help with water medical-iode taste

[Mastoras007]

Hello i need some help to understand why i have this medical iode taste on water.
I use 2 carbon filters 20'' the water of my city is drinkable have some chroride taste but is drinkable, on my home for examble i use 1 carbon filter and the water is perfect 0 taste.
on my brewery i have problem.. (brewery still not running just still testing equipment)
after 2 carbon filters water is fine, have a small taste of chloride but is very very little noticeable, but wen i heat up the water showing up this medical iode taste
it's strange because before heating it's ok, not super greate water taste but its good, after heating is bad, same if i cool it down to 20 celsius
i made some reashersh and i found out that maybe it's because of chloride in the water
the flow rate of water it's 6 liters per min,
i will buy those choride testers next days to chek thw carbon filter eficiency but filters it's almost new..
should i add 1 or 2 more filters in a row ?
had anyone same problem?

because of my setup i have not RO yet, i have not hot liquor tank, i take hot water on demand (taste is not from heaters i have test it)

 

[jschein]

It may not just be chlorine it could be chloramine. You can treat the water with potassium or sodium metabisulfite. It will instantly remove chlorine and chloramine

 

[Craigerrr]

You say chloride, do you mean chlorine?

 

[Mastoras007]

You say chloride, do you mean chlorine?

chlorine Yes

 

[Forbidden Grain]

I run my charcoal filter well below 1L per minute. Probably slower than needed but you don't want to go above 1L per minute for it to be effective. You can add a tiny amount of sodium or potassium metabisulfite to the water to neutralize any remaining chlorine. You only need 5mg per litre, so a tiny amount.

 

[Mastoras007]

I run my charcoal filter well below 1L per minute. Probably slower than needed but you don't want to go above 1L per minute for it to be effective. You can add a tiny amount of sodium or potassium metabisulfite to the water to neutralize any remaining chlorine. You only need 5mg per litre, so a tiny amount.

But I don't know if the problem is the chlorine I'm still try to find out

 

[Bigbre04]

it could also be your heating elements burning off manufacturing residue.

I assume your heating elements and equipment are Food safe and fully Stainless? Same for all of your soft parts. Any welding should have been properly finished if its going to be in contact with beer and process water.

is this gear that has been used before? if so its very hard without running a full CIP and multiple rinses to get "clean" water out of a brewhouse.

If your gear is brand new, you need to run a hard acid and CIP on it to clean off all of the manufacturing residue. most stainless has a bunch of shit on it.

 

[Mastoras007]

Truth is is new system yes
Not used ever, it's stainless steel 304 everything tri clamp connections pipes
I haven't yet wash it..

 

[Bigbre04]

Truth is is new system yes
Not used ever, it's stainless steel 304 everything tri clamp connections pipes
I haven't yet wash it..

Run a full CIP on the whole system including a heavy passivation run and then try again. its very likely you are tasting machining dirt/oil/grease. Once you use it and are up and running the system will have a very specific funk that will only go away right after you CIP the system and then will be right back after you brew in it again.

also try to avoid scratching the stainless with scrubbies/brushes/paddles. scratches break the chromium and can rust but will also be points where dirt and beer stone will accumlate and stick.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

ask Google ai this, gives a good start plus what's posted above

medicinal taste on new home brewing system

 

[Ward Chillington]

"Cleaning is what you do when you are not brewing"

 

[Donoroto]

It may not just be chlorine it could be chloramine. You can treat the water with potassium or sodium metabisulfite. It will instantly remove chlorine and chloramine

@Mastoras007 this is good advice. You must chemically bind ALL chlorine (including chloramine) or you will get that medicinal smell and taste in the beer.

1/2 gram of ‘metabisulfate’ in 20 liters will chemically bind all chlorine compounds in seconds. Make your own research to find how much to use, but it will be only a few grams.

Of course, cleaning will help, the equipment is new and needs it. But water with even a little chlorine is not good.

 

[Bigbre04]

@Mastoras007 this is good advice. You must chemically bind ALL chlorine (including chloramine) or you will get that medicinal smell and taste in the beer.

1/2 gram of ‘metabisulfate’ in 20 liters will chemically bind all chlorine compounds in seconds. Make your own research to find how much to use, but it will be only a few grams.

Of course, cleaning will help, the equipment is new and needs it. But water with even a little chlorine is not good.

i just recently started using Potassium metabisulfate tabs. 3 tabs into 55 gals of water. seems like a really small dose.

BUT i didnt do that for years and didnt have any problems with medicinal flavors coming through. i dont recall my water report calling out anything specific as far as chlorine/chloramine.

maybe my water is just lower in Cl then most???

 

[Mastoras007]

I made this test with drops for chlorine and was positive
So I have some chlorine on my water..
Probably the flow rate is to high for the filters I use, because the "first" water coming out it's good no chlorine because is the water just siting inside the filter case..
After some liters running chloride showing up
I'm going to to put one more filter in a row (3rd) to see what's happening
It's strange to me because cold I can't taste it after heating is more intense

 

[Donoroto]

I made this test with drops for chlorine and was positive
So I have some chlorine on my water..
Probably the flow rate is to high for the filters I use, because the "first" water coming out it's good no chlorine because is the water just siting inside the filter case..
After some liters running chloride showing up
I'm going to to put one more filter in a row (3rd) to see what's happening
It's strange to me because cold I can't taste it after heating is more intense

Not so strange: most chemicals are more reactive at higher temperatures.

Don’t rely on the filters for chlorine. Get some sodium metabisulfate or potassium metabisulfate (sometimes called ‘campden’) and eliminate the problem simply.

SMB/PMB is inexpensive.

 

[Bigbre04]

I made this test with drops for chlorine and was positive
So I have some chlorine on my water..
Probably the flow rate is to high for the filters I use, because the "first" water coming out it's good no chlorine because is the water just siting inside the filter case..
After some liters running chloride showing up
I'm going to to put one more filter in a row (3rd) to see what's happening
It's strange to me because cold I can't taste it after heating is more intense

to add to @Donoroto's comment. i would not add more filtration, it likely wont make much of a difference. to add to that it will further reduce your water flow rate which will directly add time to your day to day work. You want as much water flowing as you can get.

when i use cold water i pull from 2 x 3/4 inch pex lines and blend them together(one is my hot water but i can remotely shut off my water heater). i wish i had 1 inch lines plumbed in. In a previous life we had a 2 inch water main coming in and actually added a water pressure booster. we were filling 2 3000 gal liquor tanks while brewing 60bbls(on average) everyday. with our pressure booster we had close to 100psi it was awesome. we had a trap and carbon water filter setup that was massive and capable of keeping up with our water usage.

you will want as much water flow as you can get your hands on.

 

[Mastoras007]

The bottleneck here is the water heater I don't have hlt yet, I use hot water on demand so brew days will be big (at least in the bigining)
I added another filter better quality, also I run a full cip cycle (no ppa) until now seems everything it's better taste have improved, after cip I have better taste but not 100% OK
With filter I feel it better 100%, is more drinkable feels pure water now..
I can build on it my beer finally

Not so strange: most chemicals are more reactive at higher temperatures.

Don’t rely on the filters for chlorine. Get some sodium metabisulfate or potassium metabisulfate (sometimes called ‘campden’) and eliminate the problem simply.

I want to use as much less chemicals needed

Meanwhile I don't have chemical analysis yet, I
wanted to make it feel good first
It's great news for me I fix it, the first brew day is coming

 

[Bigbre04]

The bottleneck here is the water heater I don't have hlt yet, I use hot water on demand so brew days will be big (at least in the bigining)
I added another filter better quality, also I run a full cip cycle (no ppa) until now seems everything it's better taste have improved, after cip I have better taste but not 100% OK

i can tell you that i made very good beer for years with just basic street water. have made good beer with very basic filtration for a decade. I would just toss a few campden tablets and let it ride.

trick to speeding your day up is prefill as much of the water as you can the night before. build yourself a programable thermostat so that you can walk in to your mash water at the right temp and pre salted. All that i do when i get in is basically toss enzyme, acid, and grain and i am off to the races. my hot water is fully sufficient to keep up with rinsing/sparging the grain.

With filter I feel it better 100%, is more drinkable feels pure water now..
I can build on it my beer finally

I want to use as much less chemicals needed

i just use 3 campden tablets. I am not sure if it is too little or too much, but it hasnt hurt anything. also the cost is insignificant.

Meanwhile I don't have chemical analysis yet, I
wanted to make it feel good first
It's great news for me I fix it, the first brew day is coming

understanding recipe building and the process is more important then getting the water ph and chemistry down. Good CIP and yeast handling is very important too.

 

[Vodka Drunkenski]

I want to use as much less chemicals needed

I wouldn't worry too much about "chemicals"....the amount you're gonna add is painfully
small compared to what you would use for wine (and remains as a preservative in wine).
What you'll use is certainly gonna be neutralized by the chlorine....anything remaining will
simply flare off. Give it some good agitation to allow for this "flare off", and to ensure the
sulphite comes in contact with the chlorine. You'll be fine...as a matter of fact some plants
have pH concerns, and react negatively when watered straight from the garden hose (tap water)
so people will use "potassium" metabisulphate to negate the chlorine which just leaves some
potassium behind that is good for the plants. Stay away from the "sodium" metabisulphite
if your gardening though, but for beer/wine the amount left behind is negligible.

 

[Donoroto]

I want to use as much less chemicals needed

The ‘chemicals’ you want to avoid are the ones you are tasting. The Campden is about a gram in 1000 liters, almost too little to measure (1 ppm). It’s your beer, do as you wish. But you asked about medicine taste and smell, and now you have the answer.