backsweetening

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

lowlife

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
Messages
648
Reaction score
13
Location
Chicago
I made my first mead around the beginning of the year. Its was JAOM. Its ok but not something I would make again (at least not with cloves). I also made a 5 gallon batch of mead (with just honey, water, and a couple oranges) around the same time a couple weeks later. I have racked it three times and is now completely cleared and has been aging for quite a while. At first it tasted like rubbing alcohol, then like vodka, then like white wine, and yesterday I noticed that now you can taste the honey as an after taste. Its getting much better. Im not sure If Im going to backsweeten or not. It fermented pretty dry (cant remember the reading). If I were to try backsweetening what is suggested chemical to add to kill of the yeast. I have read about several that work. Which suits my needs? I am not going to carbonate and plan to bottle still. I will probably age until Christmas and then bottle.
 
In general, you would use sorbate to "kill off" the yeast.
Sorbate does not "kill off" yeast and will not stop an active fermentation. It does however work synergistically with KMETA.

Sorbate additions should be made AFTER active fermentation has finished, and together with KMETA. Those who make wine kits will note that they all add these two chemicals after the SG has stabilized at (or below) 1.000

What sorbate does is merely inhibit renewed yeast activity under the correct conditions... ;)
 
More specifically, you want to ensure that the mead is stable. That is, you want to make sure that it won't pick back up and re-ferment just because you added more sugars. That can be done by sterile sub-micron filtration (removing all the yeast), or if you're like the rest of us and can't afford several hundred $ for a good filter setup, you can stabilize chemically using a combination of potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate. The metabisulfite does several things - first, it deactivates (kills off) most of the yeast cells that are still alive after fermentation is done. It also kills off malolactic bacteria - which is very important if you are going to be adding sorbate, and I'll tell you why in a minute.

But first, let me tell you why sorbate is also needed. The remaining yeast (and unless you use enough metabisulfite to leave a noticeable flavor/aroma of burnt matches in your mead, you will likely have a few hardy yeast survivors) could still, given enough time, build up a population sufficient to re-start the fermentation. By adding sorbate you prevent the yeast from being able to bud - so it is effectively "birth control" for your yeast. Eventually, even those hardy old souls that survived the sulfite treatment will expire, so sulfite and sorbate make an effective one-two punch to keep fermentation in check.

But, if you only relied on sorbate to keep things in check, you might be in for an unpleasant shock. Malolactic bacteria, if there are any present in your mead, will metabolize sorbate, and turn it into a nasty smelling substance called geraniol. Some people compare its aroma to that of wilted geranium flowers; others compare it to citronella. Either way, it is not something that you want in your mead. And even worse, it is chemically stable so once it has been produced in a mead it never breaks down, and will be there forever.

Ha! Hightest beat me to the punchline again!! That's what I get for starting a response, only to be distracted for a bit by "real" work.... :cross:
 
Best multiquote ever!

What sorbate does is merely inhibit renewed yeast activity under the correct conditions... ;)

and now for the correct conditions:

More specifically, you want to ensure that the mead is stable. That is, you want to make sure that it won't pick back up and re-ferment just because you added more sugars. That can be done by sterile sub-micron filtration (removing all the yeast), or if you're like the rest of us and can't afford several hundred $ for a good filter setup, you can stabilize chemically using a combination of potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate. The metabisulfite does several things - first, it deactivates (kills off) most of the yeast cells that are still alive after fermentation is done. It also kills off malolactic bacteria - which is very important if you are going to be adding sorbate, and I'll tell you why in a minute.

But first, let me tell you why sorbate is also needed. The remaining yeast (and unless you use enough metabisulfite to leave a noticeable flavor/aroma of burnt matches in your mead, you will likely have a few hardy yeast survivors) could still, given enough time, build up a population sufficient to re-start the fermentation. By adding sorbate you prevent the yeast from being able to bud - so it is effectively "birth control" for your yeast. Eventually, even those hardy old souls that survived the sulfite treatment will expire, so sulfite and sorbate make an effective one-two punch to keep fermentation in check.

But, if you only relied on sorbate to keep things in check, you might be in for an unpleasant shock. Malolactic bacteria, if there are any present in your mead, will metabolize sorbate, and turn it into a nasty smelling substance called geraniol. Some people compare its aroma to that of wilted geranium flowers; others compare it to citronella. Either way, it is not something that you want in your mead. And even worse, it is chemically stable so once it has been produced in a mead it never breaks down, and will be there forever.
 
Sorbate does not "kill off" yeast and will not stop an active fermentation. It does however work synergistically with KMETA.

Sorbate additions should be made AFTER active fermentation has finished, and together with KMETA. Those who make wine kits will note that they all add these two chemicals after the SG has stabilized at (or below) 1.000

What sorbate does is merely inhibit renewed yeast activity under the correct conditions... ;)

Thanks for the non-general answer. I couldn't of done it better myself. As a matter of fact, I didn't. :mug:
 
You've already removed most of the yeast through time that it has settled out, and your 3 rackings. I'd just add 5/8 teaspoon pot. sulfite and 2.5 teaspoons sorbate to your 5 gallons, then backsweeten. After that I'd let it sit for a couple of months to settle again.
 
Back
Top