[Melomels] Are campden tablets needed before pitching the yeast?

[Ivorra]

TLDR: In a melomel with supermarket fruits, are campden tablets needed to remove the wild yeast before brewing?

Hey all,

After looking at recommendations in my previous post, I decided to do my first mead with berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry).

I am planning to get them from the supermarket, as well as the honey. Question is: Do I really need to use campden tablets before pitching the yeast? Many of the recipes I have seen do not use any at all, even if the fruit is wild.

Any ideas about why would it not be needed? I am assuming this is because the fruits in the supermarket might have already been treated/sanitised?

Thanks.

PS: Any other advise is welcome!

 

[Toxxyc]

It's not required, no, but if you're not going to use Campden, just make sure the yeast strain you intend on using is strong enough to survive should there be a wild colony in there. Some yeast strains are superbly dominant and will kill everything else in there, but some are wimpy and might throw bad flavours if they're stressed by wild yeast.

 

[Ivorra]

Oh, wasn't awer of that. Thanks!

 

[bernardsmith]

But aren't most lab selected and cultured yeast pretty much immune to low doses of K-meta (50 ppm)? The thing is, and many might disagree, if you are pitching an active batch of yeast then they will swiftly create the environment they prefer and so will dominate any wild yeast and most bacteria on the fruit. If you are pitching yeast that need 12 hours or more to rehydrate and become active (after the lag time) then the local indigenous yeast will have a little while to create flavors that will add to the complexity of the wine and will then succumb to the cultured yeast you pitch. Generally, I don't add K-meta to any of my meads until I rack after active fermentation has ended.

 

[Ivorra]

Oh, I am using M05 yeast:
https://mangrovejacks.com/products/mead-m05-yeast-10g
It is directly pitched into the brew.

 

[CKuhns]

When using dry yeast...

Agree K-Meta is not needed.
Perfectly acceptable to just sprinkle and mix in after your create your must. (Starting it ahead of time is not a bad idea either.)

 

[Ivorra]

Good to know, thanks!