Chlorine from the water store?

[CrystallineEntity]

I have a fairly strong plastic smell and taste to my latest brew. It's Denny's BVIP (Imperial Porter). It's only shown up since bottle conditioning. I've had this problem before, and remedied it by treating my tap water with campden tablets to remove chlorine. I even treat my cleaning and sanitizing water.

Lately I've been buying water from a water store (tap is horrible), and adding calcium chloride and gypsum per the primer in the brewing science section. I've brewed a brown, pale and Pliny clone with the water store water. All have been fine.

Is it likely the water from the water store is inconsistent? Sometimes chlorinated, sometimes not? I have not been treating it because I assumed it wasn't necessary. My brewing practices are pretty solid. Chlorine is the only cause i can think of.

The BVIP is an excellent beer and it's gonna suck to toss it. The plastic taste is pretty bad, and in my experience it doesn't go away with age. I also just made a RIS that I wont bottle for months. Since the off flavor doesn't show up until after bottle conditioning. It could just be a huge waste of time.

Any one have a similar problem?

-Aaron

 

[MalFet]

Hmm...the chlorine should boil off in your wort, but it could be chloramine. Then again, that's exactly the kind of thing your store should be filtering out with their system. Is it possible that bleach is getting into your system somehow, either because you're using it to clean your kit or because they're using it to clean their containers?

 

[Seven]

Is it likely the water from the water store is inconsistent? Sometimes chlorinated, sometimes not? I have not been treating it because I assumed it wasn't necessary. My brewing practices are pretty solid. Chlorine is the only cause i can think of.

Possibly. Are you using brand name bottled water or generic? Maybe ask the distributor for a water chemistry report, or test the water yourself for chlorine/PH-level/impurities/etc. Maybe try a different brand of bottled water.

 

[CrystallineEntity]

Yeah, chloramine is what I meant. Sorry.
The water containers are mine and they are filled by me. The water is from the machine outside the water store. The ones that accept quarters.
I clean with AHS generic PBW, and use starsan. The cleaning water has been campden treated though.
Just thought of something. I'm pretty sure my priming sugar was boiled with water from my Brita water pitcher. Maybe a cup and a half. Think that could be it? I've done this on other batches though, with no problems.
This is really frustrating.

 

[MalFet]

Yeah, chloramine is what I meant. Sorry.
The water containers are mine and they are filled by me. The water is from the machine outside the water store. The ones that accept quarters.
I clean with AHS generic PBW, and use starsan. The cleaning water has been campden treated though.
Just thought of something. I'm pretty sure my priming sugar was boiled with water from my Brita water pitcher. Maybe a cup and a half. Think that could be it? I've done this on other batches though, with no problems.
This is really frustrating.

For just a cup and a half of water from a brita to cause the problems, you'd have to have a dead brita filter (the carbon should filter this stuff out) and ridiculously high levels of chloramine in your water. I guess it's possible (and therefore something worth doing differently next time), but I'm skeptical that's the root of your problem.

Maybe you're leaching plastic chemicals from something...Are you fermenting in a cheap plastic container? Is there anything your wort touches while it is hot that could be non-food grade? Hmm...

 

[maida7]

Plastic is a phenolic flavor that can come from a wild yeast. You may have an infection. Seeing as it showed up after bottling it could be that the infection happened at bottling or was in the bottles.

 

[BigEd]

I have a fairly strong plastic smell and taste to my latest brew. It's Denny's BVIP (Imperial Porter). It's only shown up since bottle conditioning. I've had this problem before, and remedied it by treating my tap water with campden tablets to remove chlorine. I even treat my cleaning and sanitizing water.

Lately I've been buying water from a water store (tap is horrible), and adding calcium chloride and gypsum per the primer in the brewing science section. I've brewed a brown, pale and Pliny clone with the water store water. All have been fine.

Is it likely the water from the water store is inconsistent? Sometimes chlorinated, sometimes not? I have not been treating it because I assumed it wasn't necessary. My brewing practices are pretty solid. Chlorine is the only cause i can think of.

The BVIP is an excellent beer and it's gonna suck to toss it. The plastic taste is pretty bad, and in my experience it doesn't go away with age. I also just made a RIS that I wont bottle for months. Since the off flavor doesn't show up until after bottle conditioning. It could just be a huge waste of time.

Any one have a similar problem?

-Aaron

The cause of your phenolics is likely a fermentation and/or sanitation problem not the bottled water.

 

[CrystallineEntity]

Well, I ferment in an ale pale or better bottle. Temp controlled with the sensor taped to the outside of the fermentor. I transfer the wort from my mash tun with an old ale pale. Temp is usually no higher than 170 when transferring to the boil kettle. I secondaried this beer with some vanilla beans for 10 days. Same ones I used last year. I had them vacuum sealed in a canning jar, and soaked them in some vodka before scraping them up.

I guess it could be an infection but have no way to know for sure. Every thing I've read points to chloramine. I've encountered this before and it always shows up after bottle conditioning. Never before that, and never this strong.

Beer gods please spare my RIS!!!

 

[activeracer]

They just started putting chloramines in our water out here and I ruined a batch because charcoal filters do not get rid of it all. I have gone to distilled water. It costs me about $2.00 per 5 gal. but well worth it. I also have heard many whore stories in fermenting in plastic over time and hidden bacteria, I suggest spending the money on a glass carboy. Just my 2cents.

 

[Shay]

activeracer, you could pick up some camden tablets at your lhbs. I think a half a tablet will declorinate and decloramine 10 or so gallons.

 

[ghpeel]

i also have heard many whore stories....

stop eavesdropping on my phone calls, damnit. :d