rookie mistake?

[raf1919]

so while researching cleaning.. i read that you shouldn't use tap water to rinse. sooo my question is... i used tap water to brew with? i boiled a gallon to mix w/ the coopers kit than rest was cold tap water.. its been one week its my first batch should i expect bad results?

 

[michaelob]

your fine dont worry

 

[Revvy]

I and many folks top off with tap water with no problems, if you're not having a boil water advisory in your area, you tap water is really safe to use...I mean think about it, if it's safe enough for you to drink (which 99% of municipal water systems are) then it is safe to brew. Some folks chose to dechlorinate their water ahead of time, and other's don't bother.

Like everything else in brewing there is usually more than one "RIGHT" way to do something.

Relax.

 

[philrose]

nope, no worries there. Next up- get some iodaphor or starsan with your next order at the brew shop. No rinse, no stress.

 

[HoppedIPA]

I use no rinse easy clean fwiw

 

[mikebowman]

ive never had a problem, rinsing things with tap water, using tap water to top up the fermenter, everything. i also think i've got fairly lax sanitation procedures but we haven't had problems yet! everything's been great. i think a sort of rule of thumb regarding tap water is that if it doesn't taste overly chlorinated or anything, it shouldnt be a problem for beer.

like others mentioned, there's no right way

 

[Calder]

We sanitize, we don't sterilize. That means we don't kill everything, and there is still some bacteria in the wort/on the tools.

Your tap water has some bacteria in it too, and if you leave it out with some malt, some nasty things will eventually start growing.

BUT ...... the key is to pitch a healthy yeast with sufficient cells to overwhelm anything else in the wort. Once the yeast has got a grip on the wort and started to produce alcohol, it inhibits the growth of anything else (wild yeasts and actobacteria excluded).

Bacteria reproduce more rapidly than yeast, so you need to pitch a large amount of yeast by comparision to get a head start on any bacteria.

If you leave your wort a long time before pitching yeast or have poor pitching practice then you need to be really particular about sanitizing, possibly even boiling any top-up water from clean municipal sources.

If you pitch healthy yeast, and regularly get active fermentation within 24 hours, you don't have to be too concerned about using tap water.