None that I know of. That’s only one use for campden tabs. Another is to stun yeast. But that’s mainly done with ciders and such near the end of fermentation.
I’ve been using campden tabs for at least 4 years in the hot liquor tank.
I am pretty sure all Hetch-Hetchy water gets chloramine by the time it reaches its destination. SF does for sure ( San Francisco Water Power Sewer ). The OP and I are using the same water source (and almost invariably the same treatment), and campden made a huge difference–and it’s really, really cheap. Note: once you’ve dealt with the chloramine, it’s tasty water.
It is generally harmless, although some people are sensitive to sulfites (commonly used in wine).
Any residual is easily passed through your body, but the sulfite part should all come out of the water as SO2 before or during the boil. The potassium or sodium is also harmless.
I started having the same issue about a year ago. I got a water supply hose for an RV and an inline carbon filter. My homebrew supply store carries sodium metabisulfite crystals so I use them instead of the tablets. Same as Camden tablets but you dont need to crush or dissolve them. Just measure out a 1/4 tsp per 10 gallons of strike water and you’re good. With those three steps, the plastic flavor hasnt come back. BTW…I got all of those suggestions from this forum. These guys know whats up!
If you’re doing kit or extract beers, you’re often better off with RO water. Basically, all the minerals your yeasties need is already in the extract. The exceptions might be beers where you want almost no mineral character (e.g., Pilsners) or beers where you want a lot (e.g., IPA).
If you’re doing partial mash or AG, consider using a charcoal filter. That will get the chloramines out of your water without getting rid of the good minerals that you want for most beer styles. Portable units which attach to your sink cost about $50-70, and it’s relatively easy and cheap to get the plumbing fittings which allow you to attach to a hose.
If you can’t get a food-grade hose, at the very least drain your garden hose and store it dry between brews. Nasty chemicals can leach from the hose walls into the water over time. On the other hand, the contact time for water going through a hose isn’t all that long if you’ve got the spigot cranked all the way open, so it’s unlikely you’ll pick up off-flavors from water that’s used immediately.
Extract is likely to be deficient in a few things that yeast need for optimal heath. That’s why we use yeast nutrients even in all malt beers.
Wait…What!?
I had read in several places that extract has all the minerals needed for yeast health & that RO water was fine for use in extract brews.
I guess I shouldn’t believe everything that I read.
Extract already contains the minerals from the mash water used to make the extract, so using RO (or distilled) water is perfectly fine for extract beers. If you use minerally water to make an extract beer, the final beer will have the minerals from your water plus the minerals from the extract, which may make the levels too high for a tasty beer or may throw it out of style.
This is not the same as having all of the minerals required for yeast health. Many (most? all?) extract beers will benefit from additional zinc for yeast health, thus the nutrients. Plus there are other trace minerals and non-mineral components in the nutrients that make the yeast happy.
Just use a little yeast nutrient at the end of the boil and don’t worry about it. The stuff is cheap and it really helps.
So, what makes extract different from AG wort? Are the zinc and other nutrients somehow stripped out during the concentration process?
Zinc and other nutrients are NOT stripped out when extract is made. In fact, it is the exact opposite that is true. These nutrients are concentrated. So if you then add water on top of it that contains more salts and impurities, you end up with perhaps twice as much as you would for all-grain brewing.
The point that I think Tom might have been trying to make is that water is always low on zinc, which has been proven important for yeast health. So that’s why some people add yeast nutrients or shave a teeny tiny bit of a zinc tablet into their raw beer to help the yeast with respect to zinc and other unidentified essential nutrients that might be important for yeast health.
Yes, exactly Dave. If you really want to make your yeast happy, use a yeast nutrient. Plain water/malt doesn’t have everything they need. If you are using fresh store bought yeast every time you will probably not notice a difference, but if you are constantly repitching then it will help you have more healthy yeast in subsequent batches.