Another damn water question

[az_native]

I mainly used distilled water for brewing. Our tap water sucks and they use chlorine don't know the numbers. I can't find out anyway till Monday when they re-open. I am planning on brewing this weekend an extract chocolate milk stout. Since I never have brewed with any other water should I give spring a go to see if its better than distilled?

 

[flars]

Spring water will work just as well as distilled water. I would prefer spring water over distilled for the mineral content. Just my way of thinking though. May not make any difference.

 

[monkeeroot]

It all depends on what beer your are brewing and how much you want to focus on the advantages of water chemistry. It's really a pain in the ass to learn water chemistry, I'm still working on understanding it myself.

That being said, I have used all spring water in the past and have had no ill effects from it. As a matter of fact, one of my best tasting IPA's was made with just spring water.

You might also have some success using your tap water by just letting it sit in a pot for 24 hours. Almost all of the chlorine odor should dissipate in this time.

 

[CastleHollow]

Distilled or RO/carbon filtered water is actually recommended for extract brewing since the extract contains all of the dissolved minerals necessary to make beer. The mineral content of spring water varies, and you would be adding these to what you already have (but can't calculate) in the extract.

If you like the beers you've been making, I would stick with what's been working. Spring water won't kill your beer, though, so if you want to experiment, give it a shot and see which you prefer.

 

[patthebrewer]

Chlorine is an easy fix....1/2 campden tab will eliminate the chlorine, and the much harder to get rid of chloramine. Plus it adds some sulfates which can be desirable in some styles. I never brew with out it, in my neck of the woods.

I also highly recommend getting your water tested, that way you can really tailor your profile to meet the style your shooting for. Kinda like shooting blind without one.

I highly recommend these folks!

https://producers.wardlab.com/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=/

 

[JEHeikkila]

If your water sucks, something worth investing is this bad boy: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Culligan-Under-Sink-Drinking-Water-Filter-System/13074309 I installed it myself and was really easy. It cleaned all the chlorine out. They have 4 different levels of filters that you can buy ranging from $10-$40. The $40 one I believe to be the best one, it lasts 6 months where the others last only 3, and it filters out the most crap. It cheapened up my brewing (not by much since bottled water isn't that expensive, but in the long run) also it made the woman happy cause she had good water for drinking and cooking.

 

[Queequeg]

Distilled or RO/carbon filtered water is actually recommended for extract brewing since the extract contains all of the dissolved minerals necessary to make beer. The mineral content of spring water varies, and you would be adding these to what you already have (but can't calculate) in the extract.

+1. You don't need to worry to much about water with extract, because the water chemistry of the wort used to make the extract is still in the extract.

Use RO, DI or Distilled. Mineral water is fine if you pick one with a low mineral content.

If you are forced to use tap water use campden, and possibly carbon filter/boil to remove some of the (potential) hardness.

 

[unionrdr]

I use local spring water from White House Artisian Springs @ 25c per gallon. Here's an example of how they treat it; http://whitehousesprings.com/OurWater.php
So it's worked out fine for me from AE to PB/PM BIAB beers.

 

[Paradingbull]

+1 on trying the campden tablets. I had flavor issues that I cured with bottled water, but using straight tap water with the tablets gave the same good results. Every water supply is different so results vary, but if they work it is a cheap and simple fix, no more going to fetch water for a brew day.