My water is super soft, and I think I can taste it

[billpaustin]

I'm pretty new, brewed about 8 batches so far. They've all come out well, and they get drained pretty quickly. My water is all rainwater, run through micron filters and a UV light. It is very soft, and I think I can taste it.

The beers have been very good, but there is a kind of "flat" taste, which reminds me of the water taste. Like something is missing, maybe. Is that possible? Should I try to add some minerals?

My favorite beer in the world is a Munich wheat beer; when I spent some months in Munich, I got addicted to good wheat beer But I learned that Munich water is pretty hard.

 

[acidrain]

The only way to know for sure is to get your filtered rain water tested and go from there. It will probably benefit from some calcium chloride and gypsum additions.
Check out the brew water starter in the brew science forum stickies.

 

[edds5p0]

Some salts are important to get a full flavor profile. I had very soft water where I used to live and adding some salts made a substantial difference in the flavor of my beeers.

 

[billpaustin]

Salts, that is what it is missing! I never suspected that beer needed salt.

 

[edds5p0]

Salts, that is what it is missing! I never suspected that beer needed salt.

When I say salts, I don't just mean NaCl. Magnesium, calcium, sulfate, sodium, chloride, and other ions all contribute to flavor. I suggest reading the earlier suggested material to understand how these electrolytes play into how your beer tastes.