Kit's VS home brew question

[drainsurgeon]

I'm making Dave's Dragon Blood and am close to first racking out of the primary. I've make kit's for years but this is my first attempt at a home brew. I'm currently reading Dave's VERY lengthy thread on DB (on post 400 something) and everyone suggests back sweetening and adding the sorbate and metabisulfite AFTER clearing. The kits have you adding all 3 at the same time as the chitosan in step 3. Just trying to understand the difference.

Also the temp in the primary keeps climbing. It started at 75 4 days ago and is up to 82 today. I know the yeast is partially to blame, but the house temp is about 78. It's bubling like crazy so I think its ok but not sure.

I also am thinking about returning the Sparkolloid and getting the Super Kleer everyone seems to like.

Advice please??

 

[dcbrown73]

I've just bottled my first DB.

I followed his instruction to a T except for the fruit used. My frozen fruit mix had four fruits instead of three.

I would follow the instruction to a T (except the Sparkloid) since it's your first try and tweak on your second try. (You can't learn what your tweaks change if you don't first have a baseline to judge from)

I used Sparkloid and Super-Kleer on mine. (super-kleer later when it was still hazy) I will not be using Sparkloid again except in an emergency. It's slow compared and I've heard it can continue to drop sediment for up to six months and well. DB can be drinkable in a month and is very drinkable in 3 months. Far less than the six months Sparkloid can still be dropping cruft. If you don't want it in your bottle, then I suggest using something that clears faster and doesn't continue to drop cruft after you've bottled. (you don't want to wait over six months to bottle DB when it was great three months prior to that)

Good luck! My first batch turned out far better than I expected!

 

[richmke]

everyone suggests back sweetening and adding the sorbate and metabisulfite AFTER clearing. The kits have you adding all 3 at the same time as the chitosan in step 3. Just trying to understand the difference.

k-meta kills the yeast, and helps protect the wine from oxidation. Sorbate keeps any remaining yeast there is from reproducing. K-meta dissipates over time. Sorbate does not. If the wine is not clear, yeast can hid out in the particles from the k-meta.

I tend to add k-meta as soon as fermentation is done, more to protect the wine from oxidation.

Kit instructions are intended to be idiot proof. Follow them, and you should be ok. Follow the DB instructions, and you should be fine too.

As long as you don't wait too long to add k-meta, you should be fine.

You can clear whenever you want to. If you add k-meta prior to clearing, you may need to add some more k-meta, just in case. But, you should be adding k-meta when racking anyway.

You can add sorbate whenever you want to, as long as it is before (1 week?) before you backsweeten the wine. That gives time for the sorbate to disperse throughout the wine before adding the sugar.

Also the temp in the primary keeps climbing. It started at 75 4 days ago and is up to 82 today. I know the yeast is partially to blame, but the house temp is about 78. It's bubling like crazy so I think its ok but not sure.

82 is fine. Temp rise to 78 is just getting to room temp. Temp rise to 82 is due to yeast activity. It should fall back to room temp in a few days when yeast activity subsides.

 

[drainsurgeon]

Thanks David, I'll be picking up Super Kleer today.
Thanks Rich, I understand your baseline concept and I agree it's a good idea and thanks for clearing up when to use the finishing products. One more question; k-meta, metabisulfite and campden tablets are all the same product with different names?

 

[richmke]

One more question; k-meta, metabisulfite and campden tablets are all the same product with different names?

Metabisulfite comes as k-meta, and as Na-meta. K is what you use in wine, and Na can be used for sanitizing.

Camden tablets are metabisulfite, and I just heard that you should make sure it is the k form, not the Na form. Tablets also have binders that make them harder to dissolve.

 

[drainsurgeon]

Metabisulfite comes as k-meta, and as Na-meta. K is what you use in wine, and Na can be used for sanitizing.

Camden tablets are metabisulfite, and I just heard that you should make sure it is the k form, not the Na form. Tablets also have binders that make them harder to dissolve.

OK, I'm learning here please be patient. What the wine shop sold me says:
Potassium Metabisulphite, To kill wild yeast; add 1/4 tsp per 6 gal of must, to sanitize; add 2 oz to 1 gal of water. It's from LD Carlson.

It Does not say K or NA, so what have I got here?

 

[dcbrown73]

OK, I'm learning here please be patient. What the wine shop sold me says:
Potassium Metabisulphite, To kill wild yeast; add 1/4 tsp per 6 gal of must, to sanitize; add 2 oz to 1 gal of water. It's from LD Carlson.

It Does not say K or NA, so what have I got here?

That is k-meta. Potassium is represented by the letter K in the periodic table. Sodium is Na

 

[drainsurgeon]

Thanks for clearing (no pun intended) that up for me David.