(b)To boil or not to boil...(/b)

I am forced to do partial boils for now, and it is a PIA to have to boil half the volume before I even start to brew. That also leads to cooling problems because as soon as I cool my wort, I have to pour it into a bucket full of nice steamy water…. I know bottled water is an option, but I abhor that idea, and on principal will not spend money on that. So, I have a couple questions followed by a train of thought….

How many of you out there add straight tap water without boiling it? I know the coliform count is low in our area but not knowing the media they test on and what coliforms they are selecting for kinda makes this info invalid.

Do city water tests include common beer “pathogens”? I am only beginning to learn about these, my studies have been on pathogens of other species lately…

Does anyone do cell counts on their pitches? Or does anyone know the typical cell count per gram of a dried yeast? I am sure it varies by brand and type, but a ball park would be helpful.

I am thinking if I pitch a large enough starter, competitive inhibition would overcome any pathogenic (beer speaking) species of bacteria. If anyone has thought of this/currently does this, please let me know.

Thanks

When I did batches that required top-up water, I either used tap water or bottled water. I only used the bottled water when I was living somewhere that the tap water tasted weird.

I agree that making a big starter or pitching the proper amount of rehydrated dry yeast would be adequate to fight of any large scale growth IF there is anything like that in your tap water.

The amount of dry yeast/g is kind of unclear to me because what they report online is the minimum not what is actually in there. Read this to get a good idea: http://www.mrmalty.com/pitching.php
One 11g (or is it 10) pack should be fine for 5 gallons. For liquid you want to make a starter see here for pitching rate estimations:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

I've done one batch with 2nd is in the fermenter. I have used tap water for both. The first batch did not get infected. Jury is still out on the 2nd

Back when I did partial boils, I migrated from bottled water to 100% filtered tap water. Depending on the temperature I was trying to reach, I would either use water from the kitchen faucet or, if I was trying to get a cooler wort, I would add chilled water from my refrigerator dispenser.

I never had any infections using either method. As long as your tap water is not funny tasting (coastal areas) or otherwise unsafe to drink, you should be OK.

Matt

I use PUR filtered tap water for all my brews.

I do 1.5 gal boils. I also place 4 1-gal jugs in the freezer for 4-5 hours prior to brewing. Temps get down to the 60s in the time it takes to top off.

Been doing it for years...no problems.

Before I went AG, I used untreated, unboiled tap water for all my extract and PM top-ups. 20+ batches, no problems.

i use tap water, but our water is really good here. if you won't drink your water straight, don't use it...otherwise shouldn't be a problem.

Or even boil & chill the makeup water the night before. Less cooling needed and you can even hop it should you be making an IPA.

david_42 said:

Or even boil & chill the makeup water the night before. Less cooling needed and you can even hop it should you be making an IPA.

Click to expand...

Awesome idea, safe and practical. I may try tap water once, considering cell counts of yeast are that high... I wasn't expecting numbers like that, I barely get that in my viral cultures....

Also, does anyone have any really good resources for common beer infections? I ascribe to the principal of "know thine enemy" the more technical the better.

Thanks for the help