Lacto vs Campden

[schmeek]

Will adding Campden tablet (very small piece) in my mash water have a negative effect on my lacto when doing a sour mash??

 

[Yooper]

Will adding Campden tablet (very small piece) in my mash water have a negative effect on my lacto when doing a sour mash??

No. The reaction to remove chlorine with campden is instantaneous, and is gone before even mashing in.

 

[schmeek]

Ok, thanks yooper I couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable person to answer this. May I ask then, why is it that campden is used to prohibit bacterial growth on mead/wine musts?

 

[Yooper]

Ok, thanks yooper I couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable person to answer this. May I ask then, why is it that campden is used to prohibit bacterial growth on mead/wine musts?

When it's added to musts, it does work as an antimicrobial, but it doesn't kill yeasts so winemakers use it.

But, it also reacts with chlorine and chloramine. Used in dosages of 1 tablet in 20 gallons (and if you know the amount of chloramines you want to eliminate, check in the Brew Science forum for how to figure the actual amount), the sulfur dioxide will more or less completely react with the chlorine compounds in the water, causing them to dissipate. This happens quickly, and completely.

See this: http://hbd.org/ajdelange/Brewing_articles/BT_Chlorine.pdf and scroll to page 23 for more on that. But the whole paper is worth reading! (thanks to ajdelange for this).