Overcame Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate

So I was making a batch of Apfelwein. I like to switch it up since I have been making a batch every couple of weeks for for a few months now and have about 20 gallons in the pipeline.

So I saw Apple cider on sale. So I used 3 gallons of the cider and a 1/2 gallon of pineapple juice and a 1/2 gallon of Strawberry Kiwi juice and 2 lbs of brown sugar. I make 4 or 4 1/12 gallon batches cuz I use a 5 gallon bakery bucket and a blow off tube. And I use Cuvee yeast.

Usually the fermentation is really vigorous, especially when I use pineapple juice, within 12 hrs in my 62 - 64 F basement.

Well after two days nothing, so I think the basement is getting too cold with winter coming on so I move the bucket upstairs where it's 70. Another day goes by still nothing so I start getting worried.

Then I read a post about Potassium Sorbate stopping or preventing fermentation. Crap I look at the empty cider jugs and yup they have both Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate. Check on here with some people and yup it appears I am screwed.

But I spent more money on these juices and the brown sugar than a normal batch of the Apfelewein so I figure I will try to save it. I open it up and put 2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient in and vigourously stir the bucket to get some more air in there.

24 more hrs still nothing. I figure another packet of the Cuvee yeast is .85 cents so when I go to the LHBS on Wed. for some other stuff I would get some more yeast and make a starter and try at least throwing that in and try another day or two before dumping the batch.

Well low and behold this morning I am getting a burp of 3 big bubbles every 15 20 secs in the airlock. I will keep an eye on it and see if it speeds up but it appears the yeast finally overcame the Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate.

I am sure partly because I only had 3 gallons of the Cider that had it in it and I had another gallon of very sugary juice in there. But I would think that even had it been 4 or 5 gallons of the Juice with the Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate in it that with yeast nutrient and a starter using 2 cups more sugar and 1 cup of water you should be able to overcome the Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate .

Just thought it was interesting info. I had read how some folks only have access to juice with Potassium Sorbate in it so this may prove helpful.

For me lesson learned No more juice with that stuff in it.

Don't want to burst your bubble, your cider may or may not be what you want. Even with the preservatives in it, it is bound to start fermenting sooner or later. Let's hope it ferments out the way you intended.

Worse comes to worse even if it don't taste great I can use the slurry to make Skeeter Pee hopefully.

The main issue with overcoming preservatives is that it stresses the yeast which can cause off flavors and fusels.

Sodium benzoate is some nasty stuff, when combined with vitamin C it produces benzene.

Crap so should I just leave it and let it do it's thing and then taste it?

any updates

Yeah it's still slowly bubbling, about one bubble every 20 secs. I've popped the lid and vigorously stirred it a few times and added more yeast nutrient but it's not speeding up. So I am not sure if it's going to be any good????

All preservatives have required concentrations, if you dilute them out sufficiently you should be able to get a result. Also, sorbate works by inhibiting reproduction, so if you pitch an active starter you can overcome its effect to some extent.

If you are getting a slow fermentation, you can always pitch another starter. If the sorbate is inhibiting reproduction, a good starter will up the biomass and get the fermentation going faster.

I had a batch of Apfelwein that was in primary for a month so I kegged it today and pitched the slurry off it into this batch. If that doesn't get things moving nothing will.

akthor said:

I had a batch of Apfelwein that was in primary for a month so I kegged it today and pitched the slurry off it into this batch. If that doesn't get things moving nothing will.

Click to expand...

Haha!

Mighty Thor hit it with the "Yeast Hammer".

Awesome!

akthor said:

I had a batch of Apfelwein that was in primary for a month so I kegged it today and pitched the slurry off it into this batch. If that doesn't get things moving nothing will.

Click to expand...

Was using cheap pancake syrup in the place of table sugar to turn 100% fruit juice into wine. I added the yeast, and it soon quit yeasting. I took a closer look at the syrup's ingredients & found sorbic acid & sodium benzonate. I reasoned, that the food processing company had only used the amount of these two preservatives, they could get away with, and that maybe they got "used" up" in the course of destroying the first application of yeast, so I bloomed some more in a cup of water with table sugar, & it worked, no problem. The extra dilution by the cup of water may have helped a little, but I think, that sacrificing the first application of yeast eliminating the preservatives, was what made it work.