Campden tablet mistake?

[grapefruitmoon]

I used campden tablets to treat my water for the first time yesterday...as per the label, i used 4 crushed for 23L. Reading around this seems too much, and that 1 is sufficient. Have I screwed up my beer??

 

[Muddydisco]

To treat your water you need 1/2 a tablet per 25ltr.
The ratio you have used is to stun yeast and stop fermenting.
I don't know what will happen to your brew, It may not ferment at all.
Try keeping the beer in the 22-24 c range and see if the yeast will overcome the Campden.

 

[grapefruitmoon]

Oh bugger!

Just had a quick peek at it there (about 18 hours in)...it looks like it's starting to ferment, there's a covering of bubbles, but not very aggressive. I'll keep an eye on it.

Is there likely to have been any other damage done? If it doesn't ferment now, would it be worth pitching more yeast in a couple of days?

 

[Muddydisco]

I don't know on other damage someone else will put you right on that.
Not worth more yeast yet I think, just try and keep it warm and give what yeast there is a good fighting chance.

 

[Moley]

As MD says, that sort of ratio is used (in winemaking) to knock out natural yeasts. The overdose shouldn't hurt your brew but (in winemaking) I wouldn't pitch my yeast until day 2. The effects of CTs are short-lived and it sounds like your yeasties have survived the shock :thumb:

If it still seems slow after 48 hours, try pitching a bit more yeast.

 

[evanvine]

I don’t know if Wine yeast is less susceptible to SO2 than Ale yeast, I’m sure Moley will put me right there!
1 Campden tablet is formulated to impart 50ppm SO2 to 1 gallon.
You have used 4 in 5 gals giving you 40ppm.
From experience (through over exuberant use of the Sodium Metabisulphite spray) Wine yeast will still function at a level of 250-300 ppm.
This is equivalent to 5+ CT’s/gal or 25+ CT’s/ 5 gals.
Also from experience I’ve found that SO2 doesn’t come out of solution very quickly.
The SO2 doesn’t harm the wine yeast; it just delays the start of ferment.
I know Moley’s already given an answer, just thought I’d add my pennyworth.

 

[Moley]

Apologies to grapefruitmoon if this seems like a hijack, but I hope your original question has been answered.

Jim: I wouldn't have the faintest idea about SO2 parts per million or how it affects different strains of yeasties, but as you seem to, could you shed any light on this:

If I use 1 campden tablet per gallon, it seems quite ok to pitch my yeast on day 2 and away they go, this is why I said their effects seem short-lived. But, if I add half a teaspoonful of sodium metabisulphite powder to a 5 gallon must I might as well forget about pitching yeast for 3 or 4 days, or might end up pitching 2 or 3 lots? I thought 1 CT was supposed to be equivalent to 1/10 tsp of metabisulphite?

 

[grapefruitmoon]

Hijack away! :)

Well my beer seems to be fermenting now...fingers crossed it will be okay.

 

[Aleman]

I know I'm a bit late but.

There is no issue adding that level of sulphite to your beer . . . In fact it may well be a good thing as any residual sulphite will at as a reductone reducing the level of any oxidation later on in the brewing process.

I have been know to use 10 tablets in 10 gallons of wort when mashing my very pale beers just to prevent the effects of oxidation . . . and no effects at all on fermentation.


But then I do have the habit of pitching a lot of yeast.

 

[grapefruitmoon]

Thanks Aleman, that's really useful.

Just given it another check, not much in the way of bubbling going on. And theres a bad smell...hmmm I'm not convinced about this one! Hoping the smell is C02, but I could be making that up.

 

[Marsie]

CO2 is odourless, does it smell like bad eggs?

 

[grapefruitmoon]

The smell has gone now, but it didn't really smell of bad eggs...good eggs, maybe! I assume it's a bad sign??

 

[tubby_shaw]

I assume it's a bad sign??

Don't worry too much about strange smells during and soon after fermentation :) yeast can produce some really funky esters when it's fermenting, but so long as the fermentation wasn't too warm these are cleaned up by the yeast at the end of fermentation