Beer Water Filtration

[bosster01]

Hi!

My water tastes pretty good right out of the tap. And I've always brewed with just plain old tap water. I was thinking about purchasing a counter top water filter just to improve the quality of my water "some." I'm unsure if I have chloramine in my water - but in all honesty my water tastes pretty good so I haven't worried about it.

I found this filter on amazon. It's 40 bucks, has a standard filter size, and is cheap to replace the filters. It says it reduces chlorine and chloramine, but doesn't give a percentage.

Do you guys think this would be a reasonable investment to improve my brew water? I'd probably use it for all of my drinking water as well.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018MVZJE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[MatterOne]

Honestly, I think your money would be much better spent on sending a sample to Ward Labs to have it tested. Then you'll know exactly what's in your water and can make an informed decision on what, if any, corrective actions you should take.

 

[McKnuckle]

It certainly wouldn't hurt. But then, you don't sound like you have any real complaints about your water's quality for drinking OR brewing at the moment. If any "improvement" is not really perceptible, but is just something academic, is it worth doing?

Having your water tested is the right way to truly improve your water knowledge and preparation, BUT it is a rabbit hole. If you don't have issues with your current situation, consider yourself blissfully ignorant!

 

[bobeer]

I'd have to agree that you should get a water report so you know exactly what you're dealing with then make whatever adjustments from there. If you do have chloramine in your water a carbon filter wont really remove it. The contact has to be for a pretty long time and most carbon filters will pass the water too quickly for it to have any affect. If you don't notice a nasty band-aid taste and smell to your beer after fermentation then you probably don't have chloramine in your water. You can use campden tablets to help combat chloramine if you do indeed have it in your water; but you'd definitely notice it if you did.

 

[ryanryates]

I have a similar water filter (carbon filtration) and have been pleased with the results. I have had my water tested and do water chemistry on my brews using my tap water profile (pretty decent water here).

The only problem with my water is the chloramine / chlorine levels tend to fluctuate throughout the year . Once I started running the tap water through the carbon filter I've eliminated the effects (taste and aroma) of the chlorine on the beer. If your water utility uses chloramines, you need to run the water through the filter slowly.

 

[The_Bishop]

Or, if you're looking to eliminate chlorine/chloramine, you can skip the carbon filter and it's unknown absorption rate and go right to using a pinch of metabisulfite.

 

[Jim311]

If you get the right type of filter, it can reduce/eliminate the chloramines. But it has to be the right type. Still, using metabisulfite is probably easier, because chemistry yo.

 

[bosster01]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm pretty sure I don't have chloramines, but I do have lots of hard minerals. My water is very hard - so I was thinking of just reducing the hardness some with filtering. It doesn't taste bad, but it leaves residue on my shower heads etc. I have old galvanized steel pipes which are probably corroded.

I will only be living at this house for 1 year - and then I start moving around for the military. I liked the idea of getting this because it's portable. I'd prefer to get R/O underneath the sink, but it's not feasible given my travel necessity.

I think I'll just wait until i really "need" a filter - because as one of the above posters said. If I can't perceive a different in taste then it truly is just an academic exercise.

 

[RedlegEd]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm pretty sure I don't have chloramines, but I do have lots of hard minerals. My water is very hard - so I was thinking of just reducing the hardness some with filtering. It doesn't taste bad, but it leaves residue on my shower heads etc. I have old galvanized steel pipes which are probably corroded.

I will only be living at this house for 1 year - and then I start moving around for the military. I liked the idea of getting this because it's portable. I'd prefer to get R/O underneath the sink, but it's not feasible given my travel necessity.

I think I'll just wait until i really "need" a filter - because as one of the above posters said. If I can't perceive a different in taste then it truly is just an academic exercise.

First, thanks for your service!

+1 on the Ward report. It's hard to know what to adjust if you don't know from where you are starting.

Filtering doesn't remove hardness, so don't get the filter for that reason. If you want a portable filtering solution, go to Home Depot and get this GE Filter Body for $15.00 and a carbon filter pack for $6.50, add a threaded Garden hose adapter and threaded PVC elbow with a 12" length of PVC, and you've got a portable filter. This will improve any of the "off" tastes in water. My water is really good, and I still filter it into my kettle the night before brewing to let it stand and breathe.

 

[bosster01]

Wow! That looks really nice. So when you're using that are you connecting it to your hose line? Or do you have an adaptor so you can screw that into your faucet?

That's so cheap I think I'm just going to go to home depot today and make one.

 

[RedlegEd]

Wow! That looks really nice. So when you're using that are you connecting it to your hose line? Or do you have an adaptor so you can screw that into your faucet?

That's so cheap I think I'm just going to go to home depot today and make one.

I use my garden hose b/c I brew in the garage and it's close. I have a good rubber hose that doesn't leach the vinyl smell and I'm not skeered that water from a hose is dangerous (I drank from enough of them when I was a kid and I'm not dead yet. :rockin If you're in an apartment, and all you have is your faucet, then yes, you can certainly kobble together an adapter. One other option to help "soften" the water is to boil it first before brewing. I'm not a water expert, so maybe Martin or AJ can chime in. Remember, the filter is really only used to remove some of the larger particles and smell from your water, it really doesn't help the chemistry.

 

[mabrungard]

You need to read the Water Knowledge page on the Bru'n Water website. Depending upon what sort of disinfectant is in your water, one of those carbon filters may or may not be useful for removing taste from your water. If you find out you have chloramines in your water, that filter won't do much for you. You are better off with a Campden tablet addition in that case.

These filters do not remove any of the ions from the water and it won't alter the water profile.

 

[Ricardododo]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm pretty sure I don't have chloramines, but I do have lots of hard minerals. My water is very hard - so I was thinking of just reducing the hardness some with filtering. It doesn't taste bad, but it leaves residue on my shower heads etc. I have old galvanized steel pipes which are probably corroded.

I will only be living at this house for 1 year - and then I start moving around for the military. I liked the idea of getting this because it's portable. I'd prefer to get R/O underneath the sink, but it's not feasible given my travel necessity.

I think I'll just wait until i really "need" a filter - because as one of the above posters said. If I can't perceive a different in taste then it truly is just an academic exercise.

Water filters do not seem to be able to soften the water, only efficiency water softener system can. The effect of hard water is that kettles fur up, taps normally get deposits on them and boilers to become less efficient. We have one that does the whole house, there are no downsides other than the cost of the salt that we have to feed it with.