Distilled Water in a Plain American Ale?

Col224 · 10-23-2008, 05:54 PM

I used Walmart Distilled water not drinking water in my Plain American Ale 20 minute boil kit. I was cruising the forums and I saw it mentioned not to do this. Is this bad and will it affect the taste? It is already bubbling in the primary.

**the_bird** · 10-23-2008, 05:58 PM

It's not the end of the world for an extract brew. You need to have some minerals in the water for the yeast to use, but the extract itself should contain enough (you absolutely cannot use distilled water with AG brewing). It's unnecessary, though, and probably not a good idea. Regular old tap water (or el-cheapo gallons of water if you tap doesn't taste decent) are almost always going to be fine.