Potassium Sorbate

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YeastLord

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Hi all,

Planning on making a date/raisin/prune concoction for a sherry type wine.

Instructions for date wine from the brew shop suggest using k-sorbate (for quite a few of their recipies actually by the look of it).

Wondered if anyone here uses or used it? I've read on Winemakers Academy it can impart some off flavours as k-sorbate will break down to ethyl sorbate which can add notes of pineapple or celery to your wine. Also a geranium odour in the presence of lactic acid bacteria.

Does anyone have any experience of his? Wondering if it's as bad as it sounds?
 
I have used Potassium sorbate in kit wines, notably california connoisseur reds.1g per 4.5l

Used as a preservative, when keeping v drinking young.

Currently making a date wine. Fruit broken down so has the texture of treacle
Hope it breaks down as the ferment continues

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
k-sorbate is another name for potassium sorbate, haven't seen it called k-sorbate this side of the pond normally that's the USA name. The geranium off taste can 98% of the time be avoided by dosing the wine with 1 campden tablet per gallon before hand. Stabilising is only really necessary if you intend to backsweeten the wine. It stops the yeast reproducing therefore eliminating them.

When you say the shop advised you to use it, did they say when? Normally you only stabilise prior to backsweetening to kill any yeast otherwise they will simply devour any additional sugar you add to the wine. That's probably the very last step in making wine, sounds like you haven't started the wine yet, in that case don't use it yet.
 
Hi all,

Planning on making a date/raisin/prune concoction for a sherry type wine.

Instructions for date wine from the brew shop suggest using k-sorbate (for quite a few of their recipies actually by the look of it).

Wondered if anyone here uses or used it? I've read on Winemakers Academy it can impart some off flavours as k-sorbate will break down to ethyl sorbate which can add notes of pineapple or celery to your wine. Also a geranium odour in the presence of lactic acid bacteria.

Does anyone have any experience of his? Wondering if it's as bad as it sounds?

Almost all prunes are treated with k (elemental symbol for pottassium) sorbate, dates might also be treated check on any packs. Suggest if you must use these ingredient to wash prunes etc and probably soak for a couple of hours and discard the water and hope that fermentation will be ok and not stall short of your desired abv'.
 
k-sorbate is another name for potassium sorbate, haven't seen it called k-sorbate this side of the pond normally that's the USA name. The geranium off taste can 98% of the time be avoided by dosing the wine with 1 campden tablet per gallon before hand. Stabilising is only really necessary if you intend to backsweeten the wine. It stops the yeast reproducing therefore eliminating them.

When you say the shop advised you to use it, did they say when? Normally you only stabilise prior to backsweetening to kill any yeast otherwise they will simply devour any additional sugar you add to the wine. That's probably the very last step in making wine, sounds like you haven't started the wine yet, in that case don't use it yet.

Ah ok, didn't know k-sorbate Was a predominantly U.S. term. I'd just assumed it was a useful shorthand with 'k' being the chemical symbol for potassium.

It's the shops online recipies that seem to freely recommend it at the end of fermentation.

Thanks very much indeed for the reply and information.
 
Almost all prunes are treated with k (elemental symbol for pottassium) sorbate, dates might also be treated check on any packs. Suggest if you must use these ingredient to wash prunes etc and probably soak for a couple of hours and discard the water and hope that fermentation will be ok and not stall short of your desired abv'.

Thanks for that bit of info - didn't know that. I've checked all the packaging and sorbate isn't mentioned at all but better safe than sorry. I think someone mentioned rinsing raisins a while ago as well so I'll do that too.

Thanks for your reply.
 
I have used Potassium sorbate in kit wines, notably california connoisseur reds.1g per 4.5l

Used as a preservative, when keeping v drinking young.

Currently making a date wine. Fruit broken down so has the texture of treacle
Hope it breaks down as the ferment continues

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

The article I read said that long term there is no way to stop the break down to ethyl sorbate so winemakers tend not to use it when wine will not be drunk at a young age - does that sound right?

I guess raisins, prunes and dates are going to get pretty treaclicious. No need to add glycerine for mouth feel then! :)
 
Prune packs often don't say they have potassium sorbate, sometimes just an e number or preservative mentioned.
 
Prune packs often don't say they have potassium sorbate, sometimes just an e number or preservative mentioned.

I'm wondering whether to use a litre of pure juice perhaps.

The Whitworths dates I have don't mention preservative but I've written to them to ask.

I wrote to the James White company about their British Carrot Juice and they were very helpful. Lets hope Whitworths are the same :)
 
Take it easy with prune juice, I've heard it can be rather overpowering.


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