Any risk using campden tablets?

[Cannonball Jones]

My first two batches of mead are nearly done, I'm expecting to get the same SG reading this weekend as I did last weekend. Time to rack, but I want to make sure no further fermentation occurs. There's no way for me to pasteurize them safely at my place, so I picked up some campden tablets. Is there anything I need to look out for, or can I generally go with the 1 crushed tab per gallon method and just let it sit a few days? Also, I'm expecting to have to backsweeten one batch. Should that be done before or after adding the campden tabs?

 

[dmtaylor]

Campden needs to work together with potassium sorbate to prevent refermentation. Neither one on their own are very effective at this. I would measure SG, add both chemicals, wait a week or two to ensure SG remains stable, then backsweeten, then wait another week or two (at least in the backsweetened batch), before bottling. If the SG changes by just 0.001, I still would not bottle but would wait even longer. Great mead should never be rushed.