Topic: explanation please

[flitwickone]

on worsels orange wine recipe it says

1 crushed campden tablet and potassuim sorbate how much sorbate for the 1 gallon recipe also it states rack at 1.000 which i ubderstand or ferment to dry and back sweeten whats that bit mean

sorry once again for been a bit dense

p.s im loving this brewing lark this stuff is good

[lottie lou]

What were your first couple of brews like.  Have you tried them yet.

[flitwickone]

yes they were lovely and fruity and about 16-20%

i have 8 gallons waiting to be racked :)

[Melbourne12]

Crikey!  That's extremely strong  :o

The normal advice is to add half a teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon/5 litres.

The stronger the wine, the less potassium sorbate you need, since the alcohol itself will inhibit yeast reproduction.  But it won't do any harm.

Back sweetening is adding sugar (or other sweeteners) after fermentation is complete.  That's why you need to inhibit the yeast, otherwise it'll start fermenting again.  You might want to add sugar to achieve a "demi-sec" or even a sweet wine.  Not everyone likes their wine to be too bone dry.

If you've made something in the 16-20% range, I'd expect to need to add some sweetness, and maybe drink it more like a vermouth than a wine.

[ToniD]

That is too strong, I would check your hydrometer, Did you check it at the correct temperature? Hydrometer's usually are calibrated to work at 20C, sometimes 15C. If not, the reading will be wrong!
You could try Canderell to back sweeten, as it's not a sugar it will not restart fermentation.

 

Crikey!  That's extremely strong  :o

The normal advice is to add half a teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon/5 litres.

The stronger the wine, the less potassium sorbate you need, since the alcohol itself will inhibit yeast reproduction.  But it won't do any harm.

Back sweetening is adding sugar (or other sweeteners) after fermentation is complete.  That's why you need to inhibit the yeast, otherwise it'll start fermenting again.  You might want to add sugar to achieve a "demi-sec" or even a sweet wine.  Not everyone likes their wine to be too bone dry.

If you've made something in the 16-20% range, I'd expect to need to add some sweetness, and maybe drink it more like a vermouth than a wine.