Recently I've been soaking some boiled oak cubes (1.5 oz) in a merlot, which said on the label "contains sulfites". I'm planning on adding these Merlot-soaked oak cubes to a beer that I'm going to secondary for an extended period of time, and let Pedio and Brett do their thing. Should I be worried at all about these sulfites having an effect on the yeast/bacteria performance? Isn't potassium metasulphite supposed to kill yeast? Now I'm wondering if I should even add it. Might not be worth it to ruin a 10-12 month sour. Thoughts?
Potassium metabisulphite is often used in wine-making for several purposes: 1) to prevent bacteria and wild yeast from becoming activated 2) to dechlorinate tap wate (and remove chloramine), and 3) to prevent oxidation. In the strength used (20-40 ppm) it is not enough to deter strong wine yeast from activating. Potassium sorbate is used to stop yeast action. I would think that the same principles should apply to beer making. Just make sure your yeast is strong and healthy.
Here's a couple of links about potassium metabisulphite that might be of interest: http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/ http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-additions/ It specifically refers to wine, but again, I would think that the same principles should apply to beer. According to this article, potassium metabisulphite is also used in beer making: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite#Beer
Thanks! This is good to know. Also like you said, there will be such a small amount of sulphites in there, given that it'll just be wine that is still clinging to the oak when tossed in.
For the amount that's still clinging to the wine, I wouldn't worry about it. However, that does bring up an interesting question. Although the amount of potassium metabisulphite normally used to treat the water before making wine/beer does not affect wine/beer yeast, how WOULD that amount later affect a beer made with Brett, since it's a bacteria rather than a yeast? I've never seen a discussion or information on that aspect.
That is not true. "Brettanomyces is yeast; just not our good friend Saccharomyces cerevisiae (i.e., brewer’s yeast)." Cheers!
Thanks! I must have been thinking of lactobacillus and pediococcus. So that makes the use of potassium metabisulphite relatively safe for sours that only use Brett.
