Spring Water For Extract Brew???

[Mexibilly]

My goto guy told me spring water is the way to go for brewing. I've since read that spring water can be desirable for all grain, but not necessarily extract.
I've used bottled spring water so far and wonder if it's necessary or if it might even be better to use regular bottled drinking water since I'm simply reconstituting concentrated extract.
I want the purest flavor I can get based on ingredients, today being Heady Nugs DIPA. I want it to turn out excellent.
Any advice?

 

[unionrdr]

I've used tap water, distilled & two local spring waters for everything from kit-n-kilo brews to pb/pm biab. Spring water works the best, imo. The yeasties seem to love fermenting in the spring water too. People will say the trace chemicals/minerals are already in the extract. But I've found that even Cooper's & Munton's taste a tad better with spring water. Not to be confused with ground (well) water, Spring water comes up from pockets in the bedrock. Giant Eagle spring water, for example, seems to give better hop flavors & more nuances in malt flavor attributes, ie-toasty, bready, roasty, nutty, etc. White House Artisan Springs, on the other hand, seems to lean more toward malty. Even though both spring waters are from here in Ohio. So I say spring water!

 

[causeimthesquid]

The source is irrelevant, it's your water chemistry that matters. If you don't have chlorinated tap water, I would just use that. I add gypsum to my water, especially important with IPA.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, when you're not at the point where you dabble in altering water chemistry, spring water's low amounts of trace minerals help a lot with quality of flavors & aromas in my experiences. In spring water versus tap water here, I found spring water to be a tad better.

 

[MaxStout]

The salts content of bottled water varies greatly from one brand to the next. Here's a site with listings by country of origin and brand.

When I did extract, I used to buy Ice Mountain in 3L jugs for a buck a pop at the grocery store. My tap water has tons of chloramine and I didn't want to mess with that.

 

[unionrdr]

I've been using the bulk spring water either from Giant Eagle Or White House Artisian Springs. both comer from wells here in Ohio. Soft water that's filtered, ozoned, etc that works great for me. Funny that listing doesn't show those? If you have a local artesian spring company, like we do, you can get it for some 25c per gallon. I usually take my 6 gallon better bottle to fill up. There's also RO water from some places to buy in bulk.

 

[Braufessor]

If you are going to purchase water, your best bet is reverse osmosis water from those refill stations.

1.) It is the cheapest water to buy.
2.) There is basically nothing in it..... and you don't need anything in it because you are not concerned about mash pH and your extract will already have minerals in it from the water used to make it.
3.) "spring" water is not a blank slate, and you don't necessarily know what is in it to begin with unless you can find it on the sheet linked above.

Two main things can be problematic with tap water - #1 is chlorine/chloramine - you have to get rid of that either by buying water, using campden tablets, or carbon filter. #2 - some water (even if it tastes good) can be very high in mineral content like bicarbonate levels and throw off a beer depending on style. Best to find out what is in your tap water at some point - it could be perfectly fine to use.

 

[unionrdr]

That's why I don't buy those regular size bottled waters. They seem to have a higher mineral content. The bulk ones I buy are straight from wells drilled into the bedrock around here & have a lower mineral content. but, as I stated in my example, I found through rote that the Giant Eagle one gives better flavor balance between hop & malt flavors than the White House one does. So it's mineral content is better for beers. You'll basically have to find out &/or learn which one gives the flavors you want from their use.

 

[Mexibilly]

Might be worth the 45 minute drive to ohio...

 

[unionrdr]

Might be worth it if you're that close & feel like driving in this cold. The Giant Eagle brand bulk spring water is like 79c per gallon. Some locations may still have the 2 1/2 gallon bulk containers. I like it for PM malt & hop flavor balances. Seems to help whatever yeast you're using give it's qualities better.

 

[MaxStout]

Check your supermarket or Walmart to see if they have RO water in bulk. My local Walmart has a dispenser, it's only 39 cents a gallon, BYO containers.

Then you can add a small amount of calcium chloride and/or gypsum (calcium sulfate), depending on the type of beer you are brewing. The gypsum tends to accentuate hoppier beers, calcium chloride towards malty beers. This is a great oversimplification of water chem, but for extract, you can easily get in the ballpark this way since you are not mashing.

 

[Mexibilly]

Thank you MaxStout. I'll try distilled today. Haven't researched where to find gypsum or any specifics on how to use it. Is it readily available at the grocery?
Today after work is my brewing window of opportunity

 

[MaxStout]

Thank you MaxStout. I'll try distilled today. Haven't researched where to find gypsum or any specifics on how to use it. Is it readily available at the grocery?
Today after work is my brewing window of opportunity

I get mine at the LHBS. They usually come in a small bottle with an ounce or two. I assume you are brewing with extract. In which case you won't need much water adjustment, since you aren't mashing. Typically less than 1 tsp of those. There is a really good primer on water chem that outlines the basics.

 

[EO74]

If you are going to purchase water, your best bet is reverse osmosis water from those refill stations.

1.) It is the cheapest water to buy.
2.) There is basically nothing in it..... and you don't need anything in it because you are not concerned about mash pH and your extract will already have minerals in it from the water used to make it.
3.) "spring" water is not a blank slate, and you don't necessarily know what is in it to begin with unless you can find it on the sheet linked above.

Two main things can be problematic with tap water - #1 is chlorine/chloramine - you have to get rid of that either by buying water, using campden tablets, or carbon filter. #2 - some water (even if it tastes good) can be very high in mineral content like bicarbonate levels and throw off a beer depending on style. Best to find out what is in your tap water at some point - it could be perfectly fine to use.

Exactly what I use when I do extract which isn't often, u can't beat 25cents a gallon either

 

[Mexibilly]

Found reverse osmosis, charcoal and ultra violet filtered water at Kroger today.
Bought distilled due to my lack of a container and the lack of a fresh container to purchase.
It smells freaking good. Long way from the taste, and the smell that fills my garage right now is no indicator, but I will share how this DIPA with a big local reputation comes out...

 

[Mexibilly]

And I'll contact the city with regard to the composition of our local water

 

[Braufessor]

And I'll contact the city with regard to the composition of our local water

The things that you are concerned about in your tap water:

Chlorine/Chloramine
Sulfate
Calcium
Mg
Na
Chloride
Bicarbonate

Often times "city reports" focus on pollutants and toxic metals, etc...... the above are the things that matter for brewing beer. If you can't find those things on the city report, you may need to send a sample to Ward Labs and get their homebrewing report. Relatively cheap and fast turn around.

 

[MaxStout]

Check your city's website. Sometimes they post that water info online. Otherwise, an email or phone call to the municipal water dept. may get you the data.