troybinso

Recipes 

I have access to a spring, and I would like to try to use that water for my next batch instead of the "spring water" you can get in the store. I am concerned, of course, about the sediment and other stuff in the water. What would be the best way to filter that stuff out? Do I have to boil?

I am an extract brewer and typically put a couple of gallons of cold water in the fermenter before I add the wort, so I would prefer not boiling and then cooling the water if possible.

EdWort

Recipes 

Without testing the water for bactiria, I would not use it without first running it through a filter or boiling it. Use a Brita Pitcher system to filter it first unless you are sure it's free of any bacteria.

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EdWort



Haus Pale Ale, Bavarian Hefeweizen, Robust Porter, Oktoberfest Ale, Wounded Knee IPA, Rye IPA, BCB IPA, Kolsch, Apfelwein

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troybinso

Recipes 

I was under the impression that brita filters just work on some minerals, chlorine and the like, but not bacteria. It's a pretty safe bet that the water has some bacteria in it, but i can get the water pretty close to the source. Its not like there is going to be deer poop in it. Anyway, does the brita filter take out bacteria?

the_bird

Recipes 

Any bacteria would be killed through the boil, anyway. Certainly, though, you'll want to boil all of this water, even if you do a partial you'll want to boil the water you add to top-off the fermenter. Far too great a chance of a bacterial infection, boil it to be safe. That means you'll have to take extra steps to aerate before pitching, not that big a deal.

At the end of the day, not sure how much of a difference it will really make in the end product, but it's still cool to be able to say that the beer was made with local water.

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EdWort

Recipes 

Yeah, you are right. They only have an activated charcoal filter.

Give it a shot. You could always call it Deer Poop Pale Ale.

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Cheers,

EdWort



Haus Pale Ale, Bavarian Hefeweizen, Robust Porter, Oktoberfest Ale, Wounded Knee IPA, Rye IPA, BCB IPA, Kolsch, Apfelwein

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Exo

Recipes 

Boiling and cooling 1 or 2 gallons of water is no biggie. If you have another pot just boil it and set it into your sink w/ some ice and water and bring the temp down. Then dump it in your fermenter.

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Primary:
doh!
Secondary:
Wasp Bitten IPA (a Walker-San clone);Cheesefood's Caramel Creme; Wee Heavy Scottish Ale;
Bottled/Conditioning:
Flyin' Hornet Pale Ale(Mirror Pond clone);Oktoberfest Ale
Drinking:
Boom-Boom Apricot Hefeweisen; Forbidden Ale;Pale-Ass Ale (SNPA Clone); Ol' Man Winter Ale
On-deck:
Dead Guy clone
Planning:
Walker's Espresso Stout; BrewPastor's Bastard Lager

Quote:

But honey, how else am I going to get enough bottles for my next batch? *burp*...*fart*