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Treating Chlorinated Water

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klamz

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I've been researching a lot lately about the bandaid-phelonic off flavors in beer and everyone says it is usually due to chlorinated water. Why do we need to use Camden tablets to get rid of chlorine. Doesn’t it evaporate during THE BOIL????? Unless there is a chemical reaction taking place during the mash then it doesn’t make sense. Can someone please clarify?

Ive been making beer from bottled water and it is just too pricey to continue to buy 9 gallons. I want to treat my tap water so it is usable.
 
Chloramine is often used in place of Chlorine in water treatment facilities. It is much more stable in solution and will not dissipate during the boil.
Either use Camden tablets or purchase a water filter with an activated charcoal filter to eliminate the Chloramine.
 
You can pick up carbon filters pretty cheap but, for the price (unless you have an allergy to sulfites) why not use the campden and be certain?

Are you having a chlorophenol issue?
 
Thanks gnome!

and Yes i've had some nasty smelling beer after bottleing so i started using bottled water.
 
Ahhh.

the campden is certain to address both chlorine and chloramines in short time. the carbon filters are only effective against chloramines if used at very slow flow rates. Which is why chloramines have found favor in the water treatment plants. Very stable stuff.
 
Chloramine won't boil off, and even if it did, you would still get chlorophenols because the reaction between the chlorine and wort would happen before the boil.

Half a campden tablet will treat 10 gallons of water. It's cheap and easy. Or you can use a filter but that is more expensive and a pain. I use both depending on how much time I have to prep the water.
 
Honestly, the water filter only diminished the nasties in my beer. I just kegged a test batch with Camden treated water, and the Cholorphenols are gone. I'm just stuck with a bad recipe I used that wouldn't mask any off flavors.
 
This thread has my interest. My brewing buddy and I have our first five batches under our belt, the first a kit and then four PM's. We're not doing full boils, basically using DeathBrewer's stove-top method, and adding tap water to the carboy to get our 5gal.

All of our beers have a consistent flavor, but I have a hard time describing it. I taste it as the beer's leaving my mouth, at the beginning of the swallow, sorta chemical-ish. I can live with it, but it bugs me. It's not there at the end of the glass, once the beer has warmed up.

Each of the beers has been a different recipe and we switched styles, hops and yeasts, so the only thing I can think of is my water.

Edited my question- found the answer in another thread. I'll treat the water before brewing by filling a carboy with 5gal and then use that treated water.
 
Honestly, the water filter only diminished the nasties in my beer. I just kegged a test batch with Camden treated water, and the Cholorphenols are gone. I'm just stuck with a bad recipe I used that wouldn't mask any off flavors.

Most water filters don't remove chloramine effectively (even a carbon block filter will usually remove 70% of chloramine, and that is at .5 gpm). If you want to use a filter I recommend one of these. Oh, and Filters Fast is a good source, they have cheap housings you can use to make yourself a hop randall, or to build a rig to filter your beer.
 
So what are the side affects of using tap water. I have always just use tap water. I've never tasted any off flavors because of it. I have taken some of my beer to More Beer and they like it.
 
Your tap water may not have chlorine or the chloramines we are talking about. They produce a bad aroma/taste that can be described as a chemical or band-aidish. I think this is what i'm suffering from.
 
I have heard about leaving your water out over night to get rid of chlorine. Does this work? Does a soak in the sun help things out?

Chlorine, yes, 4 hours of bright sunlight or simply boiling the water will remove chlorine. Chloramine, no. Chloramine is very stable which is why water companies use it -- chlorine is only a suitable disinfectant if the water makes it from the treatment plant to your tap quickly. You can tell if you have chloramine in your water by filling a white bucket with tap water. If it's green, the water has chloramine in it.
 
Chlorine, yes, 4 hours of bright sunlight or simply boiling the water will remove chlorine. Chloramine, no. Chloramine is very stable which is why water companies use it -- chlorine is only a suitable disinfectant if the water makes it from the treatment plant to your tap quickly. You can tell if you have chloramine in your water by filling a white bucket with tap water. If it's green, the water has chloramine in it.

That's good to know, I will check it out tonight.
 
So just so im clear.... Camden kill's both Chlorine and Chloramine? I dont have to leave my water out before brewing?.
 
I buy a bag of Potassium Metabisulfite for winemaking (cheap).
0.22g directly added to the brewing water will achieve the same effect as campton tabs, you wont have to crush it and it is cheaper.
 
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