Campden tablets vs powder

[Heagney]

so..just been to the ‘local’ brew store and made some purchases for my 2nd brew. You bought some powder as they had no tablets but it’s states that’s it’s for sterilisation and to remove wild yeast etc. If I put this in my water before boiling is it going to end up killing my yeast etc during fermentation?
As you can probably tell...I’m very new to all this!

 

[Drunkula]

Use just an eighth of a teaspoon for 5 gallons if you're using it to clear chlorine/chloramines and leave it for 20 minutes and you're ready to go. For wild yeast that's more putting a solution on fruits and leaving it a day.

For sterilisation you can mix it with citric acid then get it wet and it gives off some right knockout gas so be ready to slam the lid on and give it a shake. I'd only do that in a pinch and get some Star San for sanitising, use that for chloramines. You might not even be able to taste the chlorine but try water you've treated and then from the tap and see if you can tell a difference. I couldn't taste it for ages then it just started happening and I wish it hadn't.

 

[Heagney]

Use just an eighth of a teaspoon for 5 gallons if you're using it to clear chlorine/chloramines and leave it for 20 minutes and you're ready to go. For wild yeast that's more putting a solution on fruits and leaving it a day.

For sterilisation you can mix it with citric acid then get it wet and it gives off some right knockout gas so be ready to slam the lid on and give it a shake. I'd only do that in a pinch and get some Star San for sanitising, use that for chloramines. You might not even be able to taste the chlorine but try water you've treated and then from the tap and see if you can tell a difference. I couldn't taste it for ages then it just started happening and I wish it hadn't.

Cheers buddy I’ve got starsan this was to treat the water. Only brewing 1 gallon brews at the mo so I’ll work out a proportion of an eighth of a teaspoon.. :tinhat: haha

 

[Drunkula]

Don't worry if you use a little bit more, it won't be a problem. I was going to buy the powdered metabisulphite but I had 100 campden tablets in my stocking - and some citric acid! Seriously. Shhhh I also had carbonation drops but took them back to the shop because I think they're a collossal waste of money.

 

[Heagney]

Are you supposed to just drop the carb tablets in and it carbonates the beer?
Thanks buddy I’m going to try one brew with and one without and check the difference

 

[Slid]

Carbonation drops do the same job as ordinary white sugar, but the drops work out much more expensive. Say you buy 250g of drops for £3 - that is £12 per kilo. Compare that to the price of a kilo of sugar in your local supermarket.

 

[Gunge]

For sterilisation you can mix it with citric acid then get it wet and it gives off some right knockout gas so be ready to slam the lid on and give it a shake.

I make up an ultra-strong solution of sod.met and citric acid, then tell visitors to have a whiff of it whilst shoving it under their noses before it's possible to avoid getting a heavy dose. The resultant reaction and theatrics are hilarious, and ensure that they don't darken my doorstep again for a long time, if ever. Good.