Hi Folks - Here are some preliminary results from 21 experimental batches I started at the end of October, to check out the effects of k-meta and k-sorbate. All were done using the same juice which was a mix of Staymans and Winesaps, unpasteurized, with an unsweetened sg of 1.050 and pH of 3.7:
I made 16 single gallon batches that were all variations of the same recipe, plus another 5 gallons that were wild yeast batches, with different methods for stopping fermentation. I bottled three liters from each batch. My goal was to taste one liter from each batch as soon after bottling as possible, then again sometime in the Spring and then next Fall, to see how they hold up over time.
Much to my surprise, the wild batches finished fermenting first. I didn’t check them until they got to 1.002, which was a little too dry, but they were still drinkable. The five wild batches were finished as follows:
- One just cold crashed with no additives.
- One with half the recommend dose of k-meta (1/40tsp) after fermentation and then cold crashed.
- One with the recommended 1/20tsp of k-meta after fermentation and cold crash.
- One with a half dose of k-meta and half a dose (1/4tsp) of k-sorbate after fermentation, no cold crash
- One with a full dose of k-meta and half a dose of k-sorbate after fermentation, no cold crash.
I didn’t have time to set up a dedicated tasting for these so we opened them at the beginning of a party a few weeks ago and checked them out. I had rating sheets, but it was kinda hectic and there was better stuff on tap so most people only tasted 2 or 3 before moving on and they all got mediocre scores. So I dont have much of a consensus opinion on these, just my own impression. This was about a month after bottling and at this point, the k-meta and k-sorbate both had easily discernible tastes. The k-meta had the sour bite, even in the half dose and the k-sorbate has a sweeter, sort of spicy taste, that I cant really describe, but if you put a little bit of fresh k-sorbate on your tongue, that’s the taste. It doesn’t change much after reacting with the cider for a month. Fortunately the two additives are somewhat complimentary. My favorite of the five was the one with the ½ dose of k-meta, plus the k-sorbate, but that was partly because the ciders didn’t have a whole lot of taste to start with – most of the sugar was gone. The k-sorbated batches were also noticeably clearer than the ones I cold crashed, so it acts somewhat as a clearing agent.
While the wild yeast batches were fermenting away, I was keeping a closer watch on the 16 S04 batches. All of them had 3oz of organic cane sugar and 1.5oz of corn sugar to bump the sg to 1.060. I tried to stop them all at 1.006, but I wasn’t able to check them every night so one finished at 1.008 and a few went to 1.004 and 1.002. The batches were as follows:
- No k-meta added before or after fermentation - cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, ½ dose afterwards - cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, 1/3 dose afterwards - cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, regular dose afterwards - cold crash
- 1/3 dose k-meta before fermentation, none afterwards - cold crash
- 1/3 dose k-meta before fermentation, 1/3 afterwards - cold crash
- ½ dose k-meta before fermentation, none afterwards - cold crash
- ½ dose k-meta before fermentation, ½ afterwards - cold crash
- regular dose k-meta before fermentation, none afterwards – cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, 1/3 dose afterwards – sorbate, no cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, ½ dose afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
- No k-meta before fermentation, regular dose afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
- 1/3 dose k-meta before fermentation, 1/3 afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
- 1/3 dose k-meta before fermentation, 2/3 afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
- ½ dose k-meta before fermentation, ½ afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
- ½ dose k-meta before fermentation, regular dose afterwards - sorbate, no cold crash
When I sorbated these, I used the full recommended 1/2tsp dose. I tried the first few with 1/4tsp but that was not enough stop the fermentation of the S04. For the wild batches ¼tsp was enough to stop fermentation. As with the wild yeast batches, the ones with sorbate cleared up more than the ones I cold crashed.
After I bottled these, I realized that 16 different batches would be really tough to compare all at once, but by then it was too late to go back and re-think this. Last weekend a good friend had a birthday, so we had a critical mass for a tasting. Amazingly, besides myself a half dozen folks made it through all of the batches and scored them and several folks got partially through the list, so I have a few other opinions to go on besides my own taste.
The batch with no k-meta before fermentation, a full dose of k-meta afterwards and cold crashed scored the best across the board. Generally, the batches that had no k-meta in the beginning, some k-meta at the end and cold crashed scored better. The sorbated batches generally didn’t score as well, except for the batch with 1/3 dose of k-meta in the beginning, and 1/3 dose of k-meta at the end, just before sorbating. Maybe this is the optimal taste balance of k-meta to the sorbate, but I suspect the real reason was that this was the one batch that I stopped at 1.008, which was higher than all the others – in which case the lesson is that it doesn’t matter much what you do, just don’t let the sugar drop too low. For some reason, no one else liked the first batch that had no additives at all - just the cold crash, although it was one of my favorites
I didn’t like the sorbate as much on these batches as I did with the wild yeast batches, and most folks seemed to agree with the scoring I think part of it was because I had to use the full dose of sorbate to get the S04 to stop fermenting. Also, because these batches had a higher FG, they had a little more apple taste than the wild batches, and the sorbate stomped on that a bit. I was hoping that I could use sorbate as an alternative to cold crashing because its easier and it helps the cider to clear, but at this stage at least, I didn’t care for it as much. Maybe it will get better as time goes on. A few people really liked though, so I’d still recommend at least trying it and see if you like the taste, as it is easier than cold crashing.
Another thing that I found interesting and useful is that the k-meta taste wasn’t nearly as prominent when the k-meta is added after fermentation, compared to the same amount of k-meta added before fermentation. The tartness is still there, but its not as harsh. That would lead me to believe that in addition to having some taste of its own, the k-meta must also affect the fermentation – otherwise adding it earlier in the process ought to cause the taste to fade more. I’m hoping that this means that the preservative effects of the k-meta can be gained afterwards, so one could make a batch and then either drink it right away or add k-meta for storage.