Beer Viking
Beer Lover
Should I do this with all of the water that I need? If so how much campden should I use?
Should I let all of my water that I need for brewing sit overnight with campden in it?
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worlddivides
Well-Known Member
No. Campden tablets get rid of chlorine instantaneously. Assuming you mix a crushed tablet with water, the chlorine will be gone literally in about a second. How much you should use depends on the amount of water. Letting water sit overnight is something that can work for getting rid of chlorine (without adding a Campden tablet), but it doesn't work for chloramine and personally, even if your water does only contain chlorine, it seems like too much of a hassle.
Everything you need to know is in this thread, which is one of the most helpful things about brewing I’ve ever read:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/campden-tablets-sulfites-and-brewing-water.361073/
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Beer Viking
Beer Lover
Thanks guys! I appreciate the reply!
Would I notice much of a difference if my flavor of my beer if I use campden? If I have powered campden how much should be used for 10 Gs of tap water?
Would I notice much of a difference if my flavor of my beer if I use campden? If I have powered campden how much should be used for 10 Gs of tap water?
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worlddivides
Well-Known Member
No.
The standard is "1 tablet for 20 gallons," but I've used one tablet for both 5 gallons and 3 gallons. In winemaking, they use 1 Campden tablet per gallon, so they essentially use 10 Campden tablets for 10 gallons of wine, while brewers typically use half a Campden tablet for 10 gallons.
I'd recommend reading through the link Witherby posted. It's chockfull of tons of useful information.
The tablets cut in half pretty easily with a sharp knife too, so I do a half-tablet for my 7.5 gallons of starting water. The other half tablet gets saved for the next brew day.
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Beer Viking
Beer Lover
If there is not much of a difference when you add capden then why are you adding it? Does it just make your beer 10% better or something? I have loose capden anyone know how much in measuring spoons is the equivalent of a tablet?
I believe you've misunderstood. If you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water, you will absolutely make a positive improvement. I think we was meant earlier is that a little too much isn't that big of a deal. One tiny pinch is enough for 10 gallons. A tiny pinch and a half is good for 20.
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
Huh. I thought you were asking whether Campden tablets add some kind of flavor component to water. And I was responding that they do not. If the question is whether using Campden tablets will noticeably improve the flavor of your beer, then the answer is a definite YES. I said "no" because Campden tablets do not ADD any flavor to the water. They REMOVE the chlorine and chloramine, which is a very VERY VERY unpleasant flavor (though just how strong it is depends on how much is in your water) and also one that yeast interacts with during fermentation to make very unpleasant flavor compounds. The water where I live has a relatively subtle chlorine flavor, but it's one that is very noticeable in the smell when I have, say, 20 liters of water for beer. I was just in Hawaii, and the water where I stayed was AWFUL. Possibly the strongest chlorine taste I have ever had in my entire life. But in both cases, using Campden tablets will drastically improve the flavor of water by getting rid of the chlorine and chloramine. As for "what percentage" it will make your beer better, that's subjective and going to depend on the water. 10%? 100%? 100,000%?
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Beer Viking
Beer Lover
That's exactly what I meant! Thanks! How much of the loose campden should I add to 10 Gs though? A teaspoon? After I add it I'll need to stir it in and wait 5 mins right?
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
About 0.6 grams or so. Maybe one fourth of a teaspoon? It won't hurt if you add more, though. I don't use loose sodium metabisulfite, though, so this is just an estimate in the ballpark. I'm not sure about the waiting part. I just stir it in and then go to the next part of my process with zero waiting.
But again, all the info you need is in Witherby's post above: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/campden-tablets-sulfites-and-brewing-water.361073/
Are you referring to loose Campden powder that comes in a little bottle or bag?
That's Potassium (or Sodium) MetaBisulfite (K-Meta or Na-Meta).
It's the active ingredient in Campden tablets, but without the binder that's used to press the powder into a tablet. The binder makes the tablet difficult to dissolve. But you can crush it very finely, before adding it to your water, it will dissolve somewhat faster. 1/4 Campden tablet treats 5 gallons of water.
1/4 teaspoon of the loose powder (K-Meta or Na-Meta) will treat 20 gallons of tap water to remove any Chlorine or Chloramines it contains.
So 1/16 teaspoon (that's a 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon) will treat 5 gallons of tap water. Just add and stir well. Done, works immediately!
When in doubt about the amount measured, (1/16 teaspoon is a very small amount) you can err toward adding somewhat more.
Even adding as much as 2x the amount (1/8 teaspoon in 5 gallons) is without any issues.
Let me share a story I’ve told before and why you should NOT use a teaspoon.
Last summer I got the bright idea to start adding potassium metabisufite to the water I brew my coffee with since our town adds chloramine. I would add a tiny bit to a 3 liter jar we have.
Fast forward a few weeks later and I think I have a stomach bug. And for the next month I have very loose bowel movements all the time. I was about to go to the doctor and was wondering if anything had changed in my diet since I knew the doctor would ask me. Then I realized the only change was the coffee water! I immediately stopped using it and within a day or two I was back to normal.
Long story short, a pinch is less than you think it is! It is not worth the risk of guessing. There are cheap pocket scales. They are worth it.
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
One thing I do wonder about that, though, is it just the massive volume of coffee you were drinking then? Because winemakers use WAY WAY WAY more Campden than brewers do. Typically 1 Campden tablet per gallon of wine. So that's 10 Campden tablets for 10 gallons. In beer, we'd only need half a Campden tablet for 10 gallons of beer, but it's understood there's no harm in using a full Campden tablet. I've heard that using "too much Campden" in wine can negatively affect the flavor, but 1 Campden tablet per gallon is the norm there, so... Granted, we use Campden tablets to get rid of chlorine and chloramine, while they use it for stabilizing the wine and protecting it from spoilage. But it doesn't change the fact of it being in the beverage. I do know that some people are extra sensitive to sulfites and avoid wine (i.e. most wines) that contain sulfites because it can cause various issues.
I don’t drink that much coffee! Maybe I am sensitive to sulfites. I never drink wine so I can’t judge from that. But either way a teaspoon for 10 gallons would be extreme overkill.
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
Agreed. A teaspoon is 5 grams. A single Campden tablet contains 0.44 grams of meta. So a teaspoon would be the equivalent of more than 11 Campden tablets, about 22 times what is used to get rid of chlorine and chloramine in beer.
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Beer Viking
Beer Lover
So by weight it would be .22 gs for 10 gallons? So it literally is just a pinch.
Really, it is. Powerful stuff, a little does a lot. I buy the powder instead of the tablets, and use a very scant 1/4tsp for 10g of water. Our water has a much higher concentration of chlorine/chloramine in the summertime, and I've never had a problem.
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