how to avoid bottle bombs

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shanek17

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hey guys I have my apple cider nearly done fermenting and this is actually my first batch! I also have made a grape wine and I am excited and would like it to taste pretty good as well.

But now im debateing on whether to add in some pottasium sorbate to hinder the fermentation. What do you all think of Pottasium sorbate ? is it worth adding in a little , will it affect the taste? My apple cider was racked to secondary at SG 1.005 so I think that means its going to be pretty dry when its all done. and my grape wine was racked at 1.015 so it should be a bit sweeter.

I have some wine and whisky jugs and of course sanitized them, and I would like to use them if they will be okay. But iv heard others saying to use champange or beer bottles. But i dont have champagne bottles and dont really want to spend money on buying them, and beer bottles would be pretty small and then you would have to buy caps too.
 
Sorbate wont stop a fermentation.

That said, sounds like what you've made should finish fermentation just fine. Once it is finished (same measured SG for 3 days in a row), then you can add the Sorbate (add some Potassium Metabisulfite as well, helps the sorbate) and give it a week before backsweetening with simple syrup (2 parts sugar : 1 part water, heated on the stove to dissolve) to your taste.

The sorbate keeps yeast from multiplying, it doesnt keep them from eating. So it will keep fermentation from starting again when you backsweeten, but it wont kill/hinder a fermentation.
 
Sorbate is said to have a bubble-gum type taste, when you add too much.. Forgot that part, but as long as you follow the directions, you'll be fine
 
okay thanks, i actually checked up on the cider this morning and there is no activity going on inside of it. I think its done fermenting and its right on schedule because its been almost 30 days. Now should I keep the air lock on it well I let it sit for a couple more weeks, or do you just cap it to let it settle?
 
The airlock stays on - the wine is still saturated with Co2 and as temps fluctuate, its gonna force some of that co2 out.. If you had a solid cap on while it was doing this, you'd have a much larger version of a bottle bomb..

Airlock pretty much stays on now until you/it decides its time to go in a bottle with a cork
 

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