Campden Tablets

[PaulRob]

Hi there, looking for a bit of advise. I am thinking of starting to add a portion of a Campden Tablet to my water before starting a brew, to see if I can improve them a bit. I only do 5 litres at a time, and I've read that half a tablet will be enough for up to 23 litres or so. So my question is, how much do I add for 5 litres, maybe just a 1/4 tablet? And do I just add it right before I start heating my water for Mashing.

Thanks again.

 

[strange-steve]

Typical chlorine levels in tap water is around 0.5 ppm, and at that level 1 campden tablet will dechlorinate over 700 L of water, however a common dosage rate is half a tablet for 35 L of water which would be effective for up to 5 ppm of chlorine.

At that dosage rate for 5 L of water you would need about 35 mg of campden tablet which is about 1/14 th of a tablet!

Rather than try to measure that out I would crush a tablet between two spoons and just add a tiny pinch, don't be too worried about being exact.

Add it just before you begin heating the water, the reaction takes less than a couple of minutes, just be sure to stir it in well.

 

[Drunkula]

Spot on what Steve says. I crack some into bits and think.... yeah, that bit'll do. Sometimes I bite them if I haven't got a spoon. The taste is pretty horrible at first but you kinda grow into it. It's like a dog farted into a sherbet dip dab.

 

[strange-steve]

It's like a dog farted into a sherbet dip dab.

There you go again showing off your unique descriptive ability

 

[PaulRob]

Thanks guys, so not much at all then. Would the Campden powders you can buy maybe work better, I assume it is the same stuff, and just add a pinch of that, rather than trying to break tablets into tiny bits. Also would mean not have to taste dog fart flavoured sherbet

 

[strange-steve]

Would the Campden powders you can buy maybe work better, I assume it is the same stuff, and just add a pinch of that, rather than trying to break tablets into tiny bits

Yep :thumba:

 

[PaulRob]

Thanks.

 

[PaulRob]

Also, i would imagine adding a tiny bit more than usual, will do no harm to myself, or more importantly the brew.

 

[Drunkula]

Also, i would imagine adding a tiny bit more than usual, will do no harm to myself, or more importantly the brew.

Yep, you can really overdo it with no problem.

 

[strange-steve]

Also, i would imagine adding a tiny bit more than usual, will do no harm to myself, or more importantly the brew.

Nope, there'll be a little bit of residual sodium, sulphate, and chloride, the sulphur dioxide will be driven off during the boil. If you want a little more info on the chemistry of campden tablets have a look at this post.

 

[johncrobinson]

Some members may recall my bottled water in the fridge experiment,Well the campden treated water is still fresh,!!!!!
I dont think there would be any advantage to adding it prior to a boil.
For the benifit of the folk new to the hobby campden does not taste very nice at all.
Avoid an overdose.

 

[Drunkula]

I dont think there would be any advantage to adding it prior to a boil

Chlorine and chloramine removal. Essential if your water has it.

 

[strange-steve]

I dont think there would be any advantage to adding it prior to a boil.
For the benifit of the folk new to the hobby campden does not taste very nice at all.
Avoid an overdose.

The advantage is that it removes chlorine/chloramine before introducing a phenol source, ie the malt.

You would need to overdose by a considerable amount before it became noticable in the final beer. LODO brewers will often add around 30ppm metabisulphite to help reduce DO, which is equivalent to about half a tablet per 8L of water.

 

[MrRook]

Spot on what Steve says. I crack some into bits and think.... yeah, that bit'll do. Sometimes I bite them if I haven't got a spoon. The taste is pretty horrible at first but you kinda grow into it. It's like a dog farted into a sherbet dip dab.

Anyone going to ask how he knows what a dog fart sherbet dip dab tastes like? :)

 

[Duxuk]

Anyone going to ask how he knows what a dog fart sherbet dip dab tastes like? :)

I'm lucky. No need to ask.

 

[foxy]

Chlorine levels dissipate from the treatment plant to the tap. If you can't taste or smell it in your water don't worry about it.