Dechlorinating tap water

[ravey]

Hi, having done a websearch I've found a few posts about how to declorinate tap water but one thing I'm not sure of is if I can add a beer kit and water to my fermenting bin and then dechlorinate, or if I should treat the water in advance. Any suggestions?

 

[Dutto]

Hi, having done a websearch I've found a few posts about how to declorinate tap water but one thing I'm not sure of is if I can add a beer kit and water to my fermenting bin and then dechlorinate, or if I should treat the water in advance. Any suggestions?

If needed, treat it in advance; but I have used tap water straight from the tap with (as far as I am aware) zero problems.

This is an explanation of chlorination in the UK from DEFRA ...

http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/chlorine.pdf

I suggest that you check out the chlorination programme for your local water services supplies.

At the moment I am fortunate enough to have one of these fitted to the supply to the sink in the garage where I do my brewing ...

https://www.mailspeedmarine.com/aqua-filta.html?gclid=CPrzotXUicsCFUieGwodTFABhw

It is filled with silver impregnated activated carbon so it removes any chlorine (and other nasties) that may be present. The same result can be obtained using one of these ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007Y6DS84/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Alternatively, you can use bottled water which has no chlorine added to it. :thumb:

 

[HebridesRob]

Chuck a crushed Camden tablet or Sodium Metabisulphite into the water before you use it. It's simple enough that you might as well, even if it makes no discernible difference to the end product.

 

[ravey]

thanks for replies.

I suggest that you check out the chlorination programme for your local water services supplies.

I haven't found anything specific to my local supply but this was a bit worrying; I always thought we had good water but maybe that's just to do with softness and not needing to descale kettles :)

Anyway, I'm just about to have another crack at some home brews after a few years hiatus. My wine has been great but my beers have always had a wierd taste which I'm now wondering if it was chlorophenols, so I'll try some sodium metabisulfite this time around.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've been using bottled water for my brewing, adding between £1.80 and £4.32 to each brew, depending on whether I choose supermarket Best Buy water or the Yorkshire spring water (I like to tell friends that my beer is made in Yorkshire using Pennine water).
I bought a water filter at an auction for £3 and plan to filter the water for my next brew. It'll take forever! From what I read on t'Interweb boiling or adding Campden tablets removes the chlorine but not the chloramines.
Colin

 

[Dutto]

thanks for replies.



I haven't found anything specific to my local supply but this was a bit worrying; I always thought we had good water but maybe that's just to do with softness and not needing to descale kettles :)

Anyway, I'm just about to have another crack at some home brews after a few years hiatus. My wine has been great but my beers have always had a wierd taste which I'm now wondering if it was chlorophenols, so I'll try some sodium metabisulfite this time around.

As you say - worrying!

In the old days they used to drink "small beer" (i.e. low alcohol beer) because the fermentation process killed of the bugs that caused cholera and typhoid. However, these are "harmful bacteria" and not "chemicals" so it is a distinct possibility that the chemicals mentioned in the report are passing straight through the fermentation process and contaminating your finished product.

When we lived up in Glenkindie we had our own water supply off the hill and one of the first things I did when I got home from a trip abroad was to fill a glass and drink it. Nectar of the Gods after living on stuff produced from seawater by reverse osmosis!

If I was in your position I would definitely be using the cheapest bottled water I could find! :thumb: :thumb:

(Tell the missus to only bring back 5 litres at a time though because it do weigh heavy!) :whistle: :whistle:

 

[Dutto]

Hi!
I've been using bottled water for my brewing, adding between ���£1.80 and ���£4.32 to each brew, depending on whether I choose supermarket Best Buy water or the Yorkshire spring water (I like to tell friends that my beer is made in Yorkshire using Pennine water).
I bought a water filter at an auction for ���£3 and plan to filter the water for my next brew. It'll take forever! From what I read on t'Interweb boiling or adding Campden tablets removes the chlorine but not the chloramines.
Colin

Colin,

According to Wikipedia (a much maligned and often inaccurate source of information) ...

"... this product is also used to eliminate both free chlorine,
and the more stable form, chloramine, from water solutions ..."​

... so it should do the business on both ... :thumb:

... but I would still use bottled water! :whistle:

Ian

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablet

 

[Bigcol49]

Colin,

According to Wikipedia (a much maligned and often inaccurate source of information) ...

"... this product is also used to eliminate both free chlorine,
and the more stable form, chloramine, from water solutions ..."​

... so it should do the business on both ... :thumb:

... but I would still use bottled water! :whistle:

Ian

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablet

Thanks, Ian. Suitably chastised It's boiling that can't remove chloramines.
Mmmm! When I get tired of waitng for my water filter jug to churn out 20 litres, I'll try Campden tablets
A post from another place suggests Vitamin C will do the same job: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/vitamin-c-for-chlorine-chloramine-removal.76953/

 

[Cqr]

I always use tap water, but I think I will give this a go

 

[Favershambrewer]

Yeah I've used that well a couple of times for light ales because I was told it was excellent soft water. But my experience tells me possibly not. Not the nectar i expected. Also the star san goes cloudy in an instant. It'd be good to get an analysis - though on not sure where from...

 

[ManseMasher]

http://laboratory.murphyandson.co.uk/our-products/water/

From these good people....

 

[ravey]

Well I had some sodium metabisulphate from years back and gave it a go with my Bulldog Easter Chocolate Stout kit which is bubbling away nicely. Fingers crossed.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Buy a swimming pool chlorine testing kit on ebay for a quid and find out for sure. I was wondering if I needed to use Campden Tablets so I bought the strips to test my water. I used filtered tap water in my brews. I tested the unfiltered and there was a tiny hint of colorine (or off pH anyway) and when I tested the filtered it was perfect.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I swear by the Tesco value from chase spring water 17p for 2 liters.

it's far better than the tap ****.

 

[MyQul]

Campden tablets are so cheap unless you use bottled water (so you can see how much if any chlorine is in it) you may as well use em

 

[dad_of_jon]

Campden tablets are so cheap unless you use bottled water (so you can see how much if any chlorine is in it) you may as well use em

Using my lean (vanguard method) systems thinking approach rather than add chemical A to cancel out chemical B which was added to the water I'd rather buy water with less 'chemicals' in the first place.:grin:

 

[ravey]

Just to update this, my chocolate stout was way better than the various attempts at beer I did a few years back. The only other thing I did different was using no rinse sanitiser. Just starting off a better brew export lager kit just now, so that'll probably be a better comparison to my old brews as the chocolate stout is rather a strong taste.

 

[MyQul]

Using my lean (vanguard method) systems thinking approach rather than add chemical A to cancel out chemical B which was added to the water I'd rather buy water with less 'chemicals' in the first place.:grin:

I agree with you here.For my pale ales, rather than faffing about with CRS and salifert kits I just use bottled water.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Thanks, Ian. Suitably chastised It's boiling that can't remove chloramines.
Mmmm! When I get tired of waitng for my water filter jug to churn out 20 litres, I'll try Campden tablets
A post from another place suggests Vitamin C will do the same job: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/vitamin-c-for-chlorine-chloramine-removal.76953/

Are you using the maxtra cartridges? Mine are really quick. I had to cut away the bottom of the filter holder as that was a bottle-neck - but I have some sterilised food safe hose pipe trickling water into it and by the time I'm done cooking the fv is full!

 

[Bigcol49]

Are you using the maxtra cartridges? Mine are really quick. I had to cut away the bottom of the filter holder as that was a bottle-neck - but I have some sterilised food safe hose pipe trickling water into it and by the time I'm done cooking the fv is full!

Hi!
Thanks for the tip.
Colin