Island Mist FAQ's

Can I carbonate my Island Mist, and if so, how should I do it?
You can carbonate Island Mist products, in fact the commercial versions are often very slightly carbonated in the bottle. You need a refrigerator and an artificial carbonation set-up to do this, as they can’t be bottle-carbonated like homebrewed beer can (the sorbate prevents re-fermentation, and if you omit the sorbate the bottles will over-carbonate and leak through the corks or break bottles).
Can you boost the alcohol content of Island Mist?
Island Mist is intended to be a light, refreshing social beverage. Consumption patterns on the commercial side show that people tend to have more than one serving of Mist drinks, and are often consuming it as an alternative to beer or other fruit-juice based cocktails. If the alcohol content is too high, then you have to think twice about having that second glass by the pool. However, if your customer wants to do it, they should use corn sugar in the beginning of the fermentation. Add approximately 2.2 lbs of corn sugar to the 23 litre (6 US gal.) batch and that will bring the original gravity to between 1.080 and 1.085, and the finished alcohol content to 11% or so. Otherwise, proceed as normal. The Mist will taste harsher than normal and may take ageing before it is as drinkable as the correct starting gravity version.
Island Mist wines are sweet, is there any danger of re-fermentation in the bottle?
Since our F-packs contain sugar you must ensure that you do not add it to the wine too early. It is imperative that the specified number of days have elapsed between stabilization and the addition of the f-pack, in order for the sorbate to have fully neutralized the yeast. If the F-pack is added too early, there is a slight possibility that re-fermentation can occur, but this is completely avoidable by simply following the instructions and maintaining good sanitation practices. Also, 2 consistent S.G. readings be taken 2 - 3 days apart to ensure finished fermentation.