Campden Tablets and Fermentation Question

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Caldazar

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I am new to mead making and decided to buy a 1 gallon mead kit from a local brew supply store. The instructions stated to add a crushed Campden tablet to the must 24 hours before pitching the yeast. Beersmith (I brew beer regularly) stated that I should only add 1.5 grams of lalvin 71b to ferment the mead and to use a staggered nutrient schedule. I added the 24 hour nutrient addition and am on 48 hours after pitching the yeast and am still not seeing any activity in the airlock. Did I mess up by following the kit instructions and adding the Campden tablet? Is my mead a lost cause? Thanks for your advice.
 
I don't have direct experience with using Campden tablets. They are mostly used to remove Chlorine and Chloramine if you are using tap water. My city doesn't use either, but I still use spring water. I have used Potassium Metabisulfite on occasion in the water for primary when steeping some ingredients and I want to suppress wild yeast. That has never caused my chosen yeast to not start.

What was your measured OG? where is the gravity now?
How did you rehydrate your yeast?
How much honey did you use?
How much nutrients?
 
Measured OG is 1.109. I will check Gravity tomorrow and see if it has actually changed any. I have a three-piece airlock on the fermenter and the cap inside hasn't even begun to move or act like its pressurized.

I rehydrated the yeast in about half of a cup of boiled spring water after adding 1.9g of GoFerm. I pitched the yeast into the rehydration water at about 75-80F. Let it sit for about thirty minutes and added it to the fermenter. I did the same to the rest of the packet of yeast yesterday and pitched the rest of it to see if that would help but still no activity. Fermentation temp has been around 60F.

I used 2.5lbs orange blossom honey, 0.5 gal cranberry juice with no additives, and 0.5 gal spring water.

I was planning on using a staggered nutrient schedule with 1g of Fermaid O at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days each. I have only added day 1 so far.

At this point I am fairly convinced the Campden Tablet messed the fermentation process up.
 
What kind of yeast are you using? 60 degrees F is a bit low for many wine yeasts. The data sheet for your yeast should give you the optimal fermentation temperature for your yeast. Most of the time I try to start my ferment at around 66-68 degrees F. Once it is going well in the fermentation vessel, you might be able to lower the temp somewhat if the yeast will handle it.

Of course it is also possible that your yeast is bad. Try making a yeast starter, and see if there are clear signs of fermentation in the starter.
 
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