Who's my Chicago homebrewers?

Williams 728
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.
wickman6 said:
northwest burbs, I go to Perfect Brewing Supply on rt 176 east of milwaukee ave in Libertyville. Pretty good prices, close to me and best of all, haven't found anything out of stock.
Click to expand...

Since I moved out to Des Plaines two months ago, this is where I've been going. The price on equipment is not so great, so I'm buying that all online now, but the ingredient prices are good, and they have a really good selection. Plus, being outside of C(r)ook County, the prices are just a bit lower anyways because of taxes. And I'll wait to fill my gas tank until I'm up there, saves me another $.20 a gallon.
 
cyclogenesis said:
Western 'burbs (Clarendon Hills) checking in..

So Who here does NOT add anything to their water? I am on two brews since moving to Chicago land.. first one is just ready now and is tasting good for green beer..
Click to expand...

Just a carbon filter.
 
mux said:
Just a carbon filter.
Click to expand...

Same here. That is, I don't dilute with RO/distilled.

I'm in Wheaton and our water goes through 3 plants before getting to us...I'm pretty sure none of them are using chloramines, but I usually just toss in a partial crushed Campden to be safe. I appreciate having tasty, soft water.

Here's my approximate profile: 34 Ca / 12 Mg / 8 Na / 14 Cl / 32 SO4 / 104 CaCO3

Depending on style I'll usually toss in 2-3g CaCl and occosionally 1g CaSO4. And 1-2 mL of Lactic Acid for lighter beers.
 
St Charles here!

Awesome brewing water in
St Charles.

Been brewing for about 2 years; all grain for 1 year.

I usually hit up the lhbs in St Charles good people; very helpful; good selection and prices are pretty decent.

Perfect brewing supply in Libertyville is also a pretty good shop. They crushed my grain for me when I bought a beer kit from them. Hit up Firkin while you're in Libertyville. It's worth the ride just to go to Firkin.
 
Anyone use tap water for top-off? Do you do anything to it? I normally need just around a gallon, I'd prefer to not have to buy any. I always brew (partial mash)with City water.
 
I do but I'm getting a weird off flavor in all my beers that fades over time or by letting the beer breathe like wine. The flavor can be tasted in the OG sample.

I'm going to use store bought water for my next brew to see if that's it. I'm on Lake Michigan water, and the water company told me no chloramine but we'll see.
 
rifraf said:
I do but I'm getting a weird off flavor in all my beers that fades over time or by letting the beer breathe like wine. The flavor can be tasted in the OG sample.

I'm going to use store bought water for my next brew to see if that's it. I'm on Lake Michigan water, and the water company told me no chloramine but we'll see.
Click to expand...

Whats the flovor?
 
mux said:
Whats the flovor?
Click to expand...

Really hard to describe. It's sort of an astringent, alcohol flavor without the "vapor" taste you get after a shot. It definitely lingers and stays in your mouth as an aftertaste.

Like I said it disappears in the bottle with aging, or if you just let your beer sit in the glass and "breathe".

LHBS owner tasted it, said he didn't know what it was. I'm guessing it's in the water, or some sort of scorched extract or twang.
 
My guess is chlorine. Sure there's no chloramines, but our water is loaded (by law) with chlorine. Closer you are to the plant, higher the concentration. It's obviously driven off in the boil, but not so in top-off water.

Some Campden or Potassium Metabisulfite will eliminate it instantly. So, collect your top-off water in a separate vessel, add a small amount, and then add to your fermenter.

Even if that's not the issue, it's an extremely easy, low-cost step.
 
Sounds good. I'd been leaving top off water out over night but if there is that much I'll buy some tablets. My next brew is going to be a gift so I want it to taste add good as possible.
 
rifraf said:
Sounds good. I'd been leaving top off water out over night but if there is that much I'll buy some tablets. My next brew is going to be a gift so I want it to taste add good as possible.
Click to expand...

Hmm...I don't remember how long it takes to evaporate out, but overnight should be a drastic reduction at least. Well, for $1.50 or so I suppose the Campden is a worth a shot for ya.
 
I top off when partial mashing with tap from the city, never have any off flavors (not attributed to a runaway ferm temp)...I do treat with gypsum and CaCl when brewing hoppier beers though...city water on its own doesn't seem to get me the hop flavor I'm looking for...great for stouts, though!
 
I've never had a problem when I lived in dupage or now in kane county. but it's been a while since I had to top off a batch.
 
Another northwest burbs here. Question about water treatment - if Chicago water is fairly soft and has a somewhat high level of chlorine, why add CaCl to your water? Wouldn't calcium carbonate be a better option?
 
Avondale here (just NW of Logan Square). Respect! :tank:

I do most of my shopping at the Brew and Grow on Kedzie. Its not the most amazing store out there but they have all of the basics covered. Hop selection is usually good too- last I checked plenty of Simcoe, Citra, and NZ hop varieties. I'm an avid gardener too, so it saves me another trip on that account.

Cheers Chicago peoples! :mug:
 
Flatspin said:
Question about water treatment - if Chicago water is fairly soft and has a somewhat high level of chlorine, why add CaCl to your water? Wouldn't calcium carbonate be a better option?
Click to expand...

Cl- (chloride) and Cl2 (chlorine gas) are totally different.

Cl2 is a poisonous green gas used as a disinfectant that may add chlorophenols to your beer...not good. Thankfully it evaporates out fairly quickly.

Cl is an ion (think salt - NaCl) that rounds, smooths and sweetens the beer. We have <20ppm of Chloride, which is low, so it's often desirable to boost this.
 
TyTanium said:
Cl- (chloride) and Cl2 (chlorine gas) are totally different.

Cl2 is a poisonous green gas used as a disinfectant that may add chlorophenols to your beer...not good. Thankfully it evaporates out fairly quickly.

Cl is an ion (think salt - NaCl) that rounds, smooths and sweetens the beer. We have <20ppm of Chloride, which is low, so it's often desirable to boost this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm glad I got this information today since I will be going out to pick up some supplies tonight anyways. I've been wondering about this for a while, just missed the obvious!
 
cyclogenesis said:
Western 'burbs (Clarendon Hills) checking in..

So Who here does NOT add anything to their water? I am on two brews since moving to Chicago land.. first one is just ready now and is tasting good for green beer..
Click to expand...

Western Burbs here, Downers Grove. I've been noticing a very slight off-flavor in my first 2 batches and have narrowed it down to either the water or poor temperature control. Regardless, they've been drinkable and most have enjoyed them!

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt my first 5 gal and partial grain. I'm going with distilled water just to be safe. I've been all extracts so far. I'd love to try some other local homebrews to learn more about what I'm lacking, and keep strong on what I'm doing right.

Cheers!
 
Hi everyone,

Just starting out, living in lincoln square area. My first attempt (a witbier kit bought from Brew Camp) is now one week old, fermenting away in the bottling bucket (oops). Besides that snafu, I've already made a few other mistakes--my cooking times seemed off becuase I had trouble getting the liquid back to a boil, yeast didn't look great when I pitched it, I forgot to take an initial hydrometer reading--but I'm not going to let myself get too bothered. More than anything, I'm looking forward to trying another recipe. West Coast IPA anyone?
 
rtb178 said:
I'm not going to let myself get too bothered. More than anything, I'm looking forward to trying another recipe.
Click to expand...

You're already ahead of the game!
 
Another Downers Grove brewer here. Been brewing since '93. :)

As for water, you absolutely have to filter Chicago water. It's nice and soft, but tastes nasty. My wife once made coffee with unfiltered water and I spotted it immediately. Yuck. The water is fine for light and amber beers. Beyond that, you need to work up some additions.
 
SpeedYellow said:
Another Downers Grove brewer here. Been brewing since '93. :)

As for water, you absolutely have to filter Chicago water. It's nice and soft, but tastes nasty. My wife once made coffee with unfiltered water and I spotted it immediately. Yuck. The water is fine for light and amber beers. Beyond that, you need to work up some additions.
Click to expand...

City water is good, in the city...I've had bad suburban water...a lot of times they treat it themselves after buying from chicago
 
heferly said:
City water is good, in the city...I've had bad suburban water...a lot of times they treat it themselves after buying from chicago
Click to expand...
I have to disagree. I lived in the city 10 years, just moved out here 2 yrs ago. The water is equally bad in the city as it is in the burbs using lake MI water. And the crazy part is the variability -- some days it tastes fine but other days it tastes and smells horrible, seemingly due to chemical additions.

The point is: brew without filtering and you've ruined your batch. BTDT.
 
SpeedYellow said:
The point is: brew without filtering and you've ruined your batch. BTDT.
Click to expand...

No offense, but that's ludicrous...all my beers brewed with tap water would prove otherwise
 
There's a whole tread for Chicago city water, I think. It's all the same source in the greater Chicagoland area. The inland treatment plants just add Chlorine, as far as I know. The variation comes from the lake itself (rainfall, runoff, seasonal currents, algae bloom, etc). Still, aside from turbidity, the mineral content is remarkably consistent year round, IMO. And it's fairly soft...I've never needed to dilute, and only make minimal additions. It is, by law, loaded with Chlorine though, so the filtering or Campden is a good idea.
 
SpeedYellow said:
No offense, but if you think chicago tap water is consistently good unfiltered, then your sense of taste is ludicrous.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree. We use a single stage, 5 micron filter and I can taste and smell the difference between tap and filtered.
 
i'm not that interested in how you think the water tastes, to each their own...but to say this definitively, "brew without filtering and you've ruined your batch", is still ludicrous
 
heferly said:
i'm not that interested in how you think the water tastes, to each their own...but to say this definitively, "brew without filtering and you've ruined your batch", is still ludicrous
Click to expand...

Are you wasting your time and ruining beer by brewing with unfiltered Chicago water? Absolutely not! Are flavors and aromas in your water something to take into consideration? Certainly! Will filtering your water and adding salts, acids and other things to hit a proper mash ph help considerably? You better believe it!

I've been brewing some good beer with unfiltered city water for a while now but do I notice a difference when I treat the water? Yep. But no, no one is "ruining" anything.
 
Isn't it easier to just buy bottles of distilled water and be done with it?
 

Similar threads

Yesfan
"Brew & Wine Hobby" Store in Danvers, MA. Good or bad?
Replies
1
Views
125
day_trippr
day_trippr
?
Advice on how to enjoy homebrewing over the years without becoming an alcoholic.
2 3
Replies
89
Views
3K
corkybstewart
corkybstewart
J
Non-alcoholic homebrew - buzzed feeling?
Replies
7
Views
571
mashdar
mashdar
brewED101
Hey from Chicago
Replies
5
Views
372
wallyLOZ
wallyLOZ
BeerNPasta
Illinois Suggestions for Craft breweries in Chicago
Replies
11
Views
768
thespoonman
T

Latest posts

Back
Top