Brewing in NYC...city water OK?

[pain++]

Hi Guys,

I just moved to NYC and, after settling in, am ready to start brewing again. My big question is, can I use the city water to brew? Or should I get spring water from my local bodega.

Thanks!

 

[climateboy]

I grew up in New York City, and my rule has always been...let it run cold out of the tap, then drink away. It's great water. The only concern can be your pipes. So if it tastes good, use it. If not, slap a water filter on your faucet and try that. I'm in DC now, and I brew with water from a filter on my faucet with great results.

Some recipes, and some all-grain brewing situations, call for specific water conditions. If that is a concern for you, then get a water composition report from the city. But again, pipes in NY are in some cases 100 years old. So I'd settle on, if it tastes, good, use it.

 

[pain++]

Great, thanks for the reply! I personally love my NYC water, I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't any treatment going on with it that would cause my little yeasties to be unhappy.

Thanks again!

 

[Brewer3401]

I've been to Manhattan a couple of times and thought the water was extremely good.

I have great water where I live, and could not believe NYC water tasted as good.

I have super soft water ( <50 ppm), and don't know about NYC.

Google water hardness map, or get a cheap test done.

 

[chillHayze]

There are rumors Dasani is bottled NYC tap water...

 

[pain++]

The water's definitely hard, which is good news for me, bad news for the shower

I'll be brewing with it next week

 

[springer]

NYC water has always rated to be one of the best. The water comes from many reservoirs in my area of NY. My water comes from the Hudson river its also very good but sometimes during a long drought we can't drink it. The salt line moves up river

 

[kevmoron]

Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report

 

[pain++]

Thanks to all who replied! I brewed my Ginger Saison this weekend (man, MUCH smaller apartment in NYC!), and it's bubbling away merrily in the primary fermenter. All signs point to awesome!

 

[Steiger66]

NYC water is one of the best. I lived here all my life. It always taste good right from the tap. Rinses real nice in the shower.

 

[Airborneguy]

I've been brewing with it for 5 years with great results.. right out of the tap.

And PS... its a well known fact around here that its the water that makes our breads and pizza superior to pretty much everywhere else (although the best loaf of fresh bread I've ever had was in Kosovo).

 

[Skins_Brew]

I am a neutral party to the pizza controversy, as I am from DC. I have had pizza in Chicago and NYC and Chicago takes the cake every time. I mean, one slice of that deep dish is enough to satisfy, while that paper thin grease soaked slice from NY takes 3 or 4 to be content.

 

[NYCBrewGuy]

Heresy! Chicago deep dish is not pizza... at least not in the way anybody from the east coast thinks of pizza. NYC pizza is the best and a taste of the pies offered by any of NYC's top joints - DiFara, L&B, or, my new favorite, Motorino will quickly help you forget any "grease soaked slice" you may have had at a lesser eatery.

As for brewing - I've only made a handful of brews in my 6 months as a homebrewer but NYC water with no additions seems to do fine so far. I'm also fairly certain that Sixpoint uses the local water (and they often speak favorably of NYC water in interviews). And lets not forget that Brooklyn was once the brewing capital of the US.

Now all we need is a good home brew shop in town...

 

[Airborneguy]

www.brooklyn-homebrew.com

 

[Pivzavod]

I've been brewing with it for 5 years with great results.. right out of the tap.

And PS... its a well known fact around here that its the water that makes our breads and pizza superior to pretty much everywhere else (although the best loaf of fresh bread I've ever had was in Kosovo).

That is correct. A friend of mine in FL told me there is a bagel store that brings water from NYC to make bagels in FL.


There is some bottled water company that uses NYC tap water (not Dasani). They pump it in a warehouse in Brooklyn and transport it by truck to bottling plant in NJ. The whole gimmick of this bottled water is that its from NYC and its not driven a long distance, so its more green. You might as well just drink NYC tap water and avoid buying bottled water all together.

 

[Pivzavod]

Heresy! Chicago deep dish is not pizza... at least not in the way anybody from the east coast thinks of pizza. NYC pizza is the best and a taste of the pies offered by any of NYC's top joints - DiFara, L&B, or, my new favorite, Motorino will quickly help you forget any "grease soaked slice" you may have had at a lesser eatery.

As for brewing - I've only made a handful of brews in my 6 months as a homebrewer but NYC water with no additions seems to do fine so far. I'm also fairly certain that Sixpoint uses the local water (and they often speak favorably of NYC water in interviews). And lets not forget that Brooklyn was once the brewing capital of the US.

Now all we need is a good home brew shop in town...

L&B's changed owners a few years ago and its not as good as it used to be for square slices.

http://www.totonnos.com/ is still good.