Campden tablets & Lactic acid - when and how much to use with wine.

[Phoenix Ale]

Waiting on delivery of a VineCo 30 bottle Moscato and plan on putting it on at the weekend, it will hopefully turn out a medium sweet white. I will be using a plastic beer fermenter with an airlock for this. My water profile is ph 7.3 and I was thinking of adding some Lactic Acid to bring this down and 1/2 a Campden tablet in the water the night before or on the day to get rid of chlorine. I have been reading various articles which have left me mostly confused about quantities and timing. These are the only chemicals I have apart from what's in the kit and I'm looking for advice on when and how much Latic Acid to use or not use at all and is it ok to use a Campden tablet at this stage.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I would recommend that you do not add acid to water for winemaking. It might be worth adding a scrap of Camden though to remove chlorine (quarter of a tablet will be plenty).

The reason you add acid when you are brewing beer is to get the mash pH right so as to convert the starch into sugar. With wine there is no mash to worry about.

Incidentally on a side note, adding acid when you're making beer has - confusingly - nothing to do with the pH of your tap water: it's about how much bicarbonate ('hardness') it's got in it. See here for more info.

Going back to the wine, you might also find this related question helpful: water treatment for wine?

 

[Phoenix Ale]

Thanks Engineer. I put it on last Sunday without using anything bar what came in the kit - sg 1.070 and target 9.2%. Pretty painless so far and I'm keeping temps at 22°, it has been bubbling away happily since Monday so another 9 days before the next step. The instructions say to add some campden when bottling if for long term storage so I will add a 1/4 tab then just in case.

Thanks for the links. I restarted my brewing hobby early last year and have been made kit beer and a few turbo ciders since. Except for a couple of budget one can kits all have been very drinkable so far without any chemistry added but I'm still looking for ways to improve.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Except for a couple of budget one can kits all have been very drinkable so far without any chemistry added but I'm still looking for ways to improve.

Nice! If you’re looking for some inspiration for that next step, have a read of this: Have a go at simple AG:

“If you've made a few kits and/or extract brews, why not have a go at a simple AG brew, to see the difference it makes? A small batch of AG beer is not difficult and you will discover the difference and feel the joy and pride of making it from scratch. All you need for 5 litres is 1kg of Maris Otter, or other pale malt, a packet of hops, and a sachet of yeast. You just need a thermometer, a decent sized pan and something to strain the grain from the wort. A big sieve, or a piece of cloth in a colander. A bag that fills the pan and,drapes over the sides and holds the grains, made from muslin or voile, is ideal. You also need a hydrometer to check the gravity before and after fermentation.”​