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From: alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey)
Newsgroups: net.wines
Subject: Re: Brewing Beer
Message-ID: <514@mtxinu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Feb-86 13:47:45 EST
Article-I.D.: mtxinu.514
Posted: Mon Feb  3 13:47:45 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Feb-86 07:39:52 EST
References: <365@watmum.UUCP> <139@slu70.UUCP> <347@opus.UUCP> <627@amiga.amiga.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: mt Xinu, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 25

> >There is only one
> >secret to successful homebrewing:  KEEP IT CLEAN!  That can't be overempha-
> >sized--the ONLY bad homebrews I have ever tasted got that way because of
> >contamination.  (Little microbeasties get into the brew and make odd
> >tastes.
> 
> Agreed! This microb's contamination thing IS very important. My experience
> has been w/bottling wine, and with all the aging and such it's a serious
> issue. The standard solution w/wine is to add a tiny amount of sodium 
> bisulfate. Human taste threshold is ~ 200 ppm; most wineries and
> successful home winemakers use 100-150.

Sodium bisulfite (not bisulfate) and the more common potassium metabisulfite
are added to wines primarily as antioxidants.  They have a minor and temporary
inhibiting effect on SOME bacteria.  Commercial use of bisulfites in beer
is largely limited to summertime addition by some small British real-ale
breweries to slightly extend the two-week useful life of their product in
cask.

BTW, human taste threshhold for sulfur dioxide (which sulfites release from
aqueous solution) is 10-20 ppm, which corresponds to the presence of anywhere
from 20-70 ppm of bisulfite depending on the pH of the wine.  
Most sophisticated wineries and home winemakers now try to limit 
sulfite addition as much as possible.  In optimum
conditions, the total added may be as little as 40-50 ppm.