Thank you for sharing so much useful information in your videos! I found your channel quite recently since I have just started researching cider making and I was pleasantly surprised how much I have picked up just from watching your videos. I just wanted to make you aware that your videos are much appreciated🙂
Earlier you talked about adding sugar before bottling to carbonate in the bottle, but if you add sulfites after primary fermentation or before bottling, aren’t you killing all the yeast?
Good question. You do run that risk. For the home cider-maker we would not advise adding any significant amount of sulfite before bottling. That said, commercial yeasts can typically withstand bottling doses of 25ppm SO2, but there is a greater risk that it will not re-ferment in the bottle if you add SO2 before bottling. In the commercial setting, with kegging (where you are force carbonating), or with still ciders that is not an issue and a smaller SO2 dose is common.
As a home cider-maker I bottle carbonate with sugar because I prefer my Cider fizzy. After watching this it basically means, if I use SO2 I may get the sweetness and ABV I want but I will run the risk of either no carbonation or Bottle bombs? I think I may just continue to back sweeten with unfermentable sugars. not Ideal but I don't like the uncertainty. Any other ideas?
Sulfites are very strong and only a small dosage is used/needed. Further - the sulfite used dissipates largely by bottling to around 25ppm free so2. I am not aware of any authority for your thought but I would have no doubt that in sufficient dosage so2 would be very harmful.
Thank you for sharing so much useful information in your videos! I found your channel quite recently since I have just started researching cider making and I was pleasantly surprised how much I have picked up just from watching your videos. I just wanted to make you aware that your videos are much appreciated🙂
Thank you Max. We appreciate it!
Thanks for all the information. It’s crazy that YT doesn’t show your videos higher in search results.
Thanks! Yea, we have not put any new content out in a little bit...
Earlier you talked about adding sugar before bottling to carbonate in the bottle, but if you add sulfites after primary fermentation or before bottling, aren’t you killing all the yeast?
Good question. You do run that risk. For the home cider-maker we would not advise adding any significant amount of sulfite before bottling. That said, commercial yeasts can typically withstand bottling doses of 25ppm SO2, but there is a greater risk that it will not re-ferment in the bottle if you add SO2 before bottling. In the commercial setting, with kegging (where you are force carbonating), or with still ciders that is not an issue and a smaller SO2 dose is common.
Thanks you saved me asking the same question!
Same here @@peterperigoe9231
As a home cider-maker I bottle carbonate with sugar because I prefer my Cider fizzy. After watching this it basically means, if I use SO2 I may get the sweetness and ABV I want but I will run the risk of either no carbonation or Bottle bombs? I think I may just continue to back sweeten with unfermentable sugars. not Ideal but I don't like the uncertainty. Any other ideas?
Can i use sodium metabisulfite?
Yes
Do Sulfites kill the good bacteria in the mouth and GI?
Sulfites are very strong and only a small dosage is used/needed. Further - the sulfite used dissipates largely by bottling to around 25ppm free so2. I am not aware of any authority for your thought but I would have no doubt that in sufficient dosage so2 would be very harmful.