Chlorine, Chloramine, and Campden Tablets

[Rkoory]

So, Im looking to figure our the final word on this subject, I heard a lot of things about addressing chorine and chloramine, and the use of campden tablets.

Anyone able to say anything definitive?

 

[Yooper]

So, Im looking to figure our the final word on this subject, I heard a lot of things about addressing chorine and chloramine, and the use of campden tablets.

Anyone able to say anything definitive?

Chlorine and/or chloramines in the brewing water will ruin the taste of the beer.
Chlorine boils off, but chloramine is much more stable and does not.

Certain kinds of filtration systems and campden tablets can remove both of those things.

 

[Croyzen]

+1. If your water has chlorine/chloramine in it and you do nothing to improve it the beer will suffer. Filtering the water with carbon and treating with campden (if needed) are two incredibly simple steps that will drastically improve the beer. Having the water tested or buying a test kit will tell you much more about your brewing water and what styles it's best suited for.

 

[Ramitt]

Yep, I always filter and treat my water with campden. My first few batches were ruined before I learned about chloramine. Don't trust blindly the water machines at the grocer, I had a few batches ruined that way.

 

[how1]

I purchased some campden tablets and the directions said "1 tablet for each gallon of must". I've read that 1 tablet can treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine. So, to treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine should I use 1 tablet or 5 tablets? I'm a little confused.

 

[Rkoory]

Has anyone considered what impact campden tablets themselves may have on the beer?

Also, if campden tablets are used what is the additional benefit of employing a charcoal filter?

 

[BreezyBrew]

I purchased some campden tablets and the directions said "1 tablet for each gallon of must". I've read that 1 tablet can treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine. So, to treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine should I use 1 tablet or 5 tablets? I'm a little confused.

Definitely use 1 tablet or less!

I made the mistake of using one per gal when I was a young buck, and boy were my beers sulphuric. They also didn't attenuate as far as I wanted.

I'd start by putting a half a tab in your water, and see if you can still smell the chlorine/chloramine. The proper directions are a quarter of a tab per 5 gals of water, but that just wasn't enough for me. I'd add until the tab was dissolved and the aroma went away.

 

[Indian_villager]

I purchased some campden tablets and the directions said "1 tablet for each gallon of must". I've read that 1 tablet can treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine. So, to treat 5 gallons of water for chloramine should I use 1 tablet or 5 tablets? I'm a little confused.

That is for when you are trying to make wine and kill all other buggies before pitching your yeast.

 

[Yooper]

Has anyone considered what impact campden tablets themselves may have on the beer?

Also, if campden tablets are used what is the additional benefit of employing a charcoal filter?

Yes. Campden in the correct amount (one tablet for 20 gallons generally, but it depends on your actual water) will cause a chemical reaction so the chlorine and the sulfites immediately dissipate.

I don't have a charcoal filter (my water tastes great), but some people have things in their water like odors, flavors, and impurities that they want to remove.

 

[Rkoory]

So what is the impact of using too much (or is it too many in this context?) campden?

 

[krahm]

Like Yooper says, depending on the filter, the charcoal filter is designed to remove stuff like feces, birth control pills, some metals, as well as chlorine. It won't remove chloramines, and it won't change your water chemistry. It makes my water taste better, so I use the charcoal filter first (I find that I don't miss the feces and the birth control pills in the finished product). Then I get rid of the chloramines by adding a crushed campden tablet with my salts.

What I've been wondering is what exactly the campden tablets ADD to the water. They supposedly change the salt levels slightly, but I've never found info on what exactly changes and by how much. 'Would be nice to know.... Maybe add a function on Bru'nWater (?).

 

[krahm]

Since it's basically metabasulfite, I'd expect that too much campden would make the beer taste/smell like metabasulfite solution (used to sanitize wine making equipment and to preserve the finished wine). Ever made wine? 'Not a smell you want in your beer. Strong sulfur odor, and it will feel like it's taking the hair out of your nostrils if you get a really good whiff.

 

[Wynne-R]

Like Yooper says, depending on the filter, the charcoal filter is designed to remove stuff like feces, birth control pills, some metals, as well as chlorine. It won't remove chloramines, and it won't change your water chemistry.

I don’t think Yooper would say that. A carbon filter won’t get drugs or metals, it will reduce the chloramines. Mine reduces the level from 3 ppm to undetectable on the test strip. I still use a pinch of Campden in the filtered water to be on the safe side.

Unreacted metabolite becomes sulfur dioxide in solution which either is driven off when the water is heated or reduces something in the mash and this is a good thing.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/campden-tablets-sulfites-brewing-water-361073/

 

[Croyzen]

The most overlooked drug in using tap water, carbon filtered or not, is fluoride. It's rarely talked about. You won't find any threads longer than a couple replies about it yet you'll find pages on how aluminum kettles will kill you. If you are concerned about fluoride, birth control pills, and so on then the water must be RO'd. At that point you need to add minerals back into the water. RO water is a blank canvas for the brewer.

 

[krahm]

I don’t think Yooper would say that. A carbon filter won’t get drugs or metals, it will reduce the chloramines. Mine reduces the level from 3 ppm to undetectable on the test strip. I still use a pinch of Campden in the filtered water to be on the safe side.

I'm not going to try to guess what other people would say, but I would (and do) say that ordinary inexpensive water filters like Pur and Brita reduce both metals and pharmaceutical contaminants. That's because, according to the manufacturer, they do. They also remove certain pesticides, incidentally, which I forgot to mention. The manufacturers do NOT, however, make any claims whatsoever about reducing chloramines. Chlorine, yes; chloramines, no.

Of their pitcher filter, Pur says, "Our unique, premium carbon water filter removes 95% of mercury. It also reduces chlorine (taste and odor) and 96% of trace levels of pharmaceuticals,* giving you clean, great-tasting water. Yet it still leaves behind beneficial fluoride (search "PUR 7 Cup Pitcher With One Pitcher Filter CR-6000" on Amazon.com, and you'll see these claims, too).

Brita says, "The Brita® Pitcher Filter Systems and the Brita® Faucet Filter are both excellent water filtration products offering different filtering techniques. The best product is the one that most meets your individual needs. Both products reduce the contaminants that most commonly concern consumers — lead and chlorine (taste and odor) — and both products deliver great-tasting Brita® water. The Brita® Pitcher Systems also reduce copper and mercury — which the Brita® Faucet Filter can't do. But unlike the pitcher, the Faucet Filter removes the microbes, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, and reduces the chemicals Atrazine, Lindane, Benzene, Trichloroethylene and Asbestos."

These will not, however, remove iron. In the interest of accuracy, there is more in some of these filters than carbon alone, but in common parlance terms, these are "carbon filters"--note that Pur actually uses the term.

Also note that there is no mention of chloramines, only chlorine. I think we can safely assume that if they removed chloramines, that contaminant would be listed. This is marketing. If you want to get rid of chloramines, add a campden tab. Since some filters remove things that others don't, do some checking before choosing a particular brand. I use Pur because I like the idea of reducing both "heavy metals" AND "pharmaceuticals" in my brewing (and drinking) water.

Cheers.