I have a mead and a cyser going right now, but this applies to "wine" in general I think and I need to know what "the deal" is before I go on to talking to mead makers about specifics. I appreciate any slack y'all can cut me on the semantics of the questions.
For the purposes of long-ish (to a beer guy "long" is one year, maybe two) term storage, back sweetening, and a general desire to avoid bad stuff, I want to explore the process of stabilization. From what I understand, campden (some form of sulfate) and then traditionally sorbate is added and they have some sort of complimentary effect to this end.
Is the "typical" dosage for this purpose one campden (and how much is this in grams?) per gallon, and 1/2 tsp sorbate/gallon?
Because of the reported impact on taste (geraniums?) and the fact I have a sensitive and suggestible palate, I'd like to avoid sorbate. I have access to a large, potentially lifetime supply for everyone on this board, supply of potassium benzoate. I do not believe the hype surrounding benzoates and know I intake enough in other things that my wines and meads are not going to kill me. Unless someone wants to point out something I'm completely missing I think this is a good direction to go?
The question then is the dosage rates. I don't know how much a half teaspoon of sorbate weighs. Concentration of KBenz as a preservative is limited by the FDA in the U.S. to 0.1% by weight. If my calculations are right, one gallon (water) = 3782.96 g, and a 0.1% = 3.8g/gallon. does this seem right?
For the purposes of long-ish (to a beer guy "long" is one year, maybe two) term storage, back sweetening, and a general desire to avoid bad stuff, I want to explore the process of stabilization. From what I understand, campden (some form of sulfate) and then traditionally sorbate is added and they have some sort of complimentary effect to this end.
Is the "typical" dosage for this purpose one campden (and how much is this in grams?) per gallon, and 1/2 tsp sorbate/gallon?
Because of the reported impact on taste (geraniums?) and the fact I have a sensitive and suggestible palate, I'd like to avoid sorbate. I have access to a large, potentially lifetime supply for everyone on this board, supply of potassium benzoate. I do not believe the hype surrounding benzoates and know I intake enough in other things that my wines and meads are not going to kill me. Unless someone wants to point out something I'm completely missing I think this is a good direction to go?
The question then is the dosage rates. I don't know how much a half teaspoon of sorbate weighs. Concentration of KBenz as a preservative is limited by the FDA in the U.S. to 0.1% by weight. If my calculations are right, one gallon (water) = 3782.96 g, and a 0.1% = 3.8g/gallon. does this seem right?