Potassium sorbate and my cider

[CFRich12]

Hello,
I am new to brewing and wine making. A college buddy of mine has a family farm that has some awesome cider. they blend several types of apples and i thought it would make a great hard cider. so i drove almost 300 miles to visit and get several gallons. the problem is when i went to start the fermentation i saw that it was 100% juice and potassium sorbate was added. so i did a little research online and it said that potassium sorbate is there to prevent a fermentation. so i pitched a starter so that it was a started fermentation. hope it works, just want to know what to expect, i didn't get a chance to call and see how much they add. thanks for any help!

 

[maddprofessor]

If you look around on the forums here I think you'll find a few people who were able to able to ferment by using a starter. I've made cider with half preservative containing cider, half clean stuff, no starter, and it fermented fine but took quite a while.

 

[Sean]

I tried that once. NO fermentation.. Luck!

 

[nphage]

I found these instructions online that recommend using a starter. I tried it once with cider that had potassium sorbate and it fermented just fine. I also tried it with cider that had sodium benzoate and it didn't ferment at all. Since you are just dealing with the sorbate and you are already using a starter it should hopefully be working for.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hom...ing-with-Commercial-Cider-Creating-A-Starter/

 

[Fletch78]

So... basically just pitch a bunch of yeast? If it's a one gallon batch that's been sorbated, would a standard 11g pouch of dry yeast (standard 5 gal pitch rate) be sufficient?

 

[CFRich12]

Well i created a starter and pitched it...the airl lock is a simple 3 piece and it is full and slowly bubbling. i don't know how long it will take for 5 gallons to ferment with the starter but it seems to be working. i didn't let the starter sit over night because i didn't see the post before i did it. thanks for the link though... i will have to try next year. also making wine with the same cider for apple wine and did the same thing. both are bubbling so hopefully it will work!

Thanks Again!

Carl

 

[CFRich12]

we have a full bubble now! its working...i feel like dr. frankenstein. The wine i am making from the same apple cider is bubbling too! for the cider i used a champagne yeast and for the wine i used a wine yeast that helps deilver the most fruit flavor. so i think we are off and running!

 

[maddprofessor]

Yay! Glad it worked for you. Best wishes for your cider/wine.

 

[CFRich12]

racked the cider into a new carboy when it was sg 1.025 it is clearing already...going to take a new reading...can't wait for it to be ready! i tried some and it was good. don't think i am going to try to bottle carb it though. fearing an explosion in the root cellar...

 

[CFRich12]

Got it down to 1.008 and bottled it. did two gallons carbed and the rest still. it has a slight vinegar taste...my brew buddy says some yeasts can impart the flavor. i just had one cold from the fridge and it was pretty good. the swmbo liked it too...she did't like it warm out of the carboy. I used red star Pasteur Champagne Yeast