Just wondering if anyone has a tried and true dose, or dose range, for backsweetening with k-meta and sorbate. The sorbate I used last year just said 1 tsp./gallon. I added that to my ciders that had been previously stabilized with anywhere from 50-100 ppm free SO2 and in almost all cases it worked well. I’m planning to make the additions simultaneously this year, which I understand improves effectiveness.
Any thoughts/experience appreciated.
-Brian
I used to work at a commercial cidery in NY. We aimed for 40-50 ppm SO2 free at bottling and added 1.25 grams per gallon of sorbate which I believe is a standard rate. The thing to keep in mind is that sorbate is mainly relevant to yeast and the sulfite controls bacteria/oxidation. I don’t know about adding them both at the same time. I believe that we avoided that intentionally but I couldn’t give you a reason. We just maintained the free SO2 post fermentation and then added the sorbate whenever we back sweetened.
Thanks for info. It’s nice to have some concrete numbers to work with.
I add Campden and Stabilizer at the same time when backsweetening a mead or wine and have done the same in cider before. Works well.
Recommended dosage for LD Carlsons Potassium Sorbate is 1/2tsp (approx 1g) per gal.
