Can I salvage this (urgent)

[landshark]

Exactly. Too many people telling OP not to use them without knowing the levels of chlorine or chloramine. If others don't need to use campden tablets, that is great. Some people do and it is needed. Chlorine and chloramine can cause off flavors. Some people have very high levels of chlorine and chloramine in their water. A 50 cent tablet each brew is a very cheap fix for that.

It's been stated, but it's worth restating: the only thing that determines whether or not an additive is needed is a Water Report, and not someone else's arbitrary advice or personal experience. OP needs to get a report from his/her municipality and based upon that, determine for him/herself whether an additive is warranted.

However, the OP asked if he could salvage the beer (an Irish Red). The response was simply a campden tablet is not required to the mash to try to salvage. Water reports and chemistry is a much more detailed science than a beginners brew section needs to get involved in. For the sake of a beginner or a rusty brewer, water chemistry is not something that should be considered unless their own water is undrinkable as just brewing won't cover most off flavors.

It's brewing beer, you can be as detailed as you want, or as care free as you want. However, just because a campden tablet was not added is not going to ruin a beer.

Yooper answered the second part of the question with it can not be added to the mash.

Water chemistry has it's own section in the threads.

 

[h22lude]

However, the OP asked if he could salvage the beer (an Irish Red). The response was simply a campden tablet is not required to the mash to try to salvage. Water reports and chemistry is a much more detailed science than a beginners brew section needs to get involved in. For the sake of a beginner or a rusty brewer, water chemistry is not something that should be considered unless their own water is undrinkable as just brewing won't cover most off flavors.

It's brewing beer, you can be as detailed as you want, or as care free as you want. However, just because a campden tablet was not added is not going to ruin a beer.

Yooper answered the second part of the question with it can not be added to the mash.

Water chemistry has it's own section in the threads.

Here is your direct quote "I've been brewing for years and have never used a campden tablet. (I've never even bought any) You will be fine."

This does not mention anything about if he can or cannot salvage the beer. You are stating that you don't use campden tablets and he will be fine.

There was another post agreeing with yours and another post telling the OP to save his money and stop buying them.

In your latest post you said "The response was simply a campden tablet is not required to the mash to try to salvage". All 3 of those posts don't mention anything about if his current batch can be salvaged. They are all referencing him using campden tablets and to stop using them all together. This is what my original post was referring too. Just because you don't use them or don't need them, doesn't mean the OP will be fine. If the OP does have chlorine problems, there isn't anything to salvage the beer now. A campden tablet now won't help...BUT it will absolutely help before a brew day.

This has nothing to do with water chemistry. Anyone can use 1/2 a campden tablet even if you are using RO water. If you don't have a water report showing chlorine or chloramine but you think you have an issue, campden tablets are so cheap that it doesn't make sense not to use them. Hell, I know people on here that have never had an issue with chlorine but use 1/2 a tablet just for peace of mind. No harm in it. Half a tablet is 4 cents.

In terms of water chemistry, there is another section about this so I won't get into it here but I feel it is a very important part of brewing and is not that difficult to understand. I've been brewing for a while and just got into water chemistry. Once I found out how easy it was to understand the basics I was mad I didn't do it when I first started brewing. You don't need to know the why or how of it all, just what your water is, what you need it to be and what minerals to use to make it that way. A Ward Labs test and 5 minutes with Bru'n water will do that. Brewing an IPA with RO water, enter your grains, select IPA from the water profile and try to match the mineral additions to the target profile. Can't get any easier than that.

 

[phendog]

If your water is chlorinated, it can cause off flavors in beer. Not on my list of issues, as we are on a private well. These off flavors, according to Yooper and others, will NOT age out of the beer, as opposed to some other off flavors. Edit, as was said already chloramine is nasty in beer...

In cider, wine, etc, it is used to kill off unwanted yeasties and other bugs (acetobacteria for instance) before pitching yeast, and during aging. Edit: also to alleviate oxidation issues

Great info and thank you. I was genuinely interested in this and sensed there was more to the story.