Noob campden question

[mdriver1005]

Hey all,

Kind of a beginner question, but would there be anything inherently wrong with tossing in some campden tablets during kegging just to be safe, then force carbing as usual? I was just thinking about brewing some soda with some less than sanitary ingredients and wanted to minimize infection risk.

TIA

 

[Roach]

Well, as long as your surfaces are sterile, this would just be a waste of tablets. But if kegged, it should be consumed within a week or two. The next best thing is citric acid.

Does that answer your question?

 

[MrFoodScientist]

What "less than sanitary" ingredients are you using? If you're brewing, and you give them a proper boil, you should be fine. I agree with the citric acid, that way you're sure to avoid botulism if you're using something with dirt on it.

 

[mdriver1005]

Well my thoughts were to brew a soda with honey, without pasteurizing it, and it will probably be around a while. So if it was safe to use a tablet in the keg I thought that might be a good idea. I know honey usually comes with microbes so I wanted to sterilize it somehow.

 

[Roach]

The microbes in honey are enzymes, not bacteria. Honey NEVER spoils.

Though even with preservatives, you should refrigerate your soda and consume it in a timely manner.

 

[nsh22]

The microbes in honey are enzymes, not bacteria. Honey NEVER spoils.

Though even with preservatives, you should refrigerate your soda and consume it in a timely manner.

Honey has been known to contain botulism SPOREs (not bacteria, and in small quantity.). Thats why its not recommended for children under 3; their immune system cant fight off the spores like an adult can.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Botulism Spores are activated by heating, with a kill temperature at 240F. Once activated, they grow and produce toxin in any environment without oxygen and with a pH higher than 4.6, so you may be fine. It will take a while, but you can get a sugar solution to boil that high if you want to get rid of them that way.
I don't think that a campden tablet will do the trick on the spores, but it would deal with any wild yeasts in the honey, if there are any.