Hello HBT.
I keep tropical fish and am used to dealing with chlorine for their sake. Chlorine will gas out of water left standing overnight, especially if you are prepared to beat it a few times or you can remove it instantly using any number of products designed for this usage as well as chloramine if applicable in your area. Typically the benefit of using a proper product is they contain something to bind the ammonia produced by the reaction if you were to get really DIY and just treat with potassium or sodium thiosulfate or bisulfate though as long as the pH isn't falling below 7, you aren't dealing with situations like rearing sensitive fry, you are performing partial water changes and your filtration is established it isn't that big a deal.
Since my area doesn't use chloramine for brewing purposes I've either drawn off my water for brew day into a few 5gal water bottles the night before and left it to stand uncovered with the occasional shake or I've used a dash of sodium or potassium bisulfate. I'm well aware of the potential pathway for chlorophenol, but generally considered it a problem for improper sanitation/rinsing when using things like bleach.
The more I read anecdotally the more I'm leaning towards not actually worrying about chlorine. The tap water here tastes and smells ok, so I've not got high levels in the first place. All my water splashes into jugs when drawn off, splashes into my hot liquor tank as I fill, is heated with occasional stirring to strike temperature over a few hours and then with more occasional stirring on to my sparge temperature. Throughout my process it is generally pouring down onto something or undergoing some form of agitation. It then undergoes the boil during the brew.
Commercial microbreweries I've been in around here don't do anything about chlorine unless they filter, though the typical path for their water likely gives it plenty of time to sit, it splashes down into the cold liquor tank and sits for as long as needed, it is used to chill the beer in the paraflow where it is warmed up and then it splashes down into the hot liquor tank where it sits for as long as needed. While all the water is never exhausted and it is always combination of freshly drawn and water which has sat, the majority of it has likely spent a day or two in the brewery and undergone a fair bit of agitation to get there.
So what are others doing? I brewing on saturday and I think this is the first time ever I've forgotten to treat for chlorine. I think I became aware of it during the mash and I consoled myself with the thought that unless you have a chlorine problem, as in very obviously highly chlorinated tap water you most likely can consign treatment to the history books. On the other hand I'm wondering if the answer is actually, you idiot, everybody treats for chlorine every time. Does anybody not treat chlorinated water which smells and tastes otherwise ok and get away with it or do they encounter problems?
I keep tropical fish and am used to dealing with chlorine for their sake. Chlorine will gas out of water left standing overnight, especially if you are prepared to beat it a few times or you can remove it instantly using any number of products designed for this usage as well as chloramine if applicable in your area. Typically the benefit of using a proper product is they contain something to bind the ammonia produced by the reaction if you were to get really DIY and just treat with potassium or sodium thiosulfate or bisulfate though as long as the pH isn't falling below 7, you aren't dealing with situations like rearing sensitive fry, you are performing partial water changes and your filtration is established it isn't that big a deal.
Since my area doesn't use chloramine for brewing purposes I've either drawn off my water for brew day into a few 5gal water bottles the night before and left it to stand uncovered with the occasional shake or I've used a dash of sodium or potassium bisulfate. I'm well aware of the potential pathway for chlorophenol, but generally considered it a problem for improper sanitation/rinsing when using things like bleach.
The more I read anecdotally the more I'm leaning towards not actually worrying about chlorine. The tap water here tastes and smells ok, so I've not got high levels in the first place. All my water splashes into jugs when drawn off, splashes into my hot liquor tank as I fill, is heated with occasional stirring to strike temperature over a few hours and then with more occasional stirring on to my sparge temperature. Throughout my process it is generally pouring down onto something or undergoing some form of agitation. It then undergoes the boil during the brew.
Commercial microbreweries I've been in around here don't do anything about chlorine unless they filter, though the typical path for their water likely gives it plenty of time to sit, it splashes down into the cold liquor tank and sits for as long as needed, it is used to chill the beer in the paraflow where it is warmed up and then it splashes down into the hot liquor tank where it sits for as long as needed. While all the water is never exhausted and it is always combination of freshly drawn and water which has sat, the majority of it has likely spent a day or two in the brewery and undergone a fair bit of agitation to get there.
So what are others doing? I brewing on saturday and I think this is the first time ever I've forgotten to treat for chlorine. I think I became aware of it during the mash and I consoled myself with the thought that unless you have a chlorine problem, as in very obviously highly chlorinated tap water you most likely can consign treatment to the history books. On the other hand I'm wondering if the answer is actually, you idiot, everybody treats for chlorine every time. Does anybody not treat chlorinated water which smells and tastes otherwise ok and get away with it or do they encounter problems?
