Hey this is my first time both brewing and posting. I had always wanted to try brewing and desided about a week ago to go and buy one of those home brew kits. It was a lot of fun brewing but I have some concerns. Number one is with the water I used. I have well water at my house, but it seems to have a lot of iron in it. Will this give an off flavor to my brew? Second, the kit that I had came with hop pellets. I used a hop bag to cut down on some of the crum, but there still seems to be a lot in there. Is there a way that I can filter the beer while I transfer it to a secondary fermenter or do I need to just live with it? Thanks
First Beer!!
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noggins
Well-Known Member
welcome
the water you use does have an impact on the end product, since you boiled it you'll be fine. The crum in the beer will settle as it ferments. Let it sit 3-4 weeks in primary, and when you rack into your bottling bucket you'll leave behind all that mess, which you can use for your next batch if ya want.
the water you use does have an impact on the end product, since you boiled it you'll be fine. The crum in the beer will settle as it ferments. Let it sit 3-4 weeks in primary, and when you rack into your bottling bucket you'll leave behind all that mess, which you can use for your next batch if ya want.
Use a fine mesh strainer when you pour the wort into the fermenter. The iron probably will give an off flavor,not sure what that might be. Never delt with that one. I use hop bags myself,just tie the not all the way toward the end of the bag. The hop pellets will crumble back into a grainy state,& swell up to about the size of a baseball. I do that,& get very little of it coming through. And welcome to the obsession!
edb23
Well-Known Member
hey, welcome to the forum.
all of my brewing has been with tap water from the cities of philadelphia and pittsburgh, and everythings been fine. if city tap water works, im betting your well water might too. the problems usually develop with water chemistry when you're trying to make very hoppy beers.
as for the hop gunk, most people including myself don't even use a secondary. let it sit in the primary for three to four weeks, and everything should settle to the bottom. when you rack to the bottling bucket, be real careful not to disturb that layer of yeast and hop gunk at the bottom, and it should all be good. if you want to secondary, same thing applies, when you rack almost all of that stuff gets left behind if you're careful
edit: other people beat me to it. but just for some insight, i usually just throw the hops right in the kettle and never have too much of an issue
all of my brewing has been with tap water from the cities of philadelphia and pittsburgh, and everythings been fine. if city tap water works, im betting your well water might too. the problems usually develop with water chemistry when you're trying to make very hoppy beers.
as for the hop gunk, most people including myself don't even use a secondary. let it sit in the primary for three to four weeks, and everything should settle to the bottom. when you rack to the bottling bucket, be real careful not to disturb that layer of yeast and hop gunk at the bottom, and it should all be good. if you want to secondary, same thing applies, when you rack almost all of that stuff gets left behind if you're careful
edit: other people beat me to it. but just for some insight, i usually just throw the hops right in the kettle and never have too much of an issue
onipar
Well-Known Member
Piggybacking off the "gunk" questions, I recently bought my second kit (have yet to brew it) and as I was reading the instruction sheet I noticed that it listed an optional ingredient for clarification: Irish moss or Whirlfloc.
Now, the guys at the LHBS didn't mention it, and the kit doesn't automatically come with it. (This is for a Nut Brown Ale by the way).
Will proper straining, muslin bags, and a good long sit in the primary be enough to clarify, or should I pick up some Irish Moss for this?
EDIT: Congrats on your first brew, DK_Murphy! I also use well water, not a lot of iron, but it *is* hard water. I haven't yet tasted my *finished* first brew, but the samples didn't seem to have any off metal type flavors.
Now, the guys at the LHBS didn't mention it, and the kit doesn't automatically come with it. (This is for a Nut Brown Ale by the way).
Will proper straining, muslin bags, and a good long sit in the primary be enough to clarify, or should I pick up some Irish Moss for this?
EDIT: Congrats on your first brew, DK_Murphy! I also use well water, not a lot of iron, but it *is* hard water. I haven't yet tasted my *finished* first brew, but the samples didn't seem to have any off metal type flavors.
edb23
Well-Known Member
irish moss is something i put in most of my beers i want to be clear just for fun, but i honestly haven't noticed much difference between the beers with and without
Generally,1 week past the point where FG is reached would be fine for an average gravity brew. But if you've got some off flavors,maybe another week or two. Bottle it up when a sample tastes good,but still "green". It'll have a slight haze to it. That's plenty to carbonate/age with.
onipar
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I guess I'll just skip it this time around and see how it comes out. Maybe then I'll try it on the next batch.
biggerthanyou83
Well-Known Member
Welcome.
All the left over parts that are floating in your brew will sink to the bottom of your primary. No need to worrie about that. However, idk how it will be with the well water. How does it taste drinking it from the tap? I also have well water thats high in iron and i use bottled spring water with all my brews just because i didnt want to risk it. Keep us updates! I want to know how it turned out.... OH i forgot.. Do u hae a filter or a water system on your water?
All the left over parts that are floating in your brew will sink to the bottom of your primary. No need to worrie about that. However, idk how it will be with the well water. How does it taste drinking it from the tap? I also have well water thats high in iron and i use bottled spring water with all my brews just because i didnt want to risk it. Keep us updates! I want to know how it turned out.... OH i forgot.. Do u hae a filter or a water system on your water?
Hey thanks for the advice. I have already noticed that a lot of the gunk has settled down. I really haven't noticed an off flavor with the water here at my house, but I thought I would ask all of you and see if I had anything to worry about. I will definitely keep posting my progress with all of my brews.
Bartz_Brew
Member
Hey DK (I assume you're a Dropkick fan?) I've got my first batch in primary right now and I've using softened well water as well. I'm interested to see how it turns out, I just cooked it up last night so I'm on to the hardest part: waiting!
I have used well water for years remember that boiling will kill bacs and nasties Check with your local gov. most of them will send you water for testing. Mine cost 5 bucks for complete test but as they tell you water changes all the time.
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