New brewer, Question about potassium metabisulfite.

[Chudbo]

Hello everyone! Started my first mead a little while back, a one-gallon batch of just honey water and yeast. I had a gravity of close to 1.000, and I decided to go ahead and stabilize with potassium sorbate, wait a day or two, and bottle. I later realized that the video I was watching as a guide was using potassium metabisulfite and sorbate combined, so I assumed the sorbate was all that was needed. I DID back-sweeten and bottle it a few days ago on 2/11.



I did get ahold of potassium metabisulfite, and I'm wondering if I should pop open my swing-top bottles and add some. Being that it's my first batch, I'm overthinking everything, and any advice is much appreciated. I didn't see anything about this online.

 

[dmtaylor]

If you already bottled, let it go. But test a bottle this weekend to see if it's getting overly carbonated. Then test another one next week or based on results. It will probably carbonate but less likely to gush or explode since you at least did use sorbate.

 

[Chudbo]

If you already bottled, let it go. But test a bottle this weekend to see if it's getting overly carbonated. Then test another one next week or based on results. It will probably carbonate but less likely to gush or explode since you at least did use sorbate.

Thanks for taking the time, I'm guessing that as long as it doesn't turn into a geyser its not "overly carbonated"?

 

[Maylar]

At this point in the process it's the sorbate that prevents further fermentation. The K-Meta serves two purposes - it helps as an antioxidant (a preservative of sorts), and it interacts with the sorbate to prevent a wine fault that smells like flowers. That's more important in wine than mead. You should be fine.

 

[Chudbo]

At this point in the process it's the sorbate that prevents further fermentation. The K-Meta serves two purposes - it helps as an antioxidant (a preservative of sorts), and it interacts with the sorbate to prevent a wine fault that smells like flowers. That's more important in wine than mead. You should be fine.

Hey i appreciate you!

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks for taking the time, I'm guessing that as long as it doesn't turn into a geyser its not "overly carbonated"?

Exactly!

 

[MightyMosin]

At this point in the process it's the sorbate that prevents further fermentation. The K-Meta serves two purposes - it helps as an antioxidant (a preservative of sorts), and it interacts with the sorbate to prevent a wine fault that smells like flowers. That's more important in wine than mead. You should be fine.

You will most likely be OK, but if further down the road the mead starts to get odd flavors you could have a bacteria that is eating the sorbic acid or feasting on the mead.

That is an aspect of what the K-Meta helps to prevent.

I wouldn't bother with popping them open at this point, either.

 

[Maylar]

You will most likely be OK, but if further down the road the mead starts to get odd flavors you could have a bacteria that is eating the sorbic acid or feasting on the mead.

That is an aspect of what the K-Meta helps to prevent.

Grapes have Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in nature. When you stabilize a finished wine with sorbate, the LAB can interact with the sorbate and create geraniol (sp) which shows up as the aroma of geranium flowers. That's the odd flavor that you refer to. Sulfite (K-Meta) will prevent that. I don't think honey supports the existence of LAB, though I could be wrong about that.