Too Much Metabisulfite

[lukertweek]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to both the site and to the art of brewing. Myself and a mate decided we wanted to get into brewing and had been talking about it for ages. Then this autumn I had a bumper crop of apples on the trees in my garden so we decided to have a bash at making cider. We followed a recipe I found on line. All went well until we got to the part where it said 'Add *some sodium metabisulphite'. We didn't know how much *some was. As it didn't stress anything specifically we figured just do as the photo showed and sprinkle some in. Which we did. 48 hours later we pitched the cider with a specialist cider yeast and waited.... Nothing happened. We did this several times before realising something was most DEFINITELY up. I did research on line and eventually this thread. I followed what others in our position had done and got some hydrogen peroxide. I added 50ml of 9% of it to our approx 15 litres of juice. Waited 24 hours and pitched with Youngs dried active yeast and yeast nutrient. 3 tespons of each. 24 hours later I checked and saw some movement in the water in the air lock. It wasn't bubbling but it had pushed it down some, indiscating increased pressure. We waited and eventually it gurgled just the once. Then again about 2 hours later. The next day (today) it is going like a crazed gurgling thing. So we are hopeful that we have brought the cider back from the brink. I guess we'll know when the fermenting or whatever else is causing the gas production stops and we can have a taste. Many thanks for your helpful posts.

 

[BostonianBrewer]

He peroxide will help to get fermentation going but keep in mind if too much is used it will oxidize you're wort/must producing off flavors , I just recently had to use peroxide on several batches of my Cider I used different amounts and I will report back on what works best after their bottled

 

[solbes]

I had to do this on my 2013 batch of rhubarb wine. Added 6x the amount of Kmeta I was supposed to. Kept adding rehydrated yeast and each time it would be DOA. Finally figured it out and added some hydrogen peroxide. Maybe 1/4 bottle if I remember right. It worked like a charm and the fermentation took off with some fresh yeast.

How it will taste, I have no idea. Its sitting in tertiary right now and will not get racked to the final vessel until the first of the year at least.

 

[domilsean]

I added 4.5 tsps of K meta to 5 gallons of cider. The calculator says I should add about a cup of H2O2.

I'm figuring if 1/4 tsp = 45 ppm x 4.5 = 810 ppm, less the 45 I actually wanted = 765.

5 gal, Target SO2 to be removed=765 ppm, H2O2% = 3%. It gives me 0.06 gallons, which is .96 cups. I've been trying to aerate it already, so I'd not add a whole cup at all, probably start much smaller.

My question is: is it safe to add so much H2O2? Is it potable?

 

[alchymist]

The peroxide I used in my cider allowed the ferment to finish, and created a clear cider. The other batches without excess meta or H2O2 also finished but stayed cloudy. weird. both taste fine. now bottled and awaiting bottle fermentation. 84x 750ml bottles. nice
In my experience I had to add two separate amounts of H2O2. It cannot hurt to add less than thought, and then add more. You will know it is working, and if it is not.

 

[domilsean]

Alchymist,

Do you use regular store bought 3% H2O2, or do you buy food grade 35% and dilute it?

 

[LeBreton]

I don't think the 3% stuff is potable, something about the stabilizer added to store at room temperature IIRC.

If you do use the 35% stuff, be careful. At that concentration it will chemically burn your skin, so wear gloves, sleeves, goggles (especially), and have some water accessible nearby.

 

[BostonianBrewer]

3% works fine

 

[mattohio]

I made a batch of mead two days ago and added 1 1/2 tsp of sodium/sulfite and then realized my mistake. I splashed it into a bucket fermenter and wine/whipped it periodically throughout the day and left the lid off. the next day I put a cup or the must in a bowel and added a small amount of my yeast. it started fermenting so I added the rest of the yeast and let it build cell for a while. then I added that to a half gallon of must and let that go for a few hours. I finally added it to the rest of the batch and its fermenting beautifully.