Backsweetening with potassium sulfate or sodium benzoate juice?

[mikerlynch26]

So I feel like I've seen this somewhere on here before but I can't find the thread, if anyone has a link handy I'd appreciate it.

We're told that we can't use store-bought cider/juice with potassium sulfate or sodium benzoate in it because it would inhibit the yeast we add from doing what they do. But reverse logic says that if I took a cider that was already fermented completely dry and added that sodium benzoate'd juice to it, it would not ferment, therefore sweetening the fermented cider without the worry of re-fermentation and the need for additional steps, chemicals, etc.

Am I missing something here? Could it be as simple as dropping in a box of apple juice per gallon and calling it a day without risking bottle bombs?

 

[Maylar]

The amount of preservatives in the small quantity of juice you use for sweetening will be way less than the recommended amount for your batch size.

 

[Yooper]

The two chemicals you are talking about are potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.

They are used to keep the juice from fermenting on the shelf, but if you add it to 6 gallons of other juice, it probably won't be strong enough to stabilize the whole batch.