Are Campden tablets necessary?

[Wozboy]

I've been brewing beer from kits and a fair bit of wine also and I have Campden tablets but I don't tend to use them. What is the point of them? I know for wine it can stop it going off but for beer, which is what I'm concentrating on at the moment, is there any need to add Campden tablets and when should I add them?

I have a keezer for storage, another on the way as well, so storage at the right temperature is not a problem but should I really be adding a Campden tablet to prevent the beer going off? I have twelve kegs so I'm looking to have ideally eight full kegs at any time so that I can allow the beer to mature for a month or two or three months if it needs it. I've found that leaving beer does tend to improve the roundness of the flavour and smoothen the beer out with time so I am looking at longer term storage although obviously I like a beer so it's never hanging around for that long!

I've also read that people may treat the water used for brewing with Campden tablets to get rid of the chlorine in the water before brewing up, is this recommended? I never have and I've made a lot of beer but if it improves things I'll certainly consider it.

I've just made two lots of ditch's Stout and I noticed the use of Campden tablets then, not that I used any as I seem to be reluctant to add them and I'm not sure why? I just like pure beer I guess but would be grateful for any feedback or advice.

Any comments /advice gratefully received.

Cheers,

Woz.

[vacant]

I don't use Campden as I brew with 80-90% RO water and 10-20% tap. When I used to brew with 100% tap I forgot to add Campden a couple of times and noticed no difference.

Most water companies use Chlorine that will vent off overnight and during heating for the mash. If your water has Chloramine it won't vent. Old Chloramine info. Your water company can tell you.

You might as well chuck in some Campden as you already have it ... or live dangerously and skip it one brewday to see if you can tell the difference.

[Jocky]

They’re not necessary to brewing beer.

They can help avoid medicinal flavours in finished beer by removing residual chlorine or chloramine in water.

In my experience water straight from the tap in the UK doesn’t have enough chlorine or chloramine to cause these flavours. More likely medicinal flavours in finished beer are caused by infection or not rinsing off residual cleaning solution that contains chlorine.

[Silver_Is_Money]

Campden tablets deoxygenate water. Whether or not it has chlorine and/or chloramine. Oxygen is detrimental to beer. Oxygen exists in water, including distilled and RO. Therefore Campden tablets may indeed have benefit aside from chlorine or chloramine complexing/removal. Campden tablets also add some potentially beneficial quantity of sulfate ions.

[MashBag]

What Jocky said. Spot on.

I don't. Never have.

[Carnot]

I have never used sulphites, but do not have water treated with chloramines. Some parts of the UK now have water teated with chloramines which will have a noticeable odour. My preferance in such a case would be to use a carbon filter. A cheap RO carbon filter would do the job.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... r&_sacat=0

[WallyBrew]

I've been brewing beer from kits and a fair bit of wine also and I have Campden tablets but I don't tend to use them. What is the point of them? I know for wine it can stop it going off but for beer, which is what I'm concentrating on at the moment, is there any need to add Campden tablets and when should I add them?

From Brewing Science and Practice 2004 Briggs etal

Sulphur dioxide is both a natural product of fermentation (Chapter 12) and can be added to beer after fermentation. It provides a measure of protection against flavour deterioration by oxidation and has bacteriostatic properties. Maximum levels of sulphur dioxide in beer are usually governed by statute and vary in different countries. In the European Union the maximum permitted level is 20mg/l (as SO2), except for cask conditioned beer when the level is 50 mg/l. Sulphur dioxide is usually added as sodium or potassium metabisulphite and can so be added along with finings or priming sugar.

I recall the limit as 70 so it's been lowered since then and I seem to recall that in Italy it used to be less than 5.

If you are worried about oxygen in the headspace affecting your beer than add some.

[Fingar]

I was once told, after a couple of years of adding nothing, that the least you should do is remove chlorine either by boiling, letting the liquor sit overnight or add a campden tablet: I tried all three methods for about a year and never noticed the slightest bit of difference so I now don't bother adding anything. My drinking water tastes absolutely fine and doesn't smell like a swimming pool so I assume all is good.

Cheers... Fingar

[MashBag]

Well said that man

[WalesAles]

Oh Dear!
I read somewhere that you use 1/2 a campden tablet in water then make beer.
So for the last 8 years of me making beer, drinking a glass of water with 1/2 a
campden tablet before brewing is useless then?

WA

[MashBag]

Oh Dear!
I read somewhere that you use 1/2 a campden tablet in water then make beer.
So for the last 8 years of me making beer, drinking a glass of water with 1/2 a
campden tablet before brewing is useless then?

WA

Perhaps try increasing the water temp and steeping 10g Camellia sinensis.

[vacant]

Oh Dear!
I read somewhere that you use 1/2 a campden tablet in water then make beer.
So for the last 8 years of me making beer, drinking a glass of water with 1/2 a
campden tablet before brewing is useless then?

WA

If you're drinking the water I hate to think what you're using to brew your beer with