blkandrust
Well-Known Member
My water is high in Iron,no sulphur odor.Are their any additives that can make well water more beer friendly?
Brewing with well water.
- Thread starter blkandrust
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
...........I would definitely just brew a pale ale with it and see how it is before messing with it.
I am lucky, my tap water makes great beer, so I have never tested it. I would love to try a brew with your well water though!
You may have a natural advantage hard for the rest of us to re-create!
I am lucky, my tap water makes great beer, so I have never tested it. I would love to try a brew with your well water though!
You may have a natural advantage hard for the rest of us to re-create!
babalu87
Well-Known Member
You need to send a sample to Ward Labs if your going to start tinkering with your water.
W-5 or W-6 is the test you want.
If you have high iron, you may find a water filter could help. I'd get a water filter and send a filtered sample to Ward Labs for analysis.
-a.
-a.
oceanselv
Well-Known Member
Potassium permangenate (KMnO4) will oxidize the iron in your water and remove it through filtration. However before buying a filter get a good water analysis from a certified lab. You may want to include a Coliform and E. coli bacteria test as well. You may have developed an immunity from small amounts of bacteria in the water if you have been drinking it long enough. Beer however is a great place to grow bacteria and would not have the same immunity as you may have.
Fortunately iron is easy to remove (if treating small quantities of water). All that is necessary is to aerate it. This oxidizes Fe(II), which meant iron on the +2 oxidation state, often called "clear water iron" because it is, to Fe(III) which is iron in the +3 oxidation state which quickly forms Fe(OH)3 which is insoluble and can be filtered out easily by pouring the water through a bed of clean sand. The sand can be cleaned after each use (by simply washing it) to be ready the next time you need to process water.
If you want to get iron out of the household water (because it is staining laundry, toilet bowls....) then an iron removal unit can be installed. Some of these simply aerate the water and pass it through a sand bed (which is automatically back flushed from time to time by a timer), some pass the water over "greensand", a manganese oxide coated sandstone. This also oxidizes Fe(II) . Still others oxidize Fe(II) with potassium pemanganate and the Fe(OH)3 is filtered off as with the other systems.
If you want to get iron out of the household water (because it is staining laundry, toilet bowls....) then an iron removal unit can be installed. Some of these simply aerate the water and pass it through a sand bed (which is automatically back flushed from time to time by a timer), some pass the water over "greensand", a manganese oxide coated sandstone. This also oxidizes Fe(II) . Still others oxidize Fe(II) with potassium pemanganate and the Fe(OH)3 is filtered off as with the other systems.
samc
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't 60-90 minutes of boiling kill those bad guys off? Not a bad idea to test your well water anyway.
Yes, absolutely. Beer making has been used for years as a way of sanitizing and stabilizing questionable water. It does not harbor any human pathogens. The low pH and bacteriostatic hop acids insure this. Could some diabolical mad scientist get something nasty to grow in beer? Perhaps but its going to be a lot more difficult than leaving mayonnaise out in the sun.
As for the well itself: before you get an occupancy permit the well must pass a test for colliforms. If it does not pass, it must be "shocked" (dump 25 trade percent hypochlorite down there and let it sit) until it does. Note that not all colliforms are pathogenic. They serve as "indicator organisms" i.e. indicators that the well has been contaminated with poo from some animal or animals not limited to humans. There are, of course, plenty of other bacteria that find they way into wells. These are harmless but would also wiped out by the boil in brewing. The concern with a well demonstrating fecal contamination is that some human pathogen lurks within. You wouldn't want your family drinking water containing cholera vibrios. It's not a bad idea to test your well from time to time especially if you live in an area where there is runoff from a farm. The test really should be done within 8 hours of collection - 24 is pushing it, so try to get a local lab rather than one to which you have to overnight Fedex the sample with gel packs.
As for the well itself: before you get an occupancy permit the well must pass a test for colliforms. If it does not pass, it must be "shocked" (dump 25 trade percent hypochlorite down there and let it sit) until it does. Note that not all colliforms are pathogenic. They serve as "indicator organisms" i.e. indicators that the well has been contaminated with poo from some animal or animals not limited to humans. There are, of course, plenty of other bacteria that find they way into wells. These are harmless but would also wiped out by the boil in brewing. The concern with a well demonstrating fecal contamination is that some human pathogen lurks within. You wouldn't want your family drinking water containing cholera vibrios. It's not a bad idea to test your well from time to time especially if you live in an area where there is runoff from a farm. The test really should be done within 8 hours of collection - 24 is pushing it, so try to get a local lab rather than one to which you have to overnight Fedex the sample with gel packs.
Random_Guy
Well-Known Member
I use my friend well water for all my brews. Makes the best brew! The water is delicious!
OP
OP
blkandrust
Well-Known Member
Random_Guy
Well-Known Member
I don't have a clue. I may be able to find out for ya.
djt17
Well-Known Member
My well water is high in iron; I had it tested by Ward Labs it is very hard, & highly alkaline. I cut it with about 33% RO water. I also add calcium chloride & lactic acid to reduce the alkalinity; beers are good.
OP
OP
blkandrust
Well-Known Member
djt17
Well-Known Member
Random_Guy
Well-Known Member
I cant taste any iron in his water(i drink it a lot), just a very crisp clean taste.
