noob Q: boil water before it goes into fermentor?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sharafa

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I just finished my first boil phase (1st batch) and the guy at the brew store told me to just dump 3gal of cold water into the fermentor before i pour the wort in. Now i'm reading into it more and everyone boils their water first. How critical is that?

Which leads me to the second question... if you boil the water first, do you have to go through the time consuming process of letting it cool down first?
 
Yes, boil the water and let it cool before you pour in the wort. You are risking an infection if you don't boil tap water before adding it to the fermentor. If you don't have time to boil the water and let it cool, then you can use bottled water without boiling.
 
I don't agree with border..it isn't necessary if your water is safe (which most of ours is) unless there's a boil water advisory in your town at the time of brewing, topping off with tap water is fine...

It really is a matter of choice what you want to do...I've never topped off with anything but tap water and have never had a problem...

You will find on here and elsewhere (even in books) that in most cases there really is no right answer, it is a matter of personal preference more than anything thing else...all the debates Stainless vs Aluminum, iodophor vs starsan, or any topic on here with a "vs" will all come down to brewer's preference.

There's a saying in homebrewing Ask 10 brewers a question and get 12 different answers.

Ulitimately all decisions will come down to trial and error...do something, if it works and you like it keep doing it tils something goes wrong, or you come up with a better way.

But if your water is safe enough to drink, more than likely it's safe enough to brew with..your beer's not that weak...
 
OK, good, I did use bottled water. In one of the brew videos on youtube the guys were pouring fresh botled water into the kettle and boiling it. That seemed a little paranoid to me. In the time it takes to cool several gallons of boiling water, you're more likely to get some backteria back in there anyway.
 
When I was doing extracts and topping off, I'd do about a 3 gallon boil, then add two bags of ice to the wort. That would chill it quickly and get most of my top off.

I think I was scolded by a a veteran at the time but was enjoying the beer I produced so it's what I always did.
 
When I was doing extracts and topping off, I'd do about a 3 gallon boil, then add two bags of ice to the wort. That would chill it quickly and get most of my top off.

I think I was scolded by a a veteran at the time but was enjoying the beer I produced so it's what I always did.

Well I would have to say that dumping ice from a store is NOT a good idea, there's way too many paths to infection in that route, the ice may have started off safe, but the bags may not have been sanitized, or the inside of the freezer at the store (some of them don't just have isce in them if you've ever looked.)

That's just too much of Russian Roulette for me.

Making your own in sanitized milk jugs, freezing them and cutting with a sanitized knife would be a safer idea..
 
I'll disagree with Revvy.:eek::eek: I wouldn't use tap water unless it was run through a filter, I don't want chlorine or chloramines in my beer.
 
I'll disagree with Revvy.:eek::eek: I wouldn't use tap water unless it was run through a filter, I don't want chlorine in my beer.

Chlorine and INFECTIONS are two different discussions...We're talking about (noob panic and) infection risk...Chloramines in the water is an entirely different issue..and a different set of preferences...

SO we're both right. :D

Besides, what did I say above? About 10 brewers and 12 answers.

:mug:
 
Chlorine and INFECTIONS are two different discussions...We're talking about infection risk...Chloramines in the water is an entirely different issue..and a different set of preferences...

SO we're both right. :D

Besides, what did I say above? About 10 brewers and 12 answers.

:mug:

Hey if I get my chance to disagree with you im taking it! Meaning your seldom misguided. :D
 
Use Spring Water and this issue is no longer relevant. I would not even used boiled tap water. It does nothing but add more time IMO.
 
only one brew under my belt, but i used brita-filtered tap water.

I'm considering moving towards freezing milk jugs and cutting them as someone else had recommended, because it's taking forever for my wort to cool, even with half frozen water.
 
I would have to say it all depends on your water supply.

I generally use spring water without issue for a number of reasons. A few years back I was getting an annoying but not beer ruining infection and pretty well narrowed it down to the use of hot tap water to rinse and start siphons. I still use some tap from time to time, but only in full boils, or pre-boiled.

The local water source is the muddy Mississippi, and while perfectly safe to drink the quality (taste, mineral content, chlorine content, etc.) can vary widely during the year. Also, in summer the stuff comes out near 80 degrees, which is perfect for yeast as well as every other beer spoiling organism. The local water system is nearly 100 years old, and it is not uncommon to find sand in your faucet screen.

As to freezing the jugs, if you time it until it just begins to freeze (usually a ice crust forms on the inside of the jug) you can easily get the benefit of nearly frozen water (32 to 33 degrees) without the chunk of ice to deal with.
 
^that's what I have done, but after adding the wort, it's still no where near pitching temp. All ice will have more ability to lower the temp as it takes a lot of energy to change the phase of water.
 
I will beat a dead horse and second the just use tap direct from the jug if your water tastes fine.

There are more FDA regulations on tap water quality than there are on bottled water, so there is really no chance for infection. If your municipality uses a lot of chlorine that is a different story though.
 
I use bottled spring water

3 gals to start I put the other two into the freezer till they just start to get

slushy then slowly add those last two to the wort as it is cooling in an ice bath
 
I will beat a dead horse and second the just use tap direct from the jug if your water tastes fine.

There are more FDA regulations on tap water quality than there are on bottled water, so there is really no chance for infection. If your municipality uses a lot of chlorine that is a different story though.

Great sigline there :mug:
 
Back
Top