The discussion related to stopping fermentation should be corrected.

Potassium sorbate does not stop fermentation. Potassium sorbate keeps existing yeast cells from reproducing but it doesn't stop existing cells from continued fermentation. Further, sorbate does not inhibit "spoilage" organisms like lactic acid bacteria or Brettanomyces. It is not unusual for fresh (unpasteurized) juice to have lactic acid bacteria and even Brett in it. The lactic acid bacteria are a big concern because they can metabolize the sorbic acid from the potassium sorbate into a nasty crushed geranium leaf characteristic.

To minimize the yeast cells still present (they will not reproduce after the sorbate but they will continue to ferment) you want to rack the cider, perhaps after chilling to get as much yeast as possible to drop out. Then you want to add sulfites (e.g., campden tablets). The sulfites also help eliminate the spoilage organisms. Traditionally, the sorbate would be added a day after the sulfite treatment.

On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 9:33 AM, Dave Royer dave@droyer.org [mnbrewers] <mnbrewers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 

For anyone looking for a cheat sheet on making hard cider, yesterday's newsletter contained a link to an article I wrote to help get you started. I had tons of help from other MHBA members and welcome feedback, questions and suggestions!


Dave

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Posted by: Dave Royer <dave@droyer.org>
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