Sorbate, sulfites, and more...
Jim Brangan

Last month, we heat pasteurized our mead must. There are several other approaches to preparing mead must, which are vehemently debated without much resolution. Many of the old texts instruct would-be mead makers to boil their must, and skim off the 'scum' that floats to the top. This foamy scum is made up of proteins. Advocates of the boiling method point out that this method creates a must that is free from wild yeast, and creates a finished mead with outstanding clarity. Detractors of this method decry the loss of delicate aromas boiled off during this process.

Other mead makers dose their must with sulfites, often in the form of crushed campden tablets, much like winemakers do. Some people prefer to avoid adding chemicals such as sulfites to their mead, in an attempt to keep it as natural as possible. Some sulfites are given off naturally during the fermentation process. There is a small segment of the population (higher in asthmatics) that is sensitive to sulfites.

Still other mead makers make no effort to pasteurize their must. They either rely on the wild yeast that are present, but dormant, in the honey to ferment the mead, or they allow wild airborne yeast to initiate the fermentation, or they simply inoculate the must with a large, active starter in the hopes that the selected yeast will dominate the indigenous yeast.

Each of these methods have their advocates and detractors. You will have to experiment and decide which method works for you.

Last month, when we bottled our mead, we did not 'stabilize' it. On occasion, mead fermentations will go dormant, often for weeks, only to begin again after bottling. To prevent this, many mead makers add potassium sorbate and sulfite to their meads when racking into the bottling bucket. These additives prevent renewed fermentation by the yeast, and inhibit bacterial activity. Read and follow the label instructions for correct dosing amounts. Allow a period of 45 minutes after racking onto these preservatives before you bottle.

Next month: Aging and corking.