Tap water for mixing sanitizer?

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1brewbeer2

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I have been brewing for about a year and a half with about two dozen extract batches under my belt. I brew full boils in a large stainless stock pot and ferment in glass big mouth bubblers in a chest freezer controlled by a Johnson temp controller.

I have always been very particular in my cleaning and sanitation methods and have never had a spoiled/infected batch, however there has been an off flavor I can't seem to get rid of. I am aware of the problems when brewing with water that contains chlorine and I have always used bottled water for my extract brews. But the taste that keeps coming back. It tastes like band aide/medicinal/plastic and I kept assuming that this was "extract twang" as some users call it but everything I read says that this is most likely caused by chlorine contamination.

I really want to step it up to all grain but want to get this figured out first. Most of my brews this far have been ipa's or pale ales, and they were drinkable just not quite what I thought they should be. This fall I attempted a pumpkin stout and an amber ale and both were terrible. After tasting them I went back and I believe it is present in my prior beers too but the hop bitterness helps mask it.

I went back to the basics and brewed an extract SMaSH pale ale with distilled water and ensured that everything was super clean and the flavor is still there. I sanitize with Starsan and do not rinse the foam.

The only thing that I could think of was that maybe, just maybe the tap water I am using to mix my sanitizer for the fermentor, autosiphon, tubing and even bottling bucket and bottles was contributing enough chlorine to cause problems. Does everyone else who has municipal water "wash up" and sanitize with store bought water? It is just so handy to use hot tap water instead of heating bottled water. I know Starsan doesn't have to be hot to work, I just prefer it that way. I have yet to make another brew to test this due to the holidays, just curious if anyone else has ran into this. Thanks in advance for any help!!
 
I've never encountered this and I also use tap water and star san. I feel that if it's safe enough to drink, it's safe enough to brew with. I wonder if it's the plastic from your big mouth bubbler? I have a phobia about plastics and leaching carcinogens
 
No way... The tablespoon or so of rinse water in a 5G batch couldn't be doing that, in my opinion.
 
I always use tap water with star san but just do gallon batches since it clouds up quickly and though it is most likely still good I dont like the cloudiness so I make a fresh batch next time I need it.
 
Maybe if you describe your fermentation process, something else will come up? What temperature, for how long? Pitching temp?
 
How does the bottled water taste by itself? What is the source? Maybe it's that water?

You could treat 5 gallons of brewing water with 1/4 campden tablet to rid it of chlorine and chloramines, commonly found in municipal water supplies as an antiseptic.

There is no way carryover from cleaning and sanitizing with municipal water can get you any tasteable levels of that.
 
Ok so without quoting all of my brew notes here are some of the finer details.
Yeasts I have used: Wyeast1056 in all my pale ales and ipa, 1728 in my pumpkin stout, and 1272 in my SMASH. All have been started in a 2000ml starter made from light DME and on a stir plate for 24-36hrs before

Fermentation has been towards the colder side of manufacturer suggested temps for each respective yeast with temp controller in a chest type freezer ferment chamber

First few beers were fermented in ale pales with the last two being in glass big mouth bubblers because I was concerned it was coming from the plastic buckets.

Fermentation has always been strong and seemed healthy to me. I have followed a similar 2 week primary 2 week secondary for all brews with a 72hr cold crash @36deg before bottling day.

Other things that all brews have in common that I can think of are Irish moss and wort cooler the last 15 min. Pitching the whole starter once below target ferment temp and in fermenter. Starsan and the whole water thing....

I have used both distilled as well as spring water. The 88 cent great value brand from Walmart and I cannot say for sure that I have ever tasted it, what kind of water do you suggest?

All beers have looked good. Cleared nicely, hit FG's and great head retention. With the exception of the hops I have not altered the recipe included with NB kits so it should make decent beer, at least I thought
 
I usually mix up 5-10 gal of hot water and Starsan and let it sit in the fermentor and/or a bucket along with my brew tools (funnel, wort cooler, air lock, bung etc) during the boil until I am ready for them so my contact time pretty long and I do not rinse any of the tools or fermentor just pull out of the solution and right into the beer. I thought this was a good idea to ensure good sanitization
 
You may have hit the nail on the head Islandlizard, I can't believe that I had never thought to taste the water. I guess I just thought distilled water was distilled water and I had read to use distilled with extract brewing. I tasted some tonight right out of an unopened jug and it has a different but similar rubber band like taste, not very pleasant. What water does everyone else use? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks again!
 
Bottled water can sometimes have a plastic or unpleasant flavor. I would suggest that you try a batch using RO water. Most supermarkets have an RO water dispenser that you place a 5 gallon bottle under to fill for a few quarters. That should ensure that you are using neutral flavor water. If that solves your problem, then try making a batch with your own tap water. If the results are acceptable, buy a filtering system for your tap water and brew on.
 
I'm so glad you've found the likely source of the problem.

Maybe distilled water is not just what it promises to be and they add chlorine or chloramides to it after processing or when packaging. I've always found jugs of water tasting stale, and weird, plasticky.

Some Walmarts and supermarkets sell RO water from a machine in their stores. If you bring your own jugs, the price is fairly decent. Quality may vary, judging from some reports I've seen, so again, you need to do the taste test and research.

Where do you live? How's your tap water? What is it like? Where is it coming from? Municipal or own private well?
It may not be that bad, and you can get a water report from the water company, and even analysis numbers if you talk to the right person. Then there's Ward labs, for $21 you can get a home water report (Test 5a IIRC) from your mailed in sample.

If chlorine/chloramines are the only problem in your tap water, that 1/4 Campden tablet takes care of it. I actually bought a jar of "meta" powder and use a good knife point and stir it in my brewing water. We have chlorine here, otherwise the water is pretty good and soft.
 
Definitely agree with Island Lizard. Understand your water before being afraid to use it. Many municipal sources are fine for brewing as long as you eliminate chlorine/chloramine contents with campden.

If you are using a municipal source, do a search on this site to see if someone has already posted a Ward's lab report. Many cities are already posted here and it at least gives you a ballpark idea where you are starting from. Then check out the Brewing water sticky on the Brew Science forum. Tons of excellent information there.
 
You have to be careful mixing tap water with the StarSan. It can throw the PH off and make it ineffective. I tried to do extract and could never get the beer to taste right.
 
BierGut said:
I've never encountered this and I also use tap water and star san. I feel that if it's safe enough to drink, it's safe enough to brew with. I wonder if it's the plastic from your big mouth bubbler? I have a phobia about plastics and leaching carcinogens
Click to expand...

He said he was using a glass big mouth bubbler, so it cannot be that.


OP: One thing you wrote, even though IslandLizard has likely figured your source, is that you think it is easier to use hot tap water. I believe that you should be using cold tap water. I'd have to find the thread that discusses this, but the reasons were fairly compelling to use cold so it is not being heated by the water heater.
 
1brewbeer2 said:
I have been brewing for about a year and a half with about two dozen extract batches under my belt. I brew full boils in a large stainless stock pot and ferment in glass big mouth bubblers in a chest freezer controlled by a Johnson temp controller.

I have always been very particular in my cleaning and sanitation methods and have never had a spoiled/infected batch, however there has been an off flavor I can't seem to get rid of. I am aware of the problems when brewing with water that contains chlorine and I have always used bottled water for my extract brews. But the taste that keeps coming back. It tastes like band aide/medicinal/plastic and I kept assuming that this was "extract twang" as some users call it but everything I read says that this is most likely caused by chlorine contamination.

I really want to step it up to all grain but want to get this figured out first. Most of my brews this far have been ipa's or pale ales, and they were drinkable just not quite what I thought they should be. This fall I attempted a pumpkin stout and an amber ale and both were terrible. After tasting them I went back and I believe it is present in my prior beers too but the hop bitterness helps mask it.

I went back to the basics and brewed an extract SMaSH pale ale with distilled water and ensured that everything was super clean and the flavor is still there. I sanitize with Starsan and do not rinse the foam.

The only thing that I could think of was that maybe, just maybe the tap water I am using to mix my sanitizer for the fermentor, autosiphon, tubing and even bottling bucket and bottles was contributing enough chlorine to cause problems. Does everyone else who has municipal water "wash up" and sanitize with store bought water? It is just so handy to use hot tap water instead of heating bottled water. I know Starsan doesn't have to be hot to work, I just prefer it that way. I have yet to make another brew to test this due to the holidays, just curious if anyone else has ran into this. Thanks in advance for any help!!
Click to expand...

I was going to say....If you can notice the taste of chlorine in your beer from the couple of ounces of starsan/tap water then you have superhuman tasting abilities.... :cross:
 
First of all, thank you all so much for the overwhelming help and quick responses!! So much more fun when you have others that share your passion are are quick to help one another.

Foosier said:
Definitely agree with Island Lizard. Understand your water before being afraid to use it. Many municipal sources are fine for brewing as long as you eliminate chlorine/chloramine contents with campden.

If you are using a municipal source, do a search on this site to see if someone has already posted a Ward's lab report. Many cities are already posted here and it at least gives you a ballpark idea where you are starting from. Then check out the Brewing water sticky on the Brew Science forum. Tons of excellent information there.
Click to expand...

I don't know much about our local water supply, it is municipal but I live in a small town in southern illinois and our local county water is supplied from several wells placed around the countryside so I don't know if it is a consistent "mix" or if different wells are turned on or off depending on the demand at any given time. I think I remember getting a water report from them before, or at least a letter saying that they would produce one if i wanted. They do not have a website so I guess I'll have to send them a letter and/or talk to someone who works for them (There are a total of 3 employees, LOL)

Can chlorine/chloramines both be removed with campden? Do I just put the tablet in and leave it sit overnight in buckets or my brew pot?

I have read a lot on forums and even here in the sticky someone suggested and was still unsure if this was true or if I needed to figure out what my water supply was treated with to figure out how to remove it. I do have access to well water from my parents only a few miles away. We always drank this water growing up and "thought" it tasted fine, but it is very hard. It always left the dark "hard water stain" in the sinks and bathtub and would turn our white clothes yellow in just a few washings so I hadn't even considered using it.

I guess the bottom line is, not knowing much about water chemistry I had planned on starting out with what I thought was a "clean slate" with RO or DI water.

I plant to make the move to all grain soon but would like to make sure I have this problem figured out before adding more variables.

Hello said:
OP: One thing you wrote, even though IslandLizard has likely figured your source, is that you think it is easier to use hot tap water. I believe that you should be using cold tap water. I'd have to find the thread that discusses this, but the reasons were fairly compelling to use cold so it is not being heated by the water heater.
Click to expand...


As for the hot water thing, I started off fermenting in Ale Pails. I was scared to death to use plastic because of the risk of an infection due to scratched plastic, but it was all I could afford at the time. Anyway, I had read that 180*+ water could be used to "sanitize" and paired with my Starsan I guess it was a, "Some is good more is better" mentality? lol I never mixed the Starsan stronger than the manufacture's recommendations I just assumed that being hot would help it do a "better" job?


Thank you all for the help, I am confident that this taste is coming from my choice of bottled water. However I am still unsure of what water to use going forward. I will definitely look into getting/having tests done on my water and maybe even my parents well water. For my next brew I think i may just try the supermarket RO water from the bulk dispenser at the front of the store that someone suggested. I am sure one of you has tried this, how was it?
 
IslandLizard said:
If chlorine/chloramines are the only problem in your tap water, that 1/4 Campden tablet takes care of it. I actually bought a jar of "meta" powder and use a good knife point and stir it in my brewing water. We have chlorine here, otherwise the water is pretty good and soft.
Click to expand...

"Meta" powder and knife point? What is this?
 
Hey 1brewbeer2,

I appologize in advance as I haven't read all the replies that everyone else posted, so someone may have already written the same thing.

The amount of chlorine in the Starsan solution is negligible.

From Palmer's how-to-Brew:

Chloride (Cl-1)
Atomic Weight = 35.4
Equivalent Weight = 35.4
Brewing Range = 0-250 ppm.
The chloride ion also accentuates the flavor and fullness of beer. Concentrations above 300 ppm (from heavily chlorinated water or residual bleach sanitizer) can lead to mediciney flavors due to chlorophenol compounds.
Click to expand...

So you see you do need the chlorine for some taste.

If you believe that the Chlorine contributes to the off-flavours (meaning there's more than 300ppm in your beer) you'd need your municipal tap water to contain 6,000ppm of Chlorine:

300ppm = 300mg/kg

for a 20L -> 6,000 mg of Chlorine

6,000 mg in 1,000 mL = 6,000 ppm

This assumes: 20L (5 Gal) Batch, and 1L (2 pints) of cleaning solution, and the fact that you dump all the cleaning solution into the batch of beer ... which you obviously don't do...

This is well above the EPA rules on Chlorine/ Chloramine dissenfectant rate:
(http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/disinfectants.cfm)

I had a similar issue when I started brewing in my condo. I think your issue lies here:

I went back to the basics and brewed an extract SMaSH pale ale with distilled water and ensured that everything was super clean and the flavor is still there. I sanitize with Starsan and do not rinse the foam.
Click to expand...

I used to use Reverse Osmosed Water, and the flavour kept coming out with a lingering after taste of cough syrup, and chemicals

At that point I read into the chemistry of Brewing water, and found small amounts of potassium metbaisulfate to be better then using distilled water. The municipal water in my area is great, and when I break down the Chloromines into Ammonium and Free Chlorine ions and they are very helpful for the yeast and overall flavour.

The amount of metabisultfate that is necessary is negligible again (I won't go into the math) and the sulfides(-ites, I never remember) boil off quickly.

Hope this Helps!
 
helibrewer said:
Potassium Metabisulfite....the powdered form of Campden tablets. Primarily used for keeping sulfite levels in wine.

The knife is for breaking campden tablets....I would presume.
Click to expand...

Meta... exactly.

The knife point is a subjective "measure," for small amounts, being as much as the point of a knife holds. Depends on the shape of the knife of course and your judgment... :drunk:

You need 1/4 Campden tablet to treat 5 gallons of water. Tablet contains 550 mg (a bit over half a gram) of Potassium Metabisulfite (KMS). 1/4 of that is 137 mg. That's about 1/10th of a 1/4 teaspoon.

Measure out 1/4 teaspoon and divide that into 10 equal heaps. One heap is the amount of KMS to use. A bit more (say double) won't hurt a thing.

The powder dissolves quicker. Or crush 1/4 tablet. Stir this well into your pail with brewing water, say one minute of stirring. Done!
 
Canadian_Hussar said:
Hey 1brewbeer2,

I appologize in advance as I haven't read all the replies that everyone else posted, so someone may have already written the same thing.

The amount of chlorine in the Starsan solution is negligible.

From Palmer's how-to-Brew:



So you see you do need the chlorine for some taste.

If you believe that the Chlorine contributes to the off-flavours (meaning there's more than 300ppm in your beer) you'd need your municipal tap water to contain 6,000ppm of Chlorine:

300ppm = 300mg/kg

for a 20L -> 6,000 mg of Chlorine

6,000 mg in 1,000 mL = 6,000 ppm

This assumes: 20L (5 Gal) Batch, and 1L (2 pints) of cleaning solution, and the fact that you dump all the cleaning solution into the batch of beer ... which you obviously don't do...

This is well above the EPA rules on Chlorine/ Chloramine dissenfectant rate:
(http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/disinfectants.cfm)

I had a similar issue when I started brewing in my condo. I think your issue lies here:



I used to use Reverse Osmosed Water, and the flavour kept coming out with a lingering after taste of cough syrup, and chemicals

At that point I read into the chemistry of Brewing water, and found small amounts of potassium metbaisulfate to be better then using distilled water. The municipal water in my area is great, and when I break down the Chloromines into Ammonium and Free Chlorine ions and they are very helpful for the yeast and overall flavour.

The amount of metabisultfate that is necessary is negligible again (I won't go into the math) and the sulfides(-ites, I never remember) boil off quickly.

Hope this Helps!
Click to expand...

Sorry, not all of it.

You are confusing Chlorine (Cl2), a gas and disinfectant, with the Chloride Ion (Cl-) as in table salt.

Yes, the chloride ion is useful. In table salt (NaCl) it's bonded with the Sodium ion (Na+) and helps with flavor perception. We use it everyday in our food, and probably too much of it.

But chlorine, aside from its disinfecting properties if used as a sanitizing agent, is totally unwanted in brewing water as it complexes with phenols in the wort and gives beer a plasticky, band-aid like flavor that cannot be removed. The taste threshold of these clorophenols is very low, so even small amounts are found highly objectionable.
 
Last edited:
Canadian_Hussar said:
I appologize in advance as I haven't read all the replies that everyone else posted...

The amount of chlorine in the Starsan solution is negligible.

From Palmer's how-to-Brew:

Chloride (Cl-1)
...
Click to expand...

So you see you do need the chlorine for some taste.

...
Click to expand...

First, Chlorine != Chloride
Second, do everyone a favor a read the thread first ;)
 
1brewbeer2 said:
First of all, thank you all so much for the overwhelming help and quick responses!! So much more fun when you have others that share your passion are are quick to help one another.



I don't know much about our local water supply, it is municipal but I live in a small town in southern illinois and our local county water is supplied from several wells placed around the countryside so I don't know if it is a consistent "mix" or if different wells are turned on or off depending on the demand at any given time. I think I remember getting a water report from them before, or at least a letter saying that they would produce one if i wanted. They do not have a website so I guess I'll have to send them a letter and/or talk to someone who works for them (There are a total of 3 employees, LOL)

Can chlorine/chloramines both be removed with campden? Do I just put the tablet in and leave it sit overnight in buckets or my brew pot?

I have read a lot on forums and even here in the sticky someone suggested and was still unsure if this was true or if I needed to figure out what my water supply was treated with to figure out how to remove it. I do have access to well water from my parents only a few miles away. We always drank this water growing up and "thought" it tasted fine, but it is very hard. It always left the dark "hard water stain" in the sinks and bathtub and would turn our white clothes yellow in just a few washings so I hadn't even considered using it.

I guess the bottom line is, not knowing much about water chemistry I had planned on starting out with what I thought was a "clean slate" with RO or DI water.

I plant to make the move to all grain soon but would like to make sure I have this problem figured out before adding more variables.




As for the hot water thing, I started off fermenting in Ale Pails. I was scared to death to use plastic because of the risk of an infection due to scratched plastic, but it was all I could afford at the time. Anyway, I had read that 180*+ water could be used to "sanitize" and paired with my Starsan I guess it was a, "Some is good more is better" mentality? lol I never mixed the Starsan stronger than the manufacture's recommendations I just assumed that being hot would help it do a "better" job?


Thank you all for the help, I am confident that this taste is coming from my choice of bottled water. However I am still unsure of what water to use going forward. I will definitely look into getting/having tests done on my water and maybe even my parents well water. For my next brew I think i may just try the supermarket RO water from the bulk dispenser at the front of the store that someone suggested. I am sure one of you has tried this, how was it?
Click to expand...

In terms of hot water, I read it as you were using hot water from the tap, so it is heated by the water heater. Using hot water to clean and such is great. I think I misunderstood you.
 
Hello said:
He said he was using a glass big mouth bubbler, so it cannot be that.


OP: One thing you wrote, even though IslandLizard has likely figured your source, is that you think it is easier to use hot tap water. I believe that you should be using cold tap water. I'd have to find the thread that discusses this, but the reasons were fairly compelling to use cold so it is not being heated by the water heater.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen the discussions here, but I stopped using water from the hot tap for cooking many years ago. I forget the exact reasons why, but they were compelling enough for me stop something like 10 years ago.
It drives my wife nuts when go to fill a pot for pasta with cold water...
 
Brew_Dude41 said:
I haven't seen the discussions here, but I stopped using water from the hot tap for cooking many years ago. I forget the exact reasons why, but they were compelling enough for me stop something like 10 years ago.
It drives my wife nuts when go to fill a pot for pasta with cold water...
Click to expand...

I searched for about 2 minutes earlier, but had to get back to working. Maybe I didn't read it here but years ago something made me also stop using hot water from the tap for cooking. I'm going to make it a mission to find out why again. :)
 
Hello said:
I searched for about 2 minutes earlier, but had to get back to working. Maybe I didn't read it here but years ago something made me also stop using hot water from the tap for cooking. I'm going to make it a mission to find out why again. :)
Click to expand...

Here is a link to an article that cites the EPA concerns about lead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/29real.html?_r=0
There are also concerns that the temp in a hot water heater's tank may be the right temp to breed nasties. Makes sense to me since most are set at about 120 to avoid scalding.
 
I WAS referring to using hot water from the tap to mix my Starsan with. I assumed hot would be better than cold so that the "wet heat" would help sanitize. My gas hot water heater produces water that is around 150. Not quite hot enough to sanitize, I know

I had never heard anything negative about hot tap water or contamination issues with water heaters. However I just finished reading an article from the CDC about the risk of legionellae (forgive me if that's mispelled) bacteria in water heaters set at or below 120.

As for water testing, I think I will send a sample off to ward labs. Should I treat this water with Campden prior to sending it out or will it not have any effect other than removal of chlorine/chloramines?
 
1brewbeer2 said:
I WAS referring to using hot water from the tap to mix my Starsan with. I assumed hot would be better than cold so that the "wet heat" would help sanitize. My gas hot water heater produces water that is around 150. Not quite hot enough to sanitize, I know

I had never heard anything negative about hot tap water or contamination issues with water heaters. However I just finished reading an article from the CDC about the risk of legionellae (forgive me if that's mispelled) bacteria in water heaters set at or below 120.

As for water testing, I think I will send a sample off to ward labs. Should I treat this water with Campden prior to sending it out or will it not have any effect other than removal of chlorine/chloramines?
Click to expand...

It can be quite a revelation to stick your hands in a bucket with warm Starsan rather than ice cold. But... the next day, it is at room temp anyway. I use the same bucket with Starsan for weeks. And there are always racking hoses in it.

If you decide to use a Ward Labs test with your city water, it is fine to use W-6 Household Mineral Test for $21. You just send in the sample, no need for a "kit." Although the more pricey W-5a brewers test also include phosphorus and iron, those minerals are minimal in municipal water systems anyway, unless there are (uncladded) iron pipes in the supply line.

As was suggested look around, the test results from your area may have been posted already, and/or a call to the water department (do not write if you want an answer before you retire). They have your numbers for the various ions, they test weekly if not daily, but typically don't publish anything not required by the EPA, which is a yearly report and contains nothing about the minerals us brewers are interested in. Look up the bru'n water spreadsheet or the applet from Brewer's Friend to get an idea which ions play a role in brewing.

Just realize a test is only a snapshot, and the water composition may vary drastically from season to season even from one week to the next. I lived in a town where in the summer the water was decidedly yellowish green, but in the winter fairly clear.

Added:
Send in untreated water of course, and after a significant amount of water has been run through your home system already, like after a shower or so, to flush out possible leechates from standing over night. For example, tapping from a hose laying outside would be a bad sample.
 
1brewbeer2 said:
Ok so without quoting all of my brew notes here are some of the finer details.
Yeasts I have used: Wyeast1056 in all my pale ales and ipa, 1728 in my pumpkin stout, and 1272 in my SMASH. All have been started in a 2000ml starter made from light DME and on a stir plate for 24-36hrs before

Fermentation has been towards the colder side of manufacturer suggested temps for each respective yeast with temp controller in a chest type freezer ferment chamber

First few beers were fermented in ale pales with the last two being in glass big mouth bubblers because I was concerned it was coming from the plastic buckets.

Fermentation has always been strong and seemed healthy to me. I have followed a similar 2 week primary 2 week secondary for all brews with a 72hr cold crash @36deg before bottling day.

Other things that all brews have in common that I can think of are Irish moss and wort cooler the last 15 min. Pitching the whole starter once below target ferment temp and in fermenter. Starsan and the whole water thing....

I have used both distilled as well as spring water. The 88 cent great value brand from Walmart and I cannot say for sure that I have ever tasted it, what kind of water do you suggest?

All beers have looked good. Cleared nicely, hit FG's and great head retention. With the exception of the hops I have not altered the recipe included with NB kits so it should make decent beer, at least I thought
Click to expand...

sorry to bring this up 4 months later, but OP - have you solved your problem?

i've been brewing for about 6 months, and I have a very similar process as you (but AG) and i also have this off flavour! i let my tap water sit out over night too. My water report does not show chlorimine, but it does have the blue/green hue in a plastic bucket, so i treat with campden as well.

I stumbled upon this thread as i had a similar revelation that maybe the water i use for my santizing (starsan) and cleaning (PBW) still has chlorimine in it, and was leaving residue on all my equipment bottles!

if it's not the chlorimine, what else could be causing this medicine taste? all the "common off flavour" articles dont seem to help much....i'm looking for more of an "experience" fix for the problem.

OP - please tell me you've found the root cause to your issue in the last 4 months??
 
I have switched away from tap water and the gallon jugs of water and went to the 5 gal supermarket RO water jugs for everything (brewing and sanatizing) and mine went away. I have since switched to AG brewing with two stouts an amber lager and 3 IPA'S now without a hitch! Taste your brewing water and see if it's there from the beginning, might not be you at all!
 
Alright - good to know! Water tastes OK right from the tap, but what I'm reading is a lot of the brewing process itself brings out those chlorophenols - sounds like supermarket RO water is my next step!

Congrats on your success! I hope to be there soon as well :)

Cheers,
 
Check out the brewing water sticky in the science part of the forum for AG with RO or distilled water. Good luck and brew on!!
 

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