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First post here, although longtime brewer. For a long time, our local water district did not have to chlorinate our water, which was great for brewing/winemaking. But a few years back they had to start chlorinating, and it's a concern particularly w/regard to brewing. I've done some online research and found that the most common chlorinating agent these days is chloramine, which does NOT dissipate very quickly. So the old overnight airing-out doesn't work well.
More internet searching found a number of dechlorinating agents that can neutralize chlorine and chloramine, but many have their own issues when it comes to brewing/fermenting. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium sulfite work immediately, but if over-done they too can affect the wee beasties that turn sugar into alcohol. Excess sullfite is particularly bad because it can produce hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell), which really screws up wine. Boiling for 30 minutes will do the job, but, depending on your needs, that can cost -- either in propane or KW-hours.
But it also turns out that it only takes a small amount of vitamin C to dechlorinate a large volume of water. A ground up 1,000 mg tablet can dechlorinate a whole bathtub-full of water. The resultant vitamin C concentration is so low that it won't materially change the pH or add an off taste to the water: and sodium ascorbate, which is closer to neutral pH, works for this, too. So using it wouldn't have any impact on water pH.
My question is if anyone has tried brewing with water that has been dechlorinated using vitamin C, and if so how it worked out.
Thanks
More internet searching found a number of dechlorinating agents that can neutralize chlorine and chloramine, but many have their own issues when it comes to brewing/fermenting. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium sulfite work immediately, but if over-done they too can affect the wee beasties that turn sugar into alcohol. Excess sullfite is particularly bad because it can produce hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell), which really screws up wine. Boiling for 30 minutes will do the job, but, depending on your needs, that can cost -- either in propane or KW-hours.
But it also turns out that it only takes a small amount of vitamin C to dechlorinate a large volume of water. A ground up 1,000 mg tablet can dechlorinate a whole bathtub-full of water. The resultant vitamin C concentration is so low that it won't materially change the pH or add an off taste to the water: and sodium ascorbate, which is closer to neutral pH, works for this, too. So using it wouldn't have any impact on water pH.
My question is if anyone has tried brewing with water that has been dechlorinated using vitamin C, and if so how it worked out.
Thanks
fieldblend sounds interesting though I send my water through a cartridge filter that to my tastes removes most of the chlorine. But I've read of great results from Ozark's Campden tablets they are also useful on reduce dissolved oxygen levels on hot side of brewing. I better get back,outside and stir my mash 
