Top Up water need to be boiled?

[doctorRobert]

So I'm doing my first brew tomorrow, and I'm not going to be able to boil a full 5 gallons at once...


after my boil and I cool my wort, can I top it off with filtered tap water (i have pretty tasty tap water), or do I need to boil and cool that too (which I would do ahead of time). Is there much of a risk?

 

[phatuna]

the risk is minimal

consider putting your top up water into the freezer for an hour or two while you brew. don't freeze it solid, just get the temp down into the 30's or 40's. top up w/ that to cool your wort much faster

 

[McGarnigle]

I boil and cool mine. I don't have a filter. I don't know how much risk there is.

 

[ChshreCat]

If there's chlorine in your water, I wouldn't use it straight from the tap. I just get my top up water in jugs from the store. 75 cents or so a gallon isn't bad.

 

[SoonerDoc]

I've filled directly out of the tap and, so far (twice), I haven't had any problems.

 

[vinyl_key]

I'll boil up some water, put it in some sanitized 1 gallon glass jugs, and put those in the fridge the day before I brew. Cold, sanitized top-off water.

That being said, I've also gone straight from the tap, and used bottled distilled water. Never had a problem with any of those methods.

Topping off from a tap carries a tiny infection risk though. How small depends on your tap and water supply. If you want to be on the safe side, boil or use bottled water.

 

[Grinder12000]

I've never heard of anyone ever having a problem with tap water and it's done all the time.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I used to use tap water to top up with no problems. However, my tapwater is erratic. I would only use it when it tasted fine, as yours does. If it peels off your skin when you take a shower (Chlorine) then boil it first.
Taste goes in, taste comes out.

 

[Skacorica]

if your tap water tastes fine, use it. Hell, turn it to cold and top off to help cool your wort. Infact, in my area there is a local brewpub that does not filter their water at all when they brew. Course rocky mountain water is pretty dang clean/pure

 

[steinsato]

When I did Partial mash brews I wouldn't top with tap water. I always used refridgerated bottled water (the 2.5 gallon size) The cold water acted as a wort chiller as well. I just didn't trust my tap water.

 

[Erythro73]

There is a small chance there's some bacteria in your tap water. I think so. But a very small one. But if you're doing extract batches, you can use distilled water which pretty much guarantee you won't have any bacteria.

Or, if it helps you RDWHAHB, then you can boil your tap water.

Or just don't boil, as I never saw someone had any problem with simple tap water in here. I just think there's some small chances.

 

[ToddO]

I use distilled water to eliminate possibility. 2.5 gallons is only around 2 bucks and I put it in the freezer a couple hours before brewing. I sanitize the spout before pouring and then pour it in to the wort cooling it down. Easy!

 

[doctorRobert]

I use distilled water to eliminate possibility. 2.5 gallons is only around 2 bucks and I put it in the freezer a couple hours before brewing. I sanitize the spout before pouring and then pour it in to the wort cooling it down. Easy!

Sanitize the spout! That's a little OCD for my taste....

If I head to the store before I brew I'll pick up some gallon water jugs only because I dont have any to put in the fridge now. If not I'll just go with the tap water, I use a brita filter, but for some reason I like the idea of using natural tap water. It's not like I live in LA or anything. My town does send out a water profile, which I dont have, but they seem to pride themselves on the water. Some sort of natural cedar forest filtration or some stuff....

 

[NorCalAngler]

Don't use distilled water because it lacks the minerals you want for your brew. Use spring water instead.

 

[ChshreCat]

Don't use distilled water because it lacks the minerals you want for your brew. Use spring water instead.

That's for mashing. For top up water, minerals don't matter.