spring water

I have access to a spring, and I would like to try to use that water for my next batch instead of the "spring water" you can get in the store. I am concerned, of course, about the sediment and other stuff in the water. What would be the best way to filter that stuff out? Do I have to boil?

I am an extract brewer and typically put a couple of gallons of cold water in the fermenter before I add the wort, so I would prefer not boiling and then cooling the water if possible.

Without testing the water for bactiria, I would not use it without first running it through a filter or boiling it. Use a Brita Pitcher system to filter it first unless you are sure it's free of any bacteria.

I was under the impression that brita filters just work on some minerals, chlorine and the like, but not bacteria. It's a pretty safe bet that the water has some bacteria in it, but i can get the water pretty close to the source. Its not like there is going to be deer poop in it. Anyway, does the brita filter take out bacteria?

Any bacteria would be killed through the boil, anyway. Certainly, though, you'll want to boil all of this water, even if you do a partial you'll want to boil the water you add to top-off the fermenter. Far too great a chance of a bacterial infection, boil it to be safe. That means you'll have to take extra steps to aerate before pitching, not that big a deal.

At the end of the day, not sure how much of a difference it will really make in the end product, but it's still cool to be able to say that the beer was made with local water.

Yeah, you are right. They only have an activated charcoal filter.

Give it a shot. You could always call it Deer Poop Pale Ale.

Boiling and cooling 1 or 2 gallons of water is no biggie. If you have another pot just boil it and set it into your sink w/ some ice and water and bring the temp down. Then dump it in your fermenter.