Distilled water?

I have used distilled water in all my brews, whats this I hear about it not being good to brew with? I thought malt grain has all the minerals I need to convert.

conversion is not performed by minerals, but by enzymes.

most minerals found in (non-distilled) water promote healthy yeast.

If you are doing all grain, then distilled water is probably ok. I would not use it without yeast nutrient, myself. Most of the breweries I've been to filter the water, but that's it. A couple breweries in the Las Vegas area process their water extensively. It's good enoughfor people to drink, but the county won't let them brew with it.

I have never had a problem with conversion or fermentation so I was wondering what the distilled thing was about?

I think it is largely about taste. Good tasting water yields a good tasting brew. If you like how distilled water tastes (many don't - try a side by side blind taste comparing to spring water some time) and you are satisfied with the results, then don't mess with it.

gabe said:

I have used distilled water in all my brews, whats this I hear about it not being good to brew with? I thought malt grain has all the minerals I need to convert.

Click to expand...

What's your reasoning behind brewing with distilled? Personally, I use either spring water from the supermarket, or water from my refrigerator dispenser that has an inline filter. But I just don't understand why, if you're going through the trouble to buy gallons of water at the store, you'd choose distilled, considering that it's roughly twice as expensive---at least at my local stores it is.

Unless, of course, you have a still. Then I kind of understand.

Distlilled water is definitley Sterile. i.e., there ain't nothing alive in it.

david_42 said:

A couple breweries in the Las Vegas area process their water extensively. It's good enoughfor people to drink, but the county won't let them brew with it.

Click to expand...

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

glibbidy said:

Distlilled water is definitley Sterile. i.e., there ain't nothing alive in it.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. It may have been sterile when it was collected, but it sits for a while, usually, before it's purchased and/or used, which is plenty of time for stuff to get into it.

I would agree that it is free of minerals and pollutants.

bikebryan said:

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. It may have been sterile when it was collected, but it sits for a while, usually, before it's purchased and/or used, which is plenty of time for stuff to get into it.

I would agree that it is free of minerals and pollutants.

Click to expand...

And not to be additionally pedantic, odds are the container it was put in wasn't sterile -- merely sanitary.

AND, your boiling it anyways. If your using distilled water from a bacteria/virus standpoint your 1hr boil will solve that issue.

Depending on what style of beer you are brewing, ultra-soft water (as distilled water is) can be good or bad. Its good with Pilsners and lighter lagers. Its bad in English/Irish Stouts.

No , I buy from a Local water filtration store. They do it all right there. I fill my own bottles. The water taste awsome and if that's all Charlie P cares about then it's good enough for me.

Good call - don't mess with success.

kornkob said:

And not to be additionally pedantic, odds are the container it was put in wasn't sterile -- merely sanitary.

Click to expand...

Actually the containers may be sterile. I've seen milk jugs made which I would think is similar to the process of making the galon water bottles. They use a "blow mold" machine. Plastic pellets are heated to melting, the jug is formed, and the milk is dispensed into it while the plastic is still hot. The whole process takes less than a minute! However I suppose that there may very well be mictobes in the air space in the bottle.

Well I clean the bottles at the store with hot water prior to filling . Then the water is boild during the process, the beer tastes great so I have no reason to change.

david_42 said:

If you are doing all grain, then distilled water is probably ok. I would not use it without yeast nutrient, myself.

Click to expand...

Actually it is ok to do extract brewing with distilled water but when doing AG you need the minerals. So if using distilled water to do AG then add the correct minerals needed to brew the style you are brewing.

It's supposed to be unhealthy to drink distilled water because it screws up the osmotic gradients in cells. The cells in your body or, I imagine, yeast would release minerals into the water. I don't know if this would slow the activity of the yeast, but it's something to think about.

Distilled water shouldn't taste like anything. And that's why many people think it doesn't taste very good.

I don't change processes lightly. If it is working well and you like the product, don't screw with it.

If distilled water was unhealthy to drink someone should warn my city, and close down the water company! I'll do it! Here I come to save the day! This is news to me, I'll check on that.

I also thought that it was bad to drink distilled water, but i may be mistaken.

If it works, then more power to you.

Enjoy!

I have been using distilled water in my brews. So far so good. I usually add gypsum to it during the boil.

I've had some success both ways, I'd stay away from tap water altogether, the fluorides and chlorides that are added to commercial / public water systems won't be removed by the typical inline filter and can add a taste you probably don't want. My co-op water well, is, to be polite, nasty. I've had to install quite the filtration system just to keep the manganese from collecting in the water heater, but that's a different story. (www.nu-calgon.com) Bottom line, I use spring water for everything now, the minerals that are naturally in it are more palatable to me than adding something that was once removed.