I don't understand stabilizing

[RichardNDL]

Once fermentation starts, doesn't it always go on until you have a dry mead? I have a mead (actually a Blueberry Meloral) that I thought would be perfect if I could stop the fermentation at about 6 brix... that would have left me with a 8% ABV. Can I do that? I found a calculator that I thought told me how much potassium sorbate to add, but the stuff is still bubbling away like crazy.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Yeast do not care what we want. To do an 8% mead figure out how much sugar/honey you need to hit that mark, or use a hydrometer to find it by adding and testing. Once it has finished you will need to rack it, maybe several times and let it settle and clear.
Then add sorbate and sulfite, and backsweeten if you want. Trying to stop the fermentation process is a bit like trying to stop a train.

 

[Stormcrow]

Yeast do not care what we want. To do an 8% mead figure out how much sugar/honey you need to hit that mark, or use a hydrometer to find it by adding and testing. Once it has finished you will need to rack it, maybe several times and let it settle and clear.
Then add sorbate and sulfite, and backsweeten if you want. Trying to stop the fermentation process is a bit like trying to stop a train.

Just curious. Could he not pasteurize it when it hits the gravity he wants? I guess that would be difficult if we're talking about a 5+ gallon batch though, unless it is put into smaller bottles first.

 

[Seamonkey84]

[

Yeast do not care what we want. To do an 8% mead figure out how much sugar/honey you need to hit that mark, or use a hydrometer to find it by adding and testing. Once it has finished you will need to rack it, maybe several times and let it settle and clear.
Then add sorbate and sulfite, and backsweeten if you want. Trying to stop the fermentation process is a bit like trying to stop a train.

Difficult, but not impossible. Not good practice either way, chances of bottle bombs are higher. From what I’ve read, It would take several steps.
First, once the desired abv/sweetness has been hit, the yeast has to be completely cold crashed and racked out. That is hard since you need to get the whole batch to the point of near freezing without actually freezing it, for several days or more than a week. Then you can
A) add your sulfites and sorbate to the completely cleared and cold wine/mead, wait a couple days for the sorbate to work, then let it warm back up to check stability over a few weeks. Just to make sure it enough yeast cells didn’t make it through to continue working. The sorbate And sulfites stops the yeast from replicating, but doesn’t kill it.
B) bottle the cleared wine/mead and pasteurize immediately, following the instructions pinned at the top of the cider forum. That kills or neutralizes the cells that may be present, but could alter the taste of a batch since it gets heated.

 

[RichardNDL]

Thank you. That all helps. This is a small batch... about a gallon and a half. I guess I let it go until it stops, then stabilize, and back sweeten. I can do that. Thanks.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi RichardNDL, and welcome. Yup, most seasoned wine makers tend to determine the ABV they want and then prepare their must for that and then allow the yeast to fully ferment. They can then back sweeten to the sweetness they want. But as Blacksmith1 says, trying to stop yeast in mid ferment is a lot like trying to stop a high speed train on a dime. You COULD try cold crashing but I think you would need to repeat that process two or three times to remove enough of the yeast by racking the mead off the yeast each time you force the yeast out of suspension but that also means that you need to really start that process a little before it has reached the ABV you want. You want to be ahead of the puck and not be chasing it..if you know what I mean. Good luck.

 

[CKuhns]

" let it go until it stops, then stabilize, and back sweeten."

Yes you certainly can and a great option.

Other options include: (In order of personal preference)
- Allow to finish, sweeten, bottle and pasteurize, If pasteurized "still" (no carbonation = no pressure) - Very little likelihood of breaking them. I bottle in beer bottles with crown caps place them in a sink of the hottest water i can get from my tap for 20 - 30 minutes to "condition" them, then pasteurize in a large pot on the stove with a rack to keep the bottles from direct contact with the bottom of the pot. See the "Sticky" by Pappers at the top of the cider forum. I have done hundreds of bottles with only two breaking. Without carbonation = no pressure so no bottle bombs just glass and mead or cider in the pot. Still wouldn't hurt to use a lid just in case. Works for bottle carbonating as well but as @Seamonkey84 mentioned does pose some risk.
- Once Fermentation is complete cold crash in the fridge for a week or two and carefully rack from the lees. Then sweeten and store in the fridge until you are ready to drink it. It must be crystal clear (Read a newspaper through it.) a Little risky as a few yeasts will still remain and even in the fridge could very slowly consume the sugars you used to sweeten it with. But if consumed in a few weeks to months not usually an issue. (Reallly depends on how well you do racking and clarifying though.)
- Filtering to .45 Microns and then sweeten. (I like this one but is expensive, the purchase of the filter and pump and although I still have the equipment rarely use it.)
- Let it go to completion cold crash and use a non-fermentable sugar like Xylitol to sweeten.
- Use the chemicals mentioned above to "inhibit" the yeast. (Least favorite and not used at all by me, as I am a little sensitive to the chemicals.)

 

[RichardNDL]

Thanks for all the advice. I don't have enough refrigerator space to cold crash & am committed to Grolsch type swing top bottles, which I don't think would work well for pasteurizing. I think I'll just either stick to the chemicals, or stick to very dry mead.

 

[Miraculix]

" let it go until it stops, then stabilize, and back sweeten."

Yes you certainly can and a great option.

Other options include: (In order of personal preference)
- Allow to finish, sweeten, bottle and pasteurize, If pasteurized "still" (no carbonation = no pressure) - Very little likelihood of breaking them. I bottle in beer bottles with crown caps place them in a sink of the hottest water i can get from my tap for 20 - 30 minutes to "condition" them, then pasteurize in a large pot on the stove with a rack to keep the bottles from direct contact with the bottom of the pot. See the "Sticky" by Pappers at the top of the cider forum. I have done hundreds of bottles with only two breaking. Without carbonation = no pressure so no bottle bombs just glass and mead or cider in the pot. Still wouldn't hurt to use a lid just in case. Works for bottle carbonating as well but as @Seamonkey84 mentioned does pose some risk.
- Once Fermentation is complete cold crash in the fridge for a week or two and carefully rack from the lees. Then sweeten and store in the fridge until you are ready to drink it. It must be crystal clear (Read a newspaper through it.) a Little risky as a few yeasts will still remain and even in the fridge could very slowly consume the sugars you used to sweeten it with. But if consumed in a few weeks to months not usually an issue. (Reallly depends on how well you do racking and clarifying though.)
- Filtering to .45 Microns and then sweeten. (I like this one but is expensive, the purchase of the filter and pump and although I still have the equipment rarely use it.)
- Let it go to completion cold crash and use a non-fermentable sugar like Xylitol to sweeten.
- Use the chemicals mentioned above to "inhibit" the yeast. (Least favorite and not used at all by me, as I am a little sensitive to the chemicals.)

Thanks for the explanations. Have you ever made a test, pasteurised against non-pasteurised mead? Do you taste a difference? I am not a fan of the chemicals either I'm afraid....

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks for all the advice. I don't have enough refrigerator space to cold crash & am committed to Grolsch type swing top bottles, which I don't think would work well for pasteurizing. I think I'll just either stick to the chemicals, or stick to very dry mead.

I see no reason why they shouldn't work for pasteurizing.

 

[RPh_Guy]

add your sulfites and sorbate to the completely cleared and cold wine/mead

Sorbate should not be added to cold wine because it isn't soluble.

The visual effect makes it quite obvious that it precipitates instantly.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Even if dissolved first? I personally haven’t done it, but have read about this in a couple articles.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Even if dissolved first? I personally haven’t done it, but have read about this in a couple articles.

Yes.

 

[CKuhns]

"Have you ever made a test, pasteurised against non-pasteurised mead? Do you taste a difference?"

My relatively untrained pallet certainly can not taste a difference. I have done a couple "blind" side-by-side comparisons and could not tell the difference. Folks with a more "refined" nose and pallet probably would argue...

 

[Miraculix]

"Have you ever made a test, pasteurised against non-pasteurised mead? Do you taste a difference?"

My relatively untrained pallet certainly can not taste a difference. I have done a couple "blind" side-by-side comparisons and could not tell the difference. Folks with a more "refined" nose and pallet probably would argue...

That's enough for me, next shorter mead will be pasteurised

Thanks!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Any flavor different I’ve read were with ciders or anything with fruit in it. I’d assume a traditional mead wouldn’t have as much that could change.
I’m with the less chemicals the better rout on this as well, all my batches that are sweet, were done by exceeding the alcohol tolerance Of the yeast, which means my batches are all about 16% abv

 

[Miraculix]

Any flavor different I’ve read were with ciders or anything with fruit in it. I’d assume a traditional mead wouldn’t have as much that could change.
I’m with the less chemicals the better rout on this as well, all my batches that are sweet, were done by exceeding the alcohol tolerance Of the yeast, which means my batches are all about 16% abv

Same here! And I always wanted to make something more drinkable in the 5 to 9% range. Now I can

 

[Miraculix]

Any flavor different I’ve read were with ciders or anything with fruit in it. I’d assume a traditional mead wouldn’t have as much that could change.
I’m with the less chemicals the better rout on this as well, all my batches that are sweet, were done by exceeding the alcohol tolerance Of the yeast, which means my batches are all about 16% abv

Uh, before I forget, I once made a bragott without mashing, only steeping light crystal malt. That way, a lot of the grain based sugar was unfermentable. It came out with about 7%abv, first too dry, but now after two years it tastes like strawberries (there are no strawberries inside!!) And has a pleasant sweetness. So this is also a possibility!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Same here! And I always wanted to make something more drinkable in the 5 to 9% range. Now I can

You know, I was thinking the same lines for the smoked tea mead I was going to be doing. I figured I’d just bite the bullet and use stabilizers, but I can get swing top beer bottles easily enough so if that can work, I’ll give it a shot. Otherwise I’m not investing in a bottles and a capper since I already spent money on the free standing wine corker, and mostly do wine/meads... so far. I do feel my buddies might laugh at me if I have to pull out a corkscrew to have a “beer” with them when we’re out fishing.

 

[AzOr]

I pasteurize session or short meads all the time. I follow the protocol for ciders. It works very well as I prefer my session meads to be back sweetened. I keg fwiw.

I can't tell the difference between pasteurized vs non but that could just be me.

 

[videojunkie1208]

Any flavor different I’ve read were with ciders or anything with fruit in it. I’d assume a traditional mead wouldn’t have as much that could change.
I’m with the less chemicals the better rout on this as well, all my batches that are sweet, were done by exceeding the alcohol tolerance Of the yeast, which means my batches are all about 16% abv

I'm in the same club with the less chemicals is better, and my Cranberry Meads usually wind up well over 18%... They're also dangerous because they taste like they are maybe 5-8% ...

The other thing to remember is that the 'yeast tolerance' is a guess by the manufacturer, not a bible. if a yeast says it will go to 10%, and you give it a good dose of nutrition, and a well controlled environment, you're most likely going to exceed that number - often by some margin!

 

[Seamonkey84]

The yeast I use (wyeast 1388 for the BOMM protocol) is advertised for 14%, so far every match has chewed through at least 120 gravity points ~16%

 

[videojunkie1208]

I use a lot of EC1118, and am currently using some D47 that I erroneously got from Amazon (Ordered a 10 pk of EC1118, and got a 10 pk of D47, Amazon replaced it with another 10 pack ... of D47!)