Sulfite or not to sulfite

[TLProulx]

Should I use sulfite to stabilize my cider / mead?
Do you use sulfite?

I think that sulfite could be use when backsweeting.

I haven't found any warning against sulfiting beside if someone is allergic.

I found those article about sulfite:
http://www.thekitchn.com/sulfites-in-wine-necessary-or-100878

http://www.organicwinejournal.com/i...o-know-about-sulfites-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy731


I think that the last one is a trustable source.

 

[gregbathurst]

I think if you are bottling a still cider you should add a little so2, but a dry, bottle conditioned cider can be ok without. There are factors like your tolerance of risk, how often you open your container to check the cider, how soon you bottle, previous history of problems. I don't use so2 but I leave my cider alone, ferment quickly and bottle as soon as I can (3 months at the latest). I bottle condition and haven't had any recent history of problems. If you aren't sure then you should probably use it.

Edit; your poll doesn't have many choices, my response would be not often.

 

[Yooper]

Don't forget the reasons for sulfiting- to inhibit MLF, and as an antioxidant and preservative.

It has nothing at all to do with sweetening or carbonation. Sulfite doesn't kill wine yeast, or even stun it, so it has nothing at all to do with that.

 

[UncleWhomper]

I don't sulphite at all. Makes my cider/wine smell bad and taste terrible. It takes forever to dissipate as well. I found a combo of potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid followed by a decent "cold crash" works just fine for me.

 

[LeBreton]

I use sulfites in every batch, dry to sweet, still, conditioned and forced carbed. Too much work is invested in every batch to not take such a simple and inexpensive precaution against oxidation and infection.

I also measure my SO2 regularly with these http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/titrets-10-pack-sulfite-tester.html to avoid crossing the sensory threshold and maintain adequate levels.

 

[TLProulx]

According to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/sulfite-vs-sorbate-378502/
when sulfiting, you should also add potassium sorbate. When potassium sorbate is used with potassium metabisulfite, it prevent refermentation.

 

[TLProulx]

I use sulfites in every batch, dry to sweet, still, conditioned and forced carbed. Too much work is invested in every batch to not take such a simple and inexpensive precaution against oxidation and infection.

I also measure my SO2 regularly with these http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/titrets-10-pack-sulfite-tester.html to avoid crossing the sensory threshold and maintain adequate levels.

Do you use SO2 with P. sorbate?

 

[saramc]

Abdolutely use SO2 when stabilizing. I put way too much time and money into my wines, meads, cider and I would not consider risking the ruin of my hard work.
With proper use there is no off-taste or odor. If backsweetening with a fermentable the combo is sorbate plus k-meta, unless I am bottle pasteurizing then I skip the sorbate. Have witnessed far too many cold crash failures and exploding corks, caps and bottles.

 

[gregbathurst]

Don't forget the reasons for sulfiting- to inhibit MLF, and as an antioxidant and preservative.

It has nothing at all to do with sweetening or carbonation. Sulfite doesn't kill wine yeast, or even stun it, so it has nothing at all to do with that.

When I mentioned carbonation it was in terms of the film yeast and oxidation - still cider will have a portion of oxygen in the neckspace but with bottle priming the oxygen gets used by the yeast and replaced with co2. If you bottle still cider without so2 you may get film yeast on the surface, won't hurt the flavour much but looks terrible. My opinion is that dry cider is better with MLF but if you want sweet cider or you don't like MLF then you definitely should use so2. If you don't have MLF and don't use so2 then you may get wild bacteria causing spoilage, that is a risk but far from a certainty so that is why I say if you haven't had problems not sulfiting then you can probably keep going without.

 

[Yooper]

According to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/sulfite-vs-sorbate-378502/
when sulfiting, you should also add potassium sorbate. When potassium sorbate is used with potassium metabisulfite, it prevent refermentation.

No, I think you misunderstand. You only add sorbate if it's needed- like if you are sweetening the wine.

If you add sorbate, you should also add the sulfites for a couple of reasons. But if you're not sweetening, and adding the sulfites routinely as an antioxidant and preservative, there is no reason to add sorbate.

 

[Beernik]

I have sometimes had asthma attacks after drinking some commercial wines. I have a list of ones I know are relatively safe for me. I generally stick with those.

I wouldn't call the connection between sulfites and headaches a myth. The neurologist my wife is seeing for her migraines just advised her to avoid them.

I only occasionally make wine/mead/cider. I use sulfites as little as possible. I don't make anything I plan to lay down for years. If I want it to be sweet, I max out the yeast.

I've used it sparingly in a grape wine kit and in the must of my banana mead. I've never used it in a cyser that used store bought apple cider.

 

[saramc]

I have sometimes had asthma attacks after drinking some commercial wines. I have a list of ones I know are relatively safe for me. I generally stick with those.

I wouldn't call the connection between sulfites and headaches a myth. The neurologist my wife is seeing for her migraines just advised her to avoid them.

I only occasionally make wine/mead/cider. I use sulfites as little as possible. I don't make anything I plan to lay down for years. If I want it to be sweet, I max out the yeast.

I've used it sparingly in a grape wine kit and in the must of my banana mead. I've never used it in a cyser that used store bought apple cider.

Have you tried decanting & aerating the wine to see if that helps with your SO2 issues? I would be more concerned that you are having asthma attacks period from any wines and would want to know if I had a true allergy to sulfites. You can shift from an allergic asthma attack to anaphylaxis with one sip! Have you had an official medically supervised allergy test to confirm?
I hope your wife is able to get a grip on her migraine triggers and get the headaches under control. Tannins are my trigger so I have to be quite cautious with super tannin wines and reds in general, a shame because I adore good dry red wines!
Many people do not realize that sulfite is found naturally on grapes...just nature at work.
Wine Intro has a great article on US wines versus European wines and headaches.. http://www.wineintro.com/basics/health/headaches.html

My apologies for going off topic.

 

[Beernik]

It's not like I had a glass of wine and immediately had a reaction. It was more like I'd be out with friends or camping and end up working my way through a bottle (or more) in a night. Then, I'd have the asthma attack.

Eventually, I figured out that if I drank a lot of wine in an evening, there was a significant chance it resulted in an asthma attack. So I started making note of wines I drank and didn't have problems. I also cut back my wine to only a small cup or two in an evening to give myself further assurance that I wasn't going to have a problem.

I'm not sure what an allergy test will tell me that I haven't figured out on my own. Reminds me of when my GI doc told me he thought I had an enlarged spleen. After a year of him badgering me to get a scan and have it checked, I finally went in. His conclusion: my spleen is perfectly healthy and in the 95th percentile of "normal size".

I don't need a scratch test to tell me I have a problem with something I already know I have a problem with.

Besides, my problem with it is a sensitivity to exposure, not an allergic reaction. My wife is allergic to bell peppers. When she eats one, her throat swells up and she has difficulty breathing.

I have asthma. Certain things cause me to have an asthma attack. Sulfites, if the exposure is great enough, is one of them.

 

[LeBreton]

This thread just made me realize how much it would suck to have both a gulten allergy and a sulfite allergy.

 

[TLProulx]

No, I think you misunderstand. You only add sorbate if it's needed- like if you are sweetening the wine.

If you add sorbate, you should also add the sulfites for a couple of reasons. But if you're not sweetening, and adding the sulfites routinely as an antioxidant and preservative, there is no reason to add sorbate.

I have a cider aging that I don't know what to do with ... backsweeten or sparkling.
I think I'll backsweet a glass and carbonate a small bottle to decide.


If I am sweetening it, should I cold crash the cider before or after adding sulfite/sorbate?

 

[TLProulx]

[...]

Wine Intro has a great article on US wines versus European wines and headaches.. http://www.wineintro.com/basics/health/headaches.html

My apologies for going off topic.

So ... I didn't wanted to use sulfite because of the headache/alergic reaction.
Well, I eat dried apricot, strawberry, drink over infused tea... so my weird reaction to red wine is not due to sulfite/wine.
Interesting

I think that this article annihilated my last reluctance against using sulfite.