Distilled water!

McKBrew · 01-22-2010, 02:10 AM

After some further discussion in this thread, I'm going to step back a bit. If you have issues with extract beer and have been using distilled water, you might want to look into that. If you have been using distilled with no issues, then continue on.

Points (That I think we can all agree on).

1) Distilled water is water with basically all minerals stripped from it. Many of these minerals are essential for water "taste" and benefit certain styles of beer.

2) Malt Extracts are made by companies using local water which has these minerals, so distilled water might not be a factor in full extract beers. However, there is no way to determine what minerals and what quantities are present in the extract. If you are using large amounts of steeping grains in extract beers, it might be advisable to use non-distilled water for the steeping portion, or add minerals to your distilled water.

3) Most All Grain and Partial mash beers should not use non-altered distilled water.

4) Those minerals are necessary for yeast growth, as well as overall flavor contribution to the beer.

Lately there are quite a few threads from bad beer, to funny tasting beer, etc... While not necessarily the issue, it seems like many beginning brewers are using distilled water for brewing.

What is distilled water? It's water that has had most if not all of it's impurities removed. So bad stuff is gone, but also anything that gives water it's unique taste like dissolved minerals.

Distilled water is drinkable, but if you have ever tried plain distilled water, it isn't all that great (opinion). Most bottled waters, filtered waters, etc... still have some other stuff in them to make it taste good. Additionally some of those dissolved solids are actually contributors to beer flavors. Do a search on this forum and you'll find more reading on distilled water.

Again, not saying it may be the cause of your problems, but it's not helping your beer.

So what water is good for brewing?

Basically any water that you would drink without altering is a good place to start. If your tap water tastes good, brew with it. If you have a favorite brand of bottled water, or get it delivered.... use it.

There is nothing wrong with getting deeper into brewing science and playing around with additions to water to copy a specific water profile for a brew, but if you are starting out, don't sweat it. You don't have to have some special water, your tap water isn't going to infect your beer, etc...

So: Stop using distilled water!

danculwell · 01-22-2010, 02:21 AM

Sorta on topic question. My tap water sucks so I've been using bottled spring water. It's $.99/gal, not bad. Then I noticed the other day that they sell reverse osmosis drinking water in refillable jugs for $.25/gal, much better. Unfortunately it's my understanding that RO water is missing those same dissolved minerals that distilled water doesn't have. Is that correct? Has anyone else had any experience with brewing with RO water?

PT Ray · 01-22-2010, 02:23 AM

I've only been seeing distilled water mentioned when brewing with extract. Logic being when the wort is concentrated down to an extract the minerals are also concentrated with it. So all your minerals are already in the extract.

northernlad · 01-22-2010, 02:24 AM

The problem with tap water McK is not everybody has our water. The rest of the country can make fun of how much they think it rains here, but they can't have our water.

erock2112 · 01-22-2010, 02:26 AM

What I've heard is that distilled water is a good idea if you're using extracts, since all of the minerals in the water used in making the extract still exist within the extract, so adding water with more minerals results in much harder water.

peripatetic · 01-22-2010, 02:35 AM

+1 on it being OK to use distilled if you are using extract.

Doc Robinson · 01-22-2010, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danculwell

Has anyone else had any experience with brewing with RO water?

RO water is created using a different process but nets the same result as distilled water (essentially). Distilled water has 0 ppm of dissolved solids where a good RO water might have 5 ppm (which is essentially nothing).

I understand where McKBrew's heart is in this post, but I must object. His theory regarding "if it tastes good, brew with it" is reasonably sound for extract brewing.

All grain brewing is an entirely different story. Knowing what I know now about water chemistry, adjustments are ESSENTIAL where style dictates. What "tastes good" may work for a stout but may still be terrible for a wit, and vice versa. In my opinion, if you are going all grain, spend the time to learn about water chemistry (residual alkalinity & chloride to sulfate ratios) to target your style. If you don't, you may get lucky on a porter, but you may find your hefe undrinkable. I learned the hard way. Get your water report, know what you are working with, listen to the Brew Strong podcasts on water (4 parts that are 1 hour each) and read Palmer's section on water.

Everyone wants to brew GREAT beer, not just drinkable beer. With all the time and effort invested in an all grain brew, if your beer isn't great, you WILL be disappointed, no matter if your beer is "drinkable". Invest your time up front to get your water right the first time, and every time. If not, stick to extract or settle for uncertain results.

Again, I know that McKBrew's post was directed at beginners, but before you know it, you won't be.

His point remains valid in that no matter what you are brewing (all grain or extract), stop brewing with RO or Distilled Water only.

Erythro73 · 01-22-2010, 02:42 AM

(Distilled water may still be useful for Star-San usage)

Doc Robinson · 01-22-2010, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erock2112

What I've heard is that distilled water is a good idea if you're using extracts, since all of the minerals in the water used in making the extract still exist within the extract, so adding water with more minerals results in much harder water.

This point is valid. However, when that extract was produced, it had generic intentions. Hop to malt balance is highly affected by your minerals (specifically the ratio of chloride to sulfate). However, the counterpoint is that it is impossible to know what minerals exist in the extract, so mineral additions to distilled or RO water is more or less guesswork.

RO or DI works with extract, but what you are trying to brew might not be exactly what you are trying to get...this is exactly why AG brewing gives you so much more flexibility. However, if you are new to brewing, as long as you get beer, you'll probably be happy.

iron_city_ap · 01-22-2010, 02:53 AM

To begin with, I'm an extract/distilled H2O guy. I would use my tap water if I was doing a full boil, but I decided to go with distilled to lower the risk of bacteria. BUT, one of the things I do is add a Tsp. of Gypsum to help put some minerals back into the water.

Just my .02