Unsanitized water in carboy?

[ChubbyChipmunk]

I'm new to brewing (just brewed fourth batch) and have wondered about the cold water added to the primary fermentor. The directions that come with my extract kits say to add 2 gallons of water to the fermentor, then add the wort then top off to 5 gallons with more water. I've just been putting tap water in....and my beers have come out fine so far, but isnt that unsanitized water? How does that not infect the beer? Am I missing something? Thanks for your help!!

 

[Revvy]

I do it all the time....

Here's my standard rant to put it in perspective...I think it come more from new brewers little understanding of things, then any revelence. I think because we're afraid of this new beer making thing when we start out (heck half the time we're afraid were gonna make something toxic and poison our friends, OR that if we look at our beer wrong it's going to die a horrible death or both) that we forget some basic truths about the world. I wrote this last year when three folks posted something about this in the same day...

Do you brush your teeth with your tap water? Do you shower with it and maybe get some in your mouth? Do you use ice made with the water coming into your house? Do you Drink it?

Do you live in a city that is currently having a boil water advisory?

Have we been so brainwashed from buying little plastic bottles of overpriced water (that may have ALSO come out of a tap, and MAY have less governement regulations than our municipal water) that we have forgotten that that sink in our kitchen isn't JUST used to wash dishes with? I have always found this fear that folks have of their own water ridiculous. If you can drink your water you can brew with it (all arguments about chlorimines aside, I'm talking about sanitization.) If you can drink the water out of your tap without getting sick, you can top off your fermenter with it. I've done it all my brewing career and NEVER had any issues.

I've just found this blind trust people have over those tiny plastic bottles over our own home water is ludicrious....

Let's start with an independent four year study of the bottled water industry, completed in 1999 by the Natural Resources Defense Council.1 The report of the results along with a petition to the FDA stated that there were "major gaps in bottled water regulation and that bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water". The study's principal findings were that although most bottled water seems good quality, "some bottled water contains bacterial contaminants, and several brands of bottled water contain synthetic organic chemicals (such as industrial solvents, chemicals from plastic, or trihalomethanes - the by-products of the chemical reaction between chlorine and organic matter in water) or inorganic contaminants (such as arsenic, a known carcinogen) in at least some bottles".

.........

This leads us to the subject of the chlorination of our public drinking water in the USA. This law is in effect to sterilize and disinfect the water, eradicating all types of bacteria.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which is a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting health and the environment, more than 25% of all bottled water comes from a public source. That's right - it's the same water that's piped to homes and businesses.

How can that happen? Because they can. No one is demanding truth in advertising from water bottling companies!

Standards for purity exist, of course. BUT ...Bottled water purity is regulated by the FDA, and because the FDA puts low priority on water, bottlers are inspected and tested less than once a year. According to one FDA official, it's the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that the product complies with laws and regulations.

The result: Some do, and some don't. And even worse, if the water is bottled and delivered within the same state, there are NO regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water, so if a bottler uses a public source that has passed their inspection, it should be OK to drink - right? Not necessarily.

In tests done by the NRDC, at least one sample from a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical contaminants, including carcinogens in levels exceeding state or industry standards. Not to be argumentative, but I have to wonder why any level of carcinogens is OK.

My understanding is that our municipal water sources are tested several times a day. That's how they are able to have a boil water declaration if something is detected.

Personally...I trust my tap water and my plumbing more than I think it's worth buying water, or bothering to boil it, if I don't have a BWA in my town.

Relax.

 

[knotquiteawake]

I don't like the taste of my tap water so I don't brew with it. i spend about $1/gallon on the el cheapo gallon jugs at the store, so I guess it adds about $6-7 to my total brew cost but its worth it to me.

 

[Revvy]

I don't like the taste of my tap water so I don't brew with it. i spend about $1/gallon on the el cheapo gallon jugs at the store, so I guess it adds about $6-7 to my total brew cost but its worth it to me.

But that's a taste issue, not out of a sanitation fear.

 

[knotquiteawake]

I have a fear that if it tastes bad then its bad for the beer, not necessarily bacteria/virus wise but like "chemically?" I understand in my head that yes, the water out of the tap is "clean." I have used it in beers before too but usually pre-boil so that whatever they're putting into the water has a chance to boil off.

But you're totally right with the safety of the tap water. The water itself isn't going to infect the beer. Maybe the sink faucet has some nasties on it, or the jug you filled with water has some nasties on it. Not very likely though. It must take a lot to infect beer because I've certainly dodged the bullet several times.

 

[HHP]

From what I understand, taste doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. There are a lot of factors can influence taste, such as pH which is fixed by brewing (and possibly some lactic acid). Get a water report from ward labs and see if you actually have to spend that $7 on each batch.

 

[ChubbyChipmunk]

thanks for the help. i knew there was gonna be old posts about that, but couldnt find them. thanks again.

p.s., i drink about 10-20 bottles of tap water every day, so im not worried about drinking it. just thought it might cause problems with the beer since everything else that touches it needs to be sanitized

 

[audger]

From what I understand, taste doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot

that doesnt really make much sense to me. if the main ingredient (90-something % of the finished product) going into the beer tastes bad, how could the beer taste good? its not an issue of sanitation, but quality of ingredients.

i have city water, which varies day-to-day with the chlorine and mineral content, and i make sure to pass it thru atleast a charcoal filter before i brew with it. having grown up on fantasticly delicious well water from a deep aquifer, moving to where i am now was quite a change. the tap water is tollerable enough that i dont spend money on bottled, but i wouldnt say its 'good'. there are reasons why many people spend so much time fussing with their water profiles.

 

[SamBrewer]

My philosofy is that you have 2 choice:

1) you sanitize everything just to be sure that you have done all you can do to prevent from contaminating your beer

2)you do not sanitize becouse you are pretty sure ( and results tell you this) that in the way you brew and with materials/ingredients you use you will not infect your beer.


this two point of view both works for me. But for example I can't understand people who sanitize bottle and don't sanitiza caps... It doesn't have any sense to me.

I used tap water for many beers in the past, but now that I take more care in sanitization and in all the aspects of brewing process it's quite noormal to me to follow point 1 instead point 2... but anyway it's just my way to think

 

[microbusbrewery]

I doubt you'd have much chance of getting an infection from using untreated tap water. There is a chance, and like some of the previous posts have indicated, you just have to decide whether or not you're willing to take the risk. Keep in mind, there's a difference between sanitized and sterilized. Tap water is sanitary but it isn't sterile...but neither is boiled wort unless you're using a pressure cooker.

My concern would be more in the realm of potential for undesired off-flavors from chlorine and other additives in the tap water. I switched to all-grain brewing years ago, but when I did extract brews I always boiled the water I was using to top off the fermenter. Was it absolutely necessary...probably not. But I figured it didn't hurt anything and it gave me peace of mind knowing I'd reduced the chance of an infections.

 

[LordUlrich]

The thing is your tap water is sanitized(assumeing you are on a public. Water supply system). That is what the chlorine or chlorimine is for.