Maybe Screwed Up my Cider?

[curlyfat]

I've never made a cider. I've never made anything but beer.

My sister brought me 5 frozen gallons of pressed cider from an acquaintance of hers that has a big picking/pressing party at their orchard every fall. I decided to make it into a hard cider (of course!).

I got it home half frozen, half thawed. I added 5 camden tablets, and re-sealed it for a few days while it thawed and I worked a lot.

Question #1: I used K-Meta with a wine-making friend a couple years ago and it smelled very sulfur-like when we used it. The camden tablets produced no smell at all when I crushed and mixed them in a little water to add. They've been in my garage for about a year at fluctuating temps. Do they go bad? Or do they not produce a smell? I feel like a flecking newb.

Tonight I dumped in a carboy to dissipate the SO2 for a day as I smacked the wyeast pack of sweet mead yeast (I want a sweetish easy drinking cider). I noticed that I actually had more like 4 gallons of cider. No worries, I have a gallon jug of store-bought cider sitting in the fridge. I dump it in....then I read the ingredients: Potassium Sorbate. AAAAAAAAAA!

Question #2: Will the K-Sorbate in the one gallon of store-bought stuff stifle my yeast? If so, is there anything I can do?

 

[HerotBrewer]

Warning: Individual results may vary.

My very first cider was made with P-Sorbate cider and it fermented fine with normal bread yeast. However, S-Benzoate definitely stifled the yeast one time I tried that.

I think 1/5 cider with P-Sorbate is not going to make much of a difference. If you are worried, I'd make a starter with a liter of the fresh cider you have and your smack pack. Give that a day or so to reproduce, then swirl and pitch the whole thing. Should give you enough yeasties to overcome the P-Sorbate.

 

[curlyfat]

That makes me feel better.

I should have called this thread, "Did I ruin my cider?". lol!

 

[curlyfat]

I'm an idiot. Can we move this to the cider forum? Mods? I thought I posted it there, but it was late and I was tired (and sampling).