Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Curious if anyone that uses the Cedar Rapids water does anything to treat it before brewing, or do you use bottled water? I haven't gotten a water report from the city yet, but know they add a fair amount of chlorine. Looking for ways to make better beer, and water seems like a great place to start.

Thanks!

All I do is a campden tablet for each 5 gallons.

Same for me. One campden tablet is good for up to 20 gallons. Tom, when do you add your campden tablet? I fill two tanks with 10 gallons each before doing a 10 gallon batch and throw half a tablet in each crushed and let sit over night.

Every once in a while I add a small amount of gypsum for my IPA's and Pale Ales.

The campden tablets are mainly to address the chloramines in the water. Chlorine can be driven off with a boil or it disipates if left out over night. Chloramines won't go away unless you treat the water and it is important to get rid of those.

Sounds good. I'll give that a try. Thanks!

If you're interested in the nitty gritty here's a link to the CR water report.
http://www.crbeernuts.org/phpBB3/viewto ... ter+report

I put my tablets in when I fill my kettles. Right before I light the fire. From what I've heard they work almost instantly.

Good to know. Main reason I let my water sit overnight is convenience. My HLT tank runs through a timer so my mash water is heated to strike temp by the time I get home from work. Crush the grain the night before and it makes for a quick start to a brew session on a week night.

I've been running mine through a charcoal filter. The first one I did this way should be ready soon so we'll see if it worked.

While not as bad as some other local communities, CR water does have enough chlorine in it to affect the flavor. I notice it more in coffee than beer. But, anyway, I have an undercounter filtration system (GE) with double cartridges that works really well.