Reverse Osmosis Water

This is what I've been using for all of my batches because my water is extremely hard. What I've been wondering is whether this water is stripped of nutrients completely or what. I guess I really dont understand the exact ph or analysis of RO water. I'd like to tailor my water to the beer. However, I'm not sure on the exact specifics of what I'm dealing with.

RO water has no salts at all and my guess is that they neutralize it a fair amount. Most bottled water is somewhere between 6.2 and 7.9 I think so it isnt truelly neutral but it is close. So you went from extremely hard water to completely soft water. Where do you get RO water. Is it just bottled.

I am in the same situation as you. Over 99% of everything is removed from reverse osmosis water therefor it naturally has a low pH of around 5. It makes a nice base if you want to build your water up to the style. I usually just add a teaspoon or so of burton water salts per 5 gallons, or more or less if the style specifically calls for a certain level of hard/softness in the water. I use the 5 star pH stabilizer but I think on my next batch I will try it without and test the pH to see if it is necessary.

RO is completely stripped of everything, so it's really bad to use it for mashing. If you're an extract brewer, however, then it doesn't make a big difference.

ok, thanks guys. I get my water from the local grocery store. they have a machine that you fill yourself. its like 5 gal for $3. not a bad deal.

I use distilled water for mashing and I've gotten efficiency between 84-91% with every batch.

Using distilled water also gives me a softer hop edge in my beer, which I enjoy and consider an advantage.

RO water, like distilled water, is stripped of practically everything (... but it's only "pure" until you add something to it like, say, 10 lbs of malted barley). You can consider it to have no ions ("salts") of interest for all practical brewing purposes.

Jack said:

I use distilled water for mashing and I've gotten efficiency between 84-91% with every batch.

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If i remember correctly, though, mashing efficiency is completely separate from yeast health. You can get a decent extraction, but your yeast's health could suffer in the long-run given a deficiency of the proper ions.

That's how i understand it, and why i'll never use 100% RO/DI water for the full water load in a batch.

cactusgarrett said:

If i remember correctly, though, mashing efficiency is completely separate from yeast health. You can get a decent extraction, but your yeast's health could suffer in the long-run given a deficiency of the proper ions.

That's how i understand it, and why i'll never use 100% RO/DI water for the full water load in a batch.

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My percent attenuation has been within the range that White Labs specifies, too. I don't have a microscope to examine their condition, but regardless they're getting the job done and seem to do a great job turning the wort I give them into tasty beer.

I don't re-use yeast from batch to batch, so I'm not really worried about the long-term health of my yeast per se.

Plus, I'll try any reasonable brewing procedure once.

Distilled and RO water both strip any kind of mineral content out of the water. Some of which are very beneficicial to making good beer. If you have extremely hard water perhaps using a mixture of distilled/RO water with some tap water in it would be the way to go.

I know that RO and distilled water is bad for making coffee and tea, so I'd imagine its not the greatest for brewing. It will work, but I like to go with the bottled spring water instead.

Edcculus said:

I know that RO and distilled water is bad for making coffee and tea, so I'd imagine its not the greatest for brewing. It will work, but I like to go with the bottled spring water instead.

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You know, I hear this all the time but I make my coffee with RO water every day and every single person who has it complements me on it and tells me it is better than any other home made coffee. As a bonus you don't ever have to descale or clean your coffee pot.

I also have used RO water since my very first beer (I have a lot of iron in my water) and my beer is great according to me and everyone who tries it. I do, as stated before, add some minerals to my brewing water, but it's nothing complicated.

We're not trying to personally attack you (or any 100% RO/DI user), so, sorry if it comes off that way. We're just stating the science behind it and how it relates to healty yeast. If it works out for you, i'll be the first to tell you keep doing what you do. As long as you like the results, that's the important thing.

It was never taken as and attack, I just wanted to be clear that great beer can be made with RO water. The science can be worked around, minerals that are made to be added to brewing water are easily had at all brewing shops. So as long as you have a sound understanding of the science behind it, you can actually have more control over your water by using RO water and starting from scratch.

Sure sure. I think some (at least me) were under the impression just RO/DI was being used, and nothing else (minerals) was added. That's all.

Tonedef131 said:

You know, I hear this all the time but I make my coffee with RO water every day and every single person who has it complements me on it and tells me it is better than any other home made coffee. As a bonus you don't ever have to descale or clean your coffee pot.

I also have used RO water since my very first beer (I have a lot of iron in my water) and my beer is great according to me and everyone who tries it. I do, as stated before, add some minerals to my brewing water, but it's nothing complicated.

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Honestly, I'ven never actually experimented to see the results. I just listen to Alton Brown.

Ok, so RO water is stripped competely. so if i add 1 gallon of tap to 6 gal of RO then i can divide all of hte minerals in the tap water by 7. correct?

eschatz said:

Ok, so RO water is stripped competely. so if i add 1 gallon of tap to 6 gal of RO then i can divide all of hte minerals in the tap water by 7. correct?

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Definitely take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm a relatively new homebrewer. But I was told in a beginners class at my LHBS that you shouldn't use straight tap water because the chlorine creates an unhealthy environment for the yeast. You can use a simple carbon filter it will strip the chlorine though.

Has anyone else heard this? I've been buying bottled water to brew with and even though it's not that expensive, I'll stop wasting my money if it's unnecessary.

rudy0498 said:

Definitely take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm a relatively new homebrewer. But I was told in a beginners class at my LHBS that you shouldn't use straight tap water because the chlorine creates an unhealthy environment for the yeast. You can use a simple carbon filter it will strip the chlorine though.

Has anyone else heard this? I've been buying bottled water to brew with and even though it's not that expensive, I'll stop wasting my money if it's unnecessary.

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yes it will but you need to run the water slowly through the filter. I'm not sure how slow. I usually take about 1 hour to fill 12-14 gallons. Carbon doesn't actually filter the chlorine, it absorbs it.. If you run the water too fast there is not enough contact time between the water and carbon.