Pasteurizing instead of K-Sorbate

[AlwaysBeeGoen]

So, I watched a YouTube video of someone making a Raspberry mead and a Blackberry mead... 1 gallon of each. When it came time to backsweeten, they had to add Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulfite. When adding the Sorbate, it changed the raspberry mead from a nice rose color to a traditional mead yellow-ish color... I don't want that

So, there is this HUGE thread on Pasteurizing Cider after back sweetening and carbonating. Most of the discussion is about preventing exploding bottles and what not since they are interested in carbonation... very scary stuff with glass shrapnel and all.

I don't care about carbonization. I just want to back sweeten, but not use Sorbate/metabisulfite to stop the yeast from using the back sweetening I add (honey? perhaps?).

So, my thought, was I would clarify the solution, back sweeten to taste (SG of maybe 1021?? based off another youtube video I saw?), and then IMMEDIATELY bottle into grolsch flip top bottles and put into pasteurization on the stove: 170 degrees F, for 15 minutes... leaving the flip top bottles OPEN until temp reaches 170... then remove and close the tops.

I'm thinking this will Kill the yeast, permit a sweeter mead, and not add any preservatives???
Has anyone done this yet??? Do mead makers have the opinion that the temperature will mess up the flavor? Will the shelf life without sorbate be ok since I "sort of" pasteurized it? (Shelf life is important to me... maybe 6 months to a year)

 

[Bombo80]

I have done ciders and meads a couple different ways. You can certainly backsweeten to the level you like and bottle. I would go a bit lower on your temps though. Follow Pappers instructions for the temps, and when your time is up, gently remove them from the hot water bath and set the on a towel to cool.
I would be careful about capping while it is still hot. Think of the canning process. As the product cools, it seals and creates a vacuum in the jar, and the lid "pings" letting you know you have a good seal.
I would just flip the top on to the bottle, but not close the clasp. Maybe stick a thermometer in one and monitor the cooling process. I am not sure how low you could let it go, but if you close them too early, you could create the vacuum and suck the washer into the bottle.

On a side note, I have bulk pasteurized ciders and meads with very good results. Then kegged and force carbed them.

 

[AlwaysBeeGoen]

Thanks Bombo80, Didn't even think about the washer getting sucked in with the vacuum! I haven't used these bottles before, my previous experience was straight forward wine. Decided to try something more challenging and exciting!

I'm wondering how low to go on the temp then... I thought 170 was a good temp... but I think you are right, I could go even lower as long as the internal temp inside the bottle is targetted. JoeSponge on page two of the Pappers Pasteurization thread pulled some calculations off of wiki and referenced another post from Bokonon and what not... and it looks like at 152F populations die off after about 1 minute. So, 155F for 5 minutes should be plenty of time... provided the temp inside a bottle is measured at 155F and not the outside water as you suggest monitoring so the rubber seals don't get sucked in. I'll have to see how cool I need to wait so the rubber doesn't get sucked in. Maybe I can use my fruit canning experience as some rough guide on how cool to let it get

Thanks!

 

[bernardsmith]

I dunno --- I suspect any color change caused by stabilizing is because the colors in the fruits were not "fixed" during fermentation. I have never experienced any loss of color when I have stabilized my wines or meads... but more than that - if the problem you are trying to solve is the loss of color the problem you may be causing is having a cooked fruit taste in your wines - that and set pectins... But Hey! there is no such thing as a free lunch...

 

[AlwaysBeeGoen]

I dunno --- I suspect any color change caused by stabilizing is because the colors in the fruits were not "fixed" during fermentation. I have never experienced any loss of color when I have stabilized my wines or meads... but more than that - if the problem you are trying to solve is the loss of color the problem you may be causing is having a cooked fruit taste in your wines - that and set pectins... But Hey! there is no such thing as a free lunch...

Hmmm, perhaps. I'm willing to dive into pasteurization just because I haven't done it before. What do we all think will happen on the cooked fruit taste and set pectins based on this process?:
I did use fresh and frozen raspberries. My notes say I mashed berries, heated to 110F, cooled to 80F, added to primary, pitched yeast, (here's the part) ADDED PECTIC ENZIME, and for whatever reason I added some acid blend as well. Looks like it fermented for 1 month before racking, then another 5months before racking again off of more Lees. It's a 3gallon batch total with 1tsp/gallon on the pectic enzyme, acid blend, and also yeast nutrient. 3lbs honey / gallon, 2lbs raspberries per gallon. (This was expensive, but hey! It's a hobby!)

 

[TopherM]

I regularly pastuerize still meads, and won 5 best in shows and a national medal for melomels using this method in 2017.

I cap prior to the water bath. Start the water bath with however hot my sink water gets, around the high 120s, then ramp up very slowly and hold at 161F for about 5 minutes. Technically, it would take about 10 seconds at 161, but I am just never sure how far behind the ambient the liquid is, so I give it a little time.

I personally use one of those sous vide heatsticks, but you could do it on your stovetop as well.

Ramping up slowly is key. I do the same thing with fruited Berliners, and I have had about 3 explosions on the carbonated Berliners out of literally 100+ bottles, and zero on still meads, so I think the carbonation is the variable there, though even with the carbonation, the explosions are rare.

Also, when you take them out of the hot water, very important to then let them cool slowly. Keep them on the stove area, even a cold counter can be a shock to a really hot bottle.

And I have always made sure the water bath covers the whole bottle, as I worried that having the headspace above the water would cause a difference in temps that could be a problem.

Good luck!