=14
Used in the appropriate doses, and assuming that you've knocked out any active critters, the sorbates shouldn't affect the flavor of your mead. If you don't sulfite/sterile filter first and there are a lot of hungry organisms still around, metabolized sorbate apparently smells like geranium. Blech.
There are some people who are sensitive to the taste of sorbate who may pick up a flavor change even at relatively low levels, but for most folks the taste does not become detectable until over about 150-200 mg/L. Some claim that with long aging it may become more noticeable, but I cannot say whether this is true or not.
What is true is that backsweetening without doing something to stop the yeast is asking for bottle bombs, and in most cases the sorbate is a good idea.
What is true is that backsweetening without doing something to stop the yeast is asking for bottle bombs, and in most cases the sorbate is a good idea.
