Over sulfited a wine )L

[seth8530]

Ok, ive been having trouble getting some of my skeeter pee to clear because its still fermenting.. albeit very slowly indeed. So i decided to sulfite it to stop fermentation... SO ooo I wasnt really thinking too hard but i put a whole tablet into a 44 oz container. 1 tablet is sopposed to take one gallon up to 30ppm soo is it safe to drink? how many ppm do yall recomend to halt fermentation and how much for ingerneral preservation?

 

[Tom]

? why worry about clearing if still fermentating?

 

[surlees]

According to my calculations, your sulfite level is about 224 ppm. Definitely too high to drink anytime soon. Adding sulfite is not a good way to stop fermentation as the level required will make the wine undrinkable---at least for a long time. Two better ways are to either add sulfite and sorbate within an acceptable range and then refrigerate for a few weeks; or, ferment dry, add sulfite and sorbate, and then sweeten afterward.

The best thing now is to try to aerate the pee to release some sulfite from solution. You can do this by shaking it or splashing it between two pails. Even this will not get rid of the amount you need to get rid of to make it drinkable anytime soon so after doing this you'll just need to let it age for as long as it takes to not detect the sulfite smell. A sulfite test kit would be helpful.

Fred

 

[seth8530]

It was skeeter pee and it was still barely going at an absurdly slow rate like. its been over a month and a half and only went to about 9 percent abv out of 15. so i went on ahead and put 1 campden tablet in it to try and finish off the fermentation so it would clear...

Why would it be all the way at 200 ppm? i tablet = 30 ppm in 1 gallon. 44 oz = 1/3 gallon about. so wouldnt it be around 90 ppm?

 

[surlees]

Why would it be all the way at 200 ppm? i tablet = 30 ppm in 1 gallon. 44 oz = 1/3 gallon about. so wouldnt it be around 90 ppm?

It depends upon pH, but 1 Campden used in 1 gallon of a wine of pH 3.2 will add 65 ppm of free SO2. I used a sulfite calculator to calculate the 220 ppm for 44 oz.

I don't know where you got that 1 campden provides 30 ppm/gallon, but you should re-check your source.

Fred

 

[seth8530]

I got it from the bottle the tablets came in. But my math logic is correct yah?

 

[surlees]

Download this sulfite calculator and enter your numbers.

http://www.fermsoft.com/sulphonline.php

Fred

 

[seth8530]

unfortunatly, i dont have the gram size per tablet so i can only guess at it.. but yea, its showing about the numbers you gave me. Usefull tool.

 

[surlees]

.44g K-meta/campden tablet is the standard size so your's should be the same.

 

[seth8530]

Right, but the standerd campden tablet adds 60ppm instead of 30. maybe if i ran the calculater at .22g?

 

[surlees]

That's a good thought. Maybe your campdens are 1/2 strength.

 

[seth8530]

Yea, i think they are. I re ran the calculator and it put the level at about 106 ppm. That is reasobly close to what i calculated without it so i think im on the right track for calculating levels..