Should I Use Campden Tablets in Home Brewing and Winemaking?
Quick answer: Yes, for most country wines, fruit wines and ciders made from fresh fruit or juice. Crush 1 Campden tablet per gallon (4.5 litres), stir it into the must, cover loosely and wait 24 hours before adding the yeast. Use another tablet per gallon at racking or bottling to protect the finished wine. Most wine kits and beer kits don't need them, so follow the kit instructions.
Campden tablets are one of the cheapest things in a winemaker's kit, and one of the most useful. Here's what they do, when to use them, and when to leave them out.
What are Campden tablets?
A Campden tablet is a pre-measured dose of sodium metabisulphite, pressed into a tablet. When it dissolves, it releases sulphur dioxide (SO2), the preservative winemakers have long relied on. One tablet is the right amount for one gallon (4.5 litres) of must or wine, so there's no weighing.
The same chemical also comes as a loose powder, sodium metabisulphite. The powder is better for larger batches and for making up a sterilising solution. The tablets are easier to dose for 1-gallon batches. Read our sodium metabisulphite guide to learn more about the powder.
Why Campden tablets matter in winemaking
- They knock back wild yeast and bacteria. Fresh fruit, garden produce and pressed juice carry their own microbes. Some cause vinegar, film or off-flavours. Treating the must gives your chosen wine yeast a clean start.
- They protect against oxidation. Sulphite helps stop wine going brown and tired, which matters more the longer you age it.
- They remove chlorine from tap water. Chlorine can react with the brew and give a medicinal, TCP-like taste.
When to use Campden tablets
| Use | Dose | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Sterilising fruit must or fresh juice | 1 tablet per gallon (4.5 L) | 24 hours before adding the yeast |
| Protecting wine at racking | 1 tablet per gallon | When you move the wine off its sediment |
| Stabilising before bottling | 1 tablet per gallon, with potassium sorbate | Once fermentation has finished |
| Removing chlorine from tap water | Half a crushed tablet treats a full 23 litre batch | Before you use the water |
Over the whole life of a wine, don't use more than about 3 tablets per gallon in total.
How to use Campden tablets
- Crush the tablet to a fine powder. The back of a spoon works well.
- Dissolve it in a little warm water, or in some of the must or wine.
- Stir it in evenly.
- Cover loosely with a cloth or a lid without the airlock, so the sulphur dioxide can escape.
- Wait 24 hours before you add the yeast. If you add it sooner, the sulphite badly slows the fermentation.
For fruit wines, you'll often add pectolase to the must too, to break down pectin and help the wine clear. Follow your recipe for when to add it.
When you don't need them
- Most wine kits. Kit juice is already treated, and most kits come with their own stabiliser sachets. Follow the kit instructions rather than adding extra.
- Beer kits. You don't need to sterilise the wort. The only reason to use a Campden tablet in beer is to treat chlorinated tap water.
- Cleaning equipment. Use a proper cleaner and sanitiser instead: VWP to clean (rinse it off afterwards), then ChemSan no-rinse sanitiser.
Do Campden tablets stop fermentation?
Not reliably, at the normal dose. They slow yeast down, which is why you wait 24 hours before adding yeast, but they won't stop an active fermentation. To stop a finished wine fermenting again in the bottle, for example when you want to sweeten it, use a Campden tablet together with potassium sorbate. Our guide to stabilising wine with Campden and sorbate explains how.
Practical tips
- Don't breathe the fumes when you open a freshly treated must. Sulphur dioxide catches the throat. Campden tablets contain sulphites, so take care if anyone in your house has asthma or a sulphite sensitivity.
- Keep the tub sealed and dry, so the tablets stay effective.
- Keep notes. Write down when you dosed and how much, so you never go over the lifetime limit.
Where to buy Campden tablets
We stock Campden tablets in tubs of 100 and Young's Campden tablets in 50s, plus sodium metabisulphite powder. They sit alongside our other treatments, nutrients and enzymes. If you're starting a country wine, our fruit wine guide walks you through the whole process.
Final thoughts
For any wine or cider made from fresh fruit, a Campden tablet per gallon and a 24-hour wait is cheap insurance. For kits, trust the kit.