Catching the bullet between your teeth?

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Bernardsmit

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Has anyone successfully stopped a fermentation in full flight using K-meta and K-sorbate? I have been reading claims about this by one or two mead makers on my side of the Atlantic. They argue that with certain yeasts (D47 for example) if you "cold crash" then rack and then add K-meta (at twice the normal dose) and K-sorbate you can stop the fermentation with enough confidence to bottle with no fear of bottle bombs. Has anyone on this forum ever tried this (or anything similar)? Have you successfully caught the bullet between your teeth? I am planning on trying this with a saison mead but I am more than a little nervous about treating what I think may be a magician's illusion as if this were something that could be done without any trickery... Thoughts? Thanks
 
What did you add?

Probably something like this ...

http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-wine-stabiliser-30g/invt/0022657

I used it to stop a cider for No.1 Son who likes "sweet" cider. The brew was a success and the fermentation was stopped in its tracks.

However, No.1 Son's lack of thirst (whimp!) meant that he didn't empty the barrel before he departed so I tried to re-start the fermentation to get the "dry" cider that I like.

I added yeast and yeast nutrient, beat it to a foam to oxygenate it and waited for a week. Nothing happened! Not a bubble in sight so I gave up and dumped it down the drain!

So, using a Stabiliser IS an effective way of stopping fermentation in its tracks! :thumb:
 
Thanks - Don't know that that product is available in the US. Does the package indicate how much K-meta (sulfite) and K-sorbate is in each dose?
 
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I routinely use K-sorbate with K-meta (and in fact I use the LD Carlson material).. but my question is about catching the flying bullet - stabilizing a mead or wine while the fermentation is in mid-flight. Once the gravity has dropped to 1.000 or below and after racking the mead (or wine) off those lees there is no problem with stabilization but that is like picking up the bullet after it has run out of steam and stopped. The question is can you stop a fermentation at say 1.015 with a large colony of viable yeast?
 
Hmmm! The blurb on the link I gave you says ...
This product will not stop an active fermentation​
... so I guess the answer is "No."

As far as I am aware, the only three guaranteed methods of stopping yeast from fermenting are:

o Let the yeast ferment out completely and then make sure that no fermentable sugars are introduced before bottling.

o Provide the yeast with so much fermentable sugar that it eventually produces enough alcohol to kill itself.

o If you wish to sweeten the brew with fermentable sugars then first let the yeast ferment out and add a Stabiliser.

I would imagine that attempting to stop a fermentation when it is in full swing is probably like trying to stop a teenage party at the same stage of the proceedings. i.e. It is fraught with danger; so your analogy of catching a bullet between your teeth is spot on!

Personally, to see it it worked, I would try the method you outlined as follows:

o Drop the temperature of the FV down to 1 degree for an absolute minimum of one week. (This should severely slow down the fermentation process, allow the live yeast cells to fall out of suspension and let the brew clear. If it doesn't clear then Cold Crashing the brew isn't working!)

o Assuming that the brew clears, rack it (from well above the trub line) into a Pressure Barrel with a Pressure Indicator and a Pressure Relief Valve installed.

o Stir in a Stabiliser at the recommended rate.

o Box up the Pressure Barrel and add a small amount of CO2 as a blanket.

o Let the brew return to normal temperature and monitor the pressure. (There are a number of ways that PB's can be fitted with pressure gauges.)

If the pressure doesn't increase over the next month or so then the system is viable.

However, I have to ask "Why would you want to do it?" :?:
 
could you not just crash cool it then add the K crash cooling to just above freezing would halt the yeast then ad the K - job done
 
However, I have to ask "Why would you want to do it?" :?:

It would be lovely to be able to monitor a fermentation and be able to stop the fermentation at say 1.010 or 1.015 or 1.005 so that all the sweetness would have been in from the beginning and washed by all the enzymes and metabolites produced by the yeast rather than added after the yeast was eliminated and all fermentation stopped.
 
It would be lovely to be able to monitor a fermentation and be able to stop the fermentation at say 1.010 or 1.015 or 1.005 so that all the sweetness would have been in from the beginning and washed by all the enzymes and metabolites produced by the yeast rather than added after the yeast was eliminated and all fermentation stopped.

But, on the other hand, leaving a mash to ferment out allows the yeast to do a "tidying up" job that gives a cleaner taste. What happens to those odds and sods that the yeast clears up when you just stop the fermentation dead in its tracks?

I've tasted partly fermented wine (indeed, I actually make Bourru throughout the year) ...

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=64171

... and it's a great drink; but that is when I'm drinking the yeast as well as the grape juice.

I also know from experience that leave a Bourru for one or two days too long at you may as well drink battery acid! :doh:
 
could you not just crash cool it then add the K crash cooling to just above freezing would halt the yeast then ad the K - job done
I guess that is the question... Does the stabilizer (K-meta + K-sorbate) halt the fermentation dead in its tracks OR does the cold crashing halt the fermentation and make it seem like the stabilizer stops it so that when you remove the mead from the fridge, bottle it and allow it to quietly age a month or so, you find that your cellar (AKA basement) is filled with broken glass and the sweet smell of mead now coats the walls, ceiling and floor... :doh::doh::doh:
 

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