Sodium Metabisulfate

[Beer-lord]

Wasn't quite sure where to put this but this will work.
I've been reading and seeing lots of videos, mostly from Australia and New Zealand homebrewers who have begun to put sodium metabisulfate in their kegs to help the beer both scrub out any oxygen and keep the beer fresher, longer. I think this is the same thing as a campden tablet. Anyway, they have done 'tests' showing that even reducing cold side oxidation by many methods, their finished beer (in kegs) have stayed fresher for much, much longer using it.
That might be a problem to some drinkers. Another option is to add ascorbic acid to the keg.

Anyone try this. I'm not sure what happens when adding it to the end of the boil but in the beer I brewed this weekend I tried BrewTan B for the first time.

[mashani]

In a previous discussion about oxygen free brewing and all the work that takes I suggested you could accomplish much of the same thing by using that or potassium metabisulfate if kegging and it would be a lot less work then all the hoops people jump through to do that.

You probably shouldn't do it it if bottling because the yeast may not work as well. It might work, it might not depending on dosage and amount of yeast in solution and such. It will at the very least annoy the yeast for a little while, but they may wake up and do stuff anyways given time.

Wine makes have used that stuff forever, and this is one of the reasons.

I can't use it for treatment at bottling time, but I do use potassium metabisulfate it to treat all of the water that goes into my process, I start treatment as I am heating my mash water, and at much higher levels then simply needed for chloramine reduction, so my water / wort is pretty much oxygen free until it hits the fermenter, so the only oxygen added is whatever I do there, and whatever little bit happens at bottling time. It may also be the reason that even though I do 20+ hour slow chills and have been doing so for more then 2 years now, dozens of batches, I've never had any issues, I think it's still active much of that timeframe, so any oxygen that happens to get in is scrubbed by the continuing reaction. It takes 150C to trash it as a compound, which you clearly can't hit in a boil. My beers do not darken in the bottle or have flavor fade very much.

I do not get headaches or any other issues from it (ie how some people say they react badly to sulfites). If someone wants to avoid sodium, then the potassium type works exactly the same, but is better for you in that regards.

[Kealia]

Or you could man up and drink your beer quicker, Beer-lord [emoji6]

Always good to have more information. I do get headaches from sulfites.... so I'm out.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Beer-lord]

Me man up? Not going to happen.
I do worry how it would affect fermentation. But, I've not had any problems with oxidation in my beer though the few kegs that do last a bit long aren't nearly as good sometimes.

[MadBrewer]

Never tried it strictly on the cold side, I use SMB on the hot side. I de-oxygenate my mash water then add my salts, acid and SMB just before mashing in. I have incorporated some of the "Low Oxygen Techniques" into my brewing and I have to say I do notice a difference. I have yet to make a side by side all else is equal comparison, but I think I will sometime soon. But I have gone back and forth using SMB and low oxygen brewing methods for some batches and then not for other batches and I can certainly note improvements.

I can't comment on Ascorbic Acid, I don't use it. As far as Brew Tan B, from what I understand of it, it helps take out and leave behind things that can create or speed up oxidation and staling effects down stream. Things like copper, heavy metal reactions in your brewing water, etc and helps to remove haze causing proteins. It can be used in the mash or in the boil. I am all stainless steel so I only use it in the mash.