Campden????

I was speaking with the local brew store owner / brewmaster and he seemed to think it was blasphemous to use campden for any cider. He said the natural yeasts will only add to the brew and the yeast I add will be fine to mix.


I guess my question is who is correct? And why?

He's right - I quit using campden before pitching the yeast last year and it made a huge improvement.

Its hard to find any publicly available research on cider. I agree you don't need to use camden on cider but don't know of any hard research either way. I think that if you don't use camden you will get a malolactic ferment in secondary which many feel is desirable and traditional, but opinions differ on that as well.

I've made plenty each, with and without it. I prefer with (but at half dose.)

If you are going low and slow, which is preferable with cider, wild yeasts really have an opportunity to cause funky flavors and smells. Furthermore, the sulfited product will have a longer shelf life after complete.

However, the campden does have a slight flavor of its own, distinguishable to some. So you can get by with a half dose which still seems to do a good job at helping produce a predictable cider with minimal effects to flavor.