Filtered vs tap water?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Nwa-brewing said:
I know... I ask a lot of questions and want to start with saying thank you!!!

Is there an advantage to using filtered/bottled water over just tap?

If you have non-chlorinated good quality tap water, it will work too. I typically use bottled spring water because my water is chlorinated.
 
I just use tap water - the beers I made with the 5 gal bottled spring water just didn't turn out the way I wanted. If you're doing light beers you may need to use bottled plus some additives.

Simple rule of thumb for new brewers - if your water tastes good out of the tap, you can probably brew with it. If it has off flavors (metallic, chlorine flavor, etc), so will your beer.
 
My well water has alot of iron but if I filter it, it is really good brewing water.

Why not filter it only cost a couple bucks and you can dry it and reuse it?
 
300RUM said:
My well water has alot of iron but if I filter it, it is really good brewing water.

Why not filter it only cost a couple bucks and you can dry it and reuse it?

What kind of filtration?
 
I've filtered my drinking/cooking water forever. Towns I've lived in have always had something in the water we/I didn't want to drink/consume. IF I can smell any kind of chlorine in the water, I won't drink it or cook with it.

Best way to know what's in the water, if you're unsure about filtering, is to get a lab to analyze it. I believe Ward Labs does it for most brewers/homebrewers.

BTW, with what can get into the drinking water, even by accident, I think it's smart to have at least some kind of filtration system in place. You can usually get something really good/great for under $200. I picked up a new system when I moved to the new place that filters down to the .2 micron level. My previous system, that produced great brews, only went to the .5 micron level.
 
I've filtered my drinking/cooking water forever. Towns I've lived in have always had something in the water we/I didn't want to drink/consume. IF I can smell any kind of chlorine in the water, I won't drink it or cook with it.

Best way to know what's in the water, if you're unsure about filtering, is to get a lab to analyze it. I believe Ward Labs does it for most brewers/homebrewers.

BTW, with what can get into the drinking water, even by accident, I think it's smart to have at least some kind of filtration system in place. You can usually get something really good/great for under $200. I picked up a new system when I moved to the new place that filters down to the .2 micron level. My previous system, that produced great brews, only went to the .5 micron level.

I think the filters I use are .5 micron
 
I can recommend the Moen carbon filter for under-the-sink installation. Filters last about 6 months in a household that uses it for all drinking and brewing purposes. The carbon is supposed to be effective in removing chlorine too.
 
I think the filters I use are .5 micron

The system I had before had two housings, like you linked to, with a different micron rated filter in each. First had larger openings, second smaller. Think I usually went with the 2 micron then .5 micron filters. It was good in the glass (either as water or beer :D). The new system I have does an even better job. Plus, the filters are super-easy to change. No tools needed (at all) unlike your system. I actually gave the 'wrench' I had from my system to my mother so she can use it with the filter housings on her RO system. Or rather, so I can since I have to change the filters for her. :rolleyes: :eek:
 
I use water filtered through the refrigerator for my one-gallon batches. Five gallons will sort of overload the filter...not really supposed to run that much through at a time. It makes awesome drinking water (GE Smartfilter). Because this is going into something I'm taking a lot of time and trouble to make well, I have started changing the filters twice as often per year as is recommended. Won't hurt, that's for sure. So far so good.
 
Back
Top