Campden tablet flavor in cider. - how long to dissipate?

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jeremymschneider

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I added 4 tabs/5 gallons to my cider, 48 hrs before pitching. It has been 4 months and the smell/taste of the campden is still very strong. How long does this take to dissipate? Is there any way to speed it up?

Thanks!
 
After 4-5 months I would have thought it to be gone. Can you describe the smell? Perhaps it's something different that we can help identify.
 
smell is medicinal/salty. I licked a campden tab and the taste is the same. Taste/smell is dissipating very slowly. I'm just wondering how long it usually takes? Cider is in an airlocked carboy.
 
I would also think it would be gone, but that level of sulfites takes about 6 months to dissapate. Maybe you are sensative to sulfites?
 
I really hope it dissipates.. I hand milled and pressed 32 gallons of the stuff... I don't think i'll be using Campden again. I'll just make sure everything is sterile and take my chances...
 
jeremymschneider said:
I added 4 tabs/5 gallons to my cider, 48 hrs before pitching. It has been 4 months and the smell/taste of the campden is still very strong. How long does this take to dissipate? Is there any way to speed it up?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You meant 4 tabs total right? Not 20 tabs? 20 tabs would be VERY noticable as a taste.
 
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I'd put money on there being no free SO2 left in the cider at this point, combined with the fact that you're not overly sensitive to sulfites leads me to think that maybe it's H2S that you're smelling? Commonly called rhino farts, it has the smell of sulfury rotten eggs.
 
I suppose you could also do a test; take a tablet, crush it up, and put just the tiniest amount in a large glass of water. See what that smells like, and report back.

I always thought crushed campden tablets had an "onion" type smell to them

Edit: It doesn't look like those are very clear yet, there is still plenty of time for it to dissipate if it is infact campden. When is the last time you racked them?
 
I've done 3 batches so far. 1st no campden with nottingham yeast Wonderful smell/taste
2nd with campden and Lalvin 1118 yeast - same bad smell/taste as described.
3rd with campden and nottingham - same bad smell/taste as described.

smell is not Rhino Farts (I know the smell of H2S)
taste of campden tab matches taste smell described

I'll just have to wait the 6 months... (and never use campden again!) :)
 
I think it is something else, I know you say it is the same as campden. During fermentation all the so2 is bound to acetaldehyde produced by the yeast,and you started with a low dose anyway. Campden tablets will have lost some active so2 in storage as well. Your free s02 will be zero, your total so2 will be about 40ppm max. No-one else has problems with that level of so2 so you should consider the strong possibility that you have some other problem.
 
Batch 2 is definitely getting better with time. For the next batch that I do, I will do one carboy with campden and 1 without and same yeast.
 
jeremymschneider said:
Batch 2 is definitely getting better with time. For the next batch that I do, I will do one carboy with campden and 1 without and same yeast.
Click to expand...

Make sure you top up your carboys! Oxidation can be a big problem for cider, especially if you're not adding more sulfites (which is an antioxidant).
 
You put them in directly..? I boiled the water with mine. Dont taste them at all almost immediately. But I do beer and not wine.
 
KBentley57 said:
I suppose you could also do a test; take a tablet, crush it up, and put just the tiniest amount in a large glass of water. See what that smells like, and report back.

I always thought crushed campden tablets had an "onion" type smell to them

Edit: It doesn't look like those are very clear yet, there is still plenty of time for it to dissipate if it is infact campden. When is the last time you racked them?
Click to expand...

I just did your test. You are right. The campden tab did have an onion smell/taste to it. I'm thinking I may take some down to my local brew store and see what they think. If I learn anything I'll share it here.
 
Yooper said:
Don't forget this, as oxidation could easily be a source of off-flavors and ruin your cider.
Click to expand...

Yooper,

What if topping up requires 1/2 to one gallon of juice? Wouldn't that amount of juice kick-start fermentation again, leading to another round of lees and another racking requiring topping off.

Couldn't you just top off with a little bit of juice - a cup or two - causing a very small amount of fermentation, but enough that some CO2 is created, pushing the air out of the carboy and effectively sealing the juice in an air-tight layer or CO2. In that case, the amount of lees created would be small enough not to worry about.
 
LoudounBrew said:
Yooper,

What if topping up requires 1/2 to one gallon of juice? Wouldn't that amount of juice kick-start fermentation again, leading to another round of lees and another racking requiring topping off.

Couldn't you just top off with a little bit of juice - a cup or two - causing a very small amount of fermentation, but enough that some CO2 is created, pushing the air out of the carboy and effectively sealing the juice in an air-tight layer or CO2. In that case, the amount of lees created would be small enough not to worry about.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's why it's common to rack to smaller containers, or make a slightly larger batch to use for topping off (or top off with already made cider).

sure, adding juice means fermentation could restart, but it's not like the c02 in the carboy is going to hang around and protect the cider for months. It's at best a very short term (a week or two) solution. Headspace is a big concern after a couple of weeks.

Then, when the cider is racked, it's time to top up again.

I have several fermenters- 6 gallon, 5 gallon, 3 gallon, 1 gallon, growlers, etc, so the appropriate sized vessel is always available.
 
Yooper said:
Yes, that's why it's common to rack to smaller containers, or make a slightly larger batch to use for topping off (or top off with already made cider).

sure, adding juice means fermentation could restart, but it's not like the c02 in the carboy is going to hang around and protect the cider for months. It's at best a very short term (a week or two) solution. Headspace is a big concern after a couple of weeks.

Then, when the cider is racked, it's time to top up again.

I have several fermenters- 6 gallon, 5 gallon, 3 gallon, 1 gallon, growlers, etc, so the appropriate sized vessel is always available.
Click to expand...

Yooper,

Thanks. From now on, I'll start my ciders in my 6 gallon better bottles and rack to my 5 gallon carboys.

Live and learn.
 

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