1st Sulfate timing

[Torch404]

I can not seem to find a direct answer to this via search, so I'll ask.

When do you add your first round of sulfate; if you are not adding it to the original must?

I just racked into a carboy my blueberry which got to .992 in five days, thank you brew belt. As these were store bought blueberries I did not add sulfate to the original must, which seems to be a common practice. Now I'm not sure when to add the sulfate, do I just do it now? Do I wait till I get the same SG three days in a row and then add? Do I add it at the next racking?

What do you do?

 

[BobF]

I can not seem to find a direct answer to this via search, so I'll ask.

When do you add your first round of sulfate; if you are not adding it to the original must?

I just racked into a carboy my blueberry which got to .992 in five days, thank you brew belt. As these were store bought blueberries I did not add sulfate to the original must, which seems to be a common practice. Now I'm not sure when to add the sulfate, do I just do it now? Do I wait till I get the same SG three days in a row and then add? Do I add it at the next racking?

What do you do?

I follow the "every other" practice.

If I sulfite the must, I don't sulfite when xferring to secondary. Then I sulfite the next racking and every other ...

If I didn't sulfite the must, I sulfite when xferring to the secondary, skip the next, sulfite the next and so on.

This is all based on 30 - 60 days between rackings.

SG when xferring to secondary isn't something I take into consideration.

 

[Torch404]

That's a great rule of thumb I'll have to remember. I was pretty sure I should sulfate but wanted to make sure I shouldn't wait a little longer.Thank you

 

[Bailey]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Isn't the first treatment with sulfite to kill any stray wild yeasts or bacteria? Shouldn't that be standard practice?

Unless it's a kit I've sulfited everything at the start then not again until stabilization.

 

[BobF]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Isn't the first treatment with sulfite to kill any stray wild yeasts or bacteria? Shouldn't that be standard practice?

Unless it's a kit I've sulfited everything at the start then not again until stabilization.

Pasteurized juices are an example of something I don't sulfite must for.

Mead is another.

 

[Torch404]

It was a bag of frozen blueberries. I was not too worried about them being bad, they pretty much went from freezer to primary.

My understanding is that because wine ends up fairly high alcohol and fairly acidic that this inhibits a lot of microbes. While it's fermenting I believe the CO2 also protects it. If these were berries I had picked or that had been in my fridge any amount of time I would have sulfited them.

Although for consistency sake it is a good idea to sulfite every must prior to pitching yeast.

 

[koda_ky]

Thanks for asking that question torch I too am not sure I am doing it right. I sulfite the must and then I don't do it again until the 3rd racking I am not sure that is right but I have not had any problems yet.

 

[Wade E]

Frozen berries will have wild yeast on them, pasteurized juices have had the wild yeast killed. I use sulfite for everything except kits and juice from a grocery store. Frozen concentrates almost always have enough sulfites in there to hold off any wild yeast. I always add sulfite as soon as my wine has finished fermenting and not again for about 3 months when Im racking off the sediment.