Can I stop fermentation, backsweeten with concentrate and age succesfully?

[CanadianBacon]

I have some apple wine/cider im going to ferment out for 2 weeks. I wanted to back sweeten with minitemaid concentrate or original juice to get the taste of apple back and then bottle in 2 litter pop bottles and age for afew months and age (not enough glass bottles yet to bottle it all)..

I know i need to stop fermentation so the concentrate wont kick up fermentation... but will it age well if i use chemicals (sulthates and sorbate ) to stop fermentation and back sweeten with concentrate? Any issues? With stopping fermentation will sugar kick it back up during aging? I have never backsweeten, stoped fermentation or aged so its all new to me.

 

[DoctorCAD]

2 weeks is no where long enough. Let it sit 2 months and then stabilize snd backsweeten. That will allow enough time for the vast majority of your yeast cells to die off, making your job of stabilizing easier.

 

[CanadianBacon]

2 weeks is no where long enough. Let it sit 2 months and then stabilize snd backsweeten. That will allow enough time for the vast majority of your yeast cells to die off, making your job of stabilizing easier.

Dose stabilizing still allow aging to work? Or will it stop the flavors where it is before i stabilize?

 

[Yooper]

Dose stabilizing still allow aging to work? Or will it stop the flavors where it is before i stabilize?

The stabilizers will not stop aging.

However, you need to make sure the cider is perfectly clear and no longer dropping any lees at all in order for the stabilizers to work properly. Sorbate doesn't kill yeast, it only inhibits reproduction, so if you have hundreds of billions of yeast in suspension the yeast don't need to reproduce, so the sorbate will not be effective.

Generally, you age until clear and no longer dropping lees, then stabilize and wait a few days and then sweeten to taste and wait a few days and then bottle if it remains clear.

Two weeks is not long enough for the fermentation and clearing process to complete. Generally, you wait until the cider or wine is clear, then rack to a new secondary and only proceed if there are no new lees over at least 60 days. Otherwise, bottle bombs are quite likely.

 

[CanadianBacon]

The stabilizers will not stop aging.

However, you need to make sure the cider is perfectly clear and no longer dropping any lees at all in order for the stabilizers to work properly. Sorbate doesn't kill yeast, it only inhibits reproduction, so if you have hundreds of billions of yeast in suspension the yeast don't need to reproduce, so the sorbate will not be effective.

Generally, you age until clear and no longer dropping lees, then stabilize and wait a few days and then sweeten to taste and wait a few days and then bottle if it remains clear.

Two weeks is not long enough for the fermentation and clearing process to complete. Generally, you wait until the cider or wine is clear, then rack to a new secondary and only proceed if there are no new lees over at least 60 days. Otherwise, bottle bombs are quite likely.

Ahh, Ok. Thank you for clearing that up. I was worried sorbate would stop it from aging in the bottle if i use it and backsweeten, I will defiantly let my fermentation run longer now. I wasen't aware that so much of the lees had to be dropped out for it to work.

When i do stabilize do i have to rack to a new carboy and put a airlock on it for thos 2 day??

 

[Yooper]

Ahh, Ok. Thank you for clearing that up. I was worried sorbate would stop it from aging in the bottle if i use it and backsweeten, I will defiantly let my fermentation run longer now. I wasen't aware that so much of the lees had to be dropped out for it to work.

When i do stabilize do i have to rack to a new carboy and put a airlock on it for thos 2 day??

If the cider/wine is completely and totally clear, and there is absolutely no dusting of any sediment at all in the carboy, then it won't need to be racked (but always must be airlocked). If there are any lees at all, it must be racked and then at least 60 days with no lees before stabilizing.

 

[CanadianBacon]

If the cider/wine is completely and totally clear, and there is absolutely no dusting of any sediment at all in the carboy, then it won't need to be racked (but always must be airlocked). If there are any lees at all, it must be racked and then at least 60 days with no lees before stabilizing.

Would this be the same case is I wanted to carbonate some cider? do the lees matter or just the final gravity? I hear the gravity of apple cider can hit all the way down to .94, so if I go lets say to that gravity, can bottle and prime without worry?

 

[Yooper]

Would this be the same case is I wanted to carbonate some cider? do the lees matter or just the final gravity? I hear the gravity of apple cider can hit all the way down to .94, so if I go lets say to that gravity, can bottle and prime without worry?

I think you mean .994? I've seen cider go to .990, depending on the yeast strain, so if the cider is done and it stays for a month at .994, then it probably would be safe to bottle at that point and it probably won't go all the way to .990. (notice- "probably" )

If you bottle at .994, and prime it, and the cider wasn't finished, then there would be reason to worry.

 

[wineANDbrine]

The stabilizers will not stop aging.



However, you need to make sure the cider is perfectly clear and no longer dropping any lees at all in order for the stabilizers to work properly. Sorbate doesn't kill yeast, it only inhibits reproduction, so if you have hundreds of billions of yeast in suspension the yeast don't need to reproduce, so the sorbate will not be effective.



Generally, you age until clear and no longer dropping lees, then stabilize and wait a few days and then sweeten to taste and wait a few days and then bottle if it remains clear.



Two weeks is not long enough for the fermentation and clearing process to complete. Generally, you wait until the cider or wine is clear, then rack to a new secondary and only proceed if there are no new lees over at least 60 days. Otherwise, bottle bombs are quite likely.

I added some potassium sorbate to a batch that I currently have in a Carboy before it was completely clear. I'm assuming that it will continue to clear and drop lees, but will adding more Ksorbate to it be an issue once it does clear and I'm ready to bottle?

 

[Yooper]

I added some potassium sorbate to a batch that I currently have in a Carboy before it was completely clear. I'm assuming that it will continue to clear and drop lees, but will adding more Ksorbate to it be an issue once it does clear and I'm ready to bottle?

You don't want to add more sorbate. It has a pretty icky taste, and I dislike it even in the proper dosage. Adding more may give a pretty bad flavor to your wine.