Brewing with Well Water?

I have been brewing with my softened well water. 6 batches so far.

It has been suggested that it is actually preferred that I use my un-softened well water. I could use water from my Garden Hose, which would be much easier to get into my kettle.

When I have used un-softened water for Coffee or Ice Tea it leaves a "film" on top and also makes cleaning the glass or pot harder. Obviously from the "Hard" water. I had my water tested for hardness it tests at 22 grains hardness.

Would the "Hard" water be best for brewing? Or should I stay with the "Soft" water I have been using?

Any suggestions for a filter system I should be using for my brewing?


Just as an FYI, I do All Grain brewing.

Get samples of both and have them tested @ Ward Labs
I believe test #5

Really depends on the make up of the water

My thoughts, FWIW:

1. First of all, is your beer bad with the softened water, or is it just they don't taste exactly like a given commercial version? Obviously the water you use has a big impact on the beer you make. Many styles of beer taste the way they do because of the water used (e.g. English IPA from Burton area).

2. You could fret about your water and its effects on your beer, or you can just call it "house flavor"...its all how crazy you want to be about your hobby!

3. If you are interested in brewing "to style" and entering competitions, etc...your best bet would be to buy distilled water, and add back minerals to match the given style. I'm sure others can help you out with....personally, I go with #2 and chalk any effects of my water on "house flavor"

My 0.02

Ward Laboratories, Agricultural Testing, Consulting, Kearney, Nebraska
Click fee schedule; water analysis.

'W-6' (16.50) will tell you enough, but 'W-5' (26.50) is the full test.

FWIW, MBC uses a filter and a huge softener to brew all their beer. Since they are 8 miles away, I use warm, softened water.

Thanks guys, My next question was going to be where to have a water test done. Way ahead of me on that one. Cool.

My beer tastes fine so far with soft water. So I could simply use it and be happy enough at this point in my brewing.

What really prompted the question is the use of the Hard water. I would like to use it since it would be easier to run it through a hose into the kettle rather than buckets from the kitchen sink.

But I don't want to have beer with that "film" or "oily" looking stuff on top. Is whatever causes that boiled off? IDK what it is but I don't have it with the soft water.

Plan to brew tomorrow, I could try the Hard water and see what happens. But then again I hate to waste a batch.


I will send in a sample for the test. Then have a better idea where to go in the future. But still deciding about tomorrow.

I use my Well water for mine, I don't have a water softener, but I know it's hard as I have to use Borax to wash clothes with or they will not get clean.

I also have a whole House filter (5 micron) for sediment and then for drinking/cooking/brewing I have a Carbon Sink filter for that.
I think my beer is good and I love the taste of the filtered water, even the unfiltered... but the sediment and "Unknown's" cause me to filter.

Not sure I'd go with "Hose" water.... But that's just me.

Get it tested, I did one 15 years ago and the report came back "hard" and "Sediment" issues but nothing "Toxic".

I DO hope by 'hose water' you mean RV Drinking Water Hose, and then only after the water runs a long enough to get fresh water in the water line.

Yes an RV hose is part of the plan if I determine that I can use water from my Garden Hose faucet.

And a water test will be done as well.

All the softener does is remove impurities in your water, especially rust, and
does not ad anything to the water. The salt you add to the system is only used
to recharge the system and is completely flushed out before the system is put
back into service. All you would gain by using water from the garden hose
would be rust, mud, and sand.

I brew with well water and always have just used tap water. My current house water report was 44ppm. You can take your water to your local Culligan shop and get a rudimentary analysis for free if you listen to what they can "do for you" sales pitch.

IMO, if it tastes good, brew with it. If you can't drink your well water or tap water, don't brew with it.

About the only style you can't brew with hard water would be something along the lines of a pilsner. It will also make your stouts a little more acrid.

bwiebe said:

All the softener does is remove impurities in your water, especially rust, and
does not ad anything to the water. The salt you add to the system is only used
to recharge the system and is completely flushed out before the system is put
back into service. All you would gain by using water from the garden hose
would be rust, mud, and sand.

Click to expand...

Water softening salts typically contain sodium. As the water passes over these salts, it exchanges ions associated with hardness (Ca+, Mg+) with sodium ions (Na+). This increases the sodium content of your water significantly and will likely result in a harsh bitter flavor. All the texts I've read recommend against using softened water for brewing.

My well water is soft as crap. It's practically DI water. The pH is great (5.7), but I have to add minerals.

Nobody has said anything about the film I get on my hard water. Will I get that in my beer? Or will the boil take whatever causes it to go away?

The water tasts fine, it's the film I'm afraid of at this point.

I'm re-reading Noonan's New Brewing Lager Beer right now and there is a great section on water in there. I was reading this thread yesterday and was hoping to find something in the book about what this film could be (cause I've seen it before myself in hard water... in Ireland I believe). He describes each metal/mineral/compound and what it does to your water. But I couldn't find anything about the film.

22 grains/gal hardness = 377 ppm hardness (assume as CaCO3). That's some pretty hard water. So, it's probably something associated with Ca+ or Mg+. Getting the analysis will tell you, but in the mean time... have you tried filtering it through a Brita-type filter? That should help get rid of some of the film.

Morebeer has a water filtering system for wells and city water.

Water Filtering | MoreBeer

You wont' get film on your beer, but you might get a small bit in the kettle form boiling. Frankly, I'd use the hard water, especially if it's easier. But, if you like the soft water, what the heck, right?

You can always clean the mineral deposits off your stuff if you ever need to, but you won't find a film or scum or anything in the beer. It's dissolved into the water and only shows itself after being very highly concentrated and then after the water it removed.

It's fine.

Thanks Again. Good and helpful information. I'll try the hard water. After I receive the test results I'll decide how involved I need to get with water chemistry.

It's quite possible that there is a small amount of naturally occurring oil in your groundwater. It may be getting taken out by running thru the softener medium, or it may be getting mixed with hops and leaving in that way.

I wrote a thread a while back on bleaching wells to eliminate algae bloom from your well. I do it twice a year. It looks like rust, smells, but disappears when you bleach the well and pump out the bleach.

And here it is:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/putting-your-best-tap-well-water-foreward-42122/

Just to expound a little on the film. Certain minerals and related compounds are only soluble in water to a certain degree. Once they go over a certain amount, they can come out of solution. This could be in the form of leaving deposits on plumbing lines and fixtures, or presumably in the form of a film on top of the water. So that's probably what your film is... minerals coming out of solution.

You might want your water tested for that film I just had a friend call me and tell me he had that film and it was caused by a leaking well pump seal and the stuff that was leaking was poison like PCB.
Pat.

bwiebe said:

All the softener does is remove impurities in your water, especially rust, and
does not ad anything to the water. The salt you add to the system is only used
to recharge the system and is completely flushed out before the system is put
back into service. All you would gain by using water from the garden hose
would be rust, mud, and sand.

Click to expand...

Sodium does make it in to the water and does in fact make a big difference in the enzyme activity of the wort as well as the taste of the final product.

My first year of brewing was with my softened water. All my beers had dry somewhat bitter after taste that left me feeling thirsty.

I have since switched to bypassing the softener, carbon filter and 5.2 buffer. The after taste is now gone.

Linc