Campden Tablets

[jordanchaos]

I keep seeing these mentioned to be added to my brew bucket I dont and have never used them, wikipedia mentions using them to kill off infections in the brew (wild yeast bacteria etc) surely if I use them then I wont get a second fermentation leading to fizz in the bottle? I have bought some now ad await directions!

[jonnyt]

Half to one tablet for a 23L brew is generally added to the water before mashing to dechlorinate the water to stop potential TCP flavours in the finished beer.

[jordanchaos]

Ahh so not 100% needed?

[Dr. Dextrin]

Only essential if you find the chlorine in your tap water ends up affecting the taste of the beer (usually a TCP-like taste, although there are also other causes for this taste). However, it's annoying to find out the hard way by ruining a brew and Campden tablets are cheap, so half a tablet added to the brewing water at the very start is often a wise precaution.

I wouldn't advise adding them at any later stage when brewing. Although they're frequently added to wine later in the process (and barely affect the taste), they somehow have a much greater impact on the flavour of beer and can give a nasty sulphury taste.

[oldbloke]

Although they're frequently added to wine later in the process (and barely affect the taste), they somehow have a much greater impact on the flavour of beer and can give a nasty sulphury taste.

They slowly become sulphur dioxide in wine (removing oxygen in the process, which is what they're for, at least partly) and so are lost as gas.
In ale, under pressure and with you trying to keep gas /in/, that sulphur is going to hang around.
Not sure how the fizzywine people manage. I imagine they rely on the CO2 to prevent oxidation, just as ale brewers do.

[LeeH]

No need to use them if you use water through a carbon filter (water gem) then?

Ive just tee'd into the one which filters the fridge water.

[Blackaddler]

I keep seeing these mentioned to be added to my brew bucket I dont and have never used them, wikipedia mentions using them to kill off infections in the brew (wild yeast bacteria etc) surely if I use them then I wont get a second fermentation leading to fizz in the bottle? I have bought some now ad await directions!

Don't use them just for the sake of it.

A couple of threads worth reading...

Water Analysis at Murphy and sons

Oh no! I forgot the camden tab!