Portland, OR E. Coli Infection

Boo!

Over the TG holiday weekend a notice went out that E. Coli had been found in one of the reservoirs and that all tap water had to be boiled. I received this news 30 minutes after I had just finished a batch of pale ale that I had topped off with "fresh" tap water!

I brewed on a Saturday and I wasn' able to get any supplies until today, so I couldn't reboil, rehop, and repitch. I've decided to let things lie and see if the beer is tougher than bad water.

From what I've gathered there may have been no actual bacteria in the water. Here's hoping!

I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think beer is a very friendly environment for e. coli anyhow.

E. coli wouldn't proliferate in beer, but theoretically, it could survive in there and it only takes one to infect you (i.e., E. coli 0157 H7). However, it depends on what they really found in the water. Many strains of E. coli don't cause disease in humans. If they found coliform bacteria in general, that doesn't mean as much as if they found E. coli 0157 H7. Plus the water goes through treatment at the plant, so it reduces the chance of bacteria ending up at your house.

All this being said, it really is best to boil and cool tap water before topping off. If you don't believe me, take apart your sink faucet and have a look inside.

That which does not kill you will only make you stronger. I wouldn't worry too much, but I'm also not giving legal, binding medical advice.

Serve it to people you hate...

I was visiting Portland this weekend and was disappointed several of the breweries I was going to visit closed up on Saturday evening when the warning came out. The Deschutes and Bridgeport taphouses closed. They have to be able to serve water in order to be open, and I guess they didn't have enough bottled water or something. Several other brewpubs stayed open though, including Rogue.

Since they tested the water last Wednesday and it showed E Coli, I don't think you have a problem as people are not dropping dead yet. Unless of course our wonderful mayor is organizing another cover up attempt.

All my drinking & brewing water is RO so I am feeling

thats funny because I remember being in a small state of panic after I read that. I had just pitched my 1.5L starter into my fresh batch when I sat down and saw the warning. Then I remembered that I do a full boil every time now and that Im safe. Im betting you are perfectly safe too...

I've done some reading and have come to realize that aside from the possibility of off flavors I'm good to go.

I do a full boil as well, but the last half gallon of the bucket was made up of water straight from the tap on Saturday. This might be what makes me boil a couple of gallons of water the night before for just this eventuality.

I am on the east side of the Willamette, so it wasn't an issue at my house, but I did notice that the Walmart in St. Helens was clear out of all bottled water last night. My first thought was, "Wow, a lot of people must be doing extract beers out here!"

Beer is safer to drink than water anyway. Pathogenic bacteria cannot live in it due to the low pH, alcohol concentration and lack of oxygen.

BioBeing said:

Beer is safer to drink than water anyway. Pathogenic bacteria cannot live in it due to the low pH, alcohol concentration and lack of oxygen.

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Then how can they survive in the stomach?... that seems like a harsher environment than beer. (I'm differentiating between survival and growth in beer.)

Perhaps it can survive in beer for a time (weeks?) until the pH and other environmental stressors denature its enzymes needed for survival, thereby killing it. If this is the case, you're right that it wouldn't be an issue.

E. coli have evolved to pass through the stomach on their way to the intestine, where they normally live. They don't normally spend a few weeks in 5 % ABV beer.