Stupid mistakes

[cap1]

So today when I was putting my beer in the primary, I realized that for the past 2 brews I made I completely just used tap water to fill the primary to 5 gallons. Im really worried that the taste of the beer is going to be severely affected. Im in NYC and the water here is actually very good from the tap. I'm just worried about a strong off taste from my beer when its finished. Anyone want to reassure me that its going to be ok? That would make me feel better lol

 

[Fingers]

Basic rule of thumb is that if the water is good to drink, it's good to brew with. If you're just starting out, you shouldn't worry about water quality just yet. I'd prefer to see you boil it first, just to ensure that it's sterile, but the beer should be fine.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Im in NYC and the water here is actually very good from the tap. (

Wow, NYC and you like the taste of your tap water.
My hat is off to the city engineers. No Really.

I agree that if your OK with the taste of the water from the tap, you will not notice any off taste, your already used to it.
I like my water, but the city reports give no useful information for a brewer, and I found treating the water with camden tablets (2 for 5 gal) really helped in the mash and final taste of the beer.
If your new to brewing, really there are so many more important things such as fermentation temp, recipe, yeast, etc that will change your beer.
Enjoy yourself, and best of luck.

 

[cap1]

The city actually annually sends out a reports about the water quality. I don't know enough about brewing to really understand what stands out but I'm assuming its going to be helpful later on.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate07.pdf

 

[RedOctober]

NYC has awesome water!

Although you may still want to filter out the chloromine with the help of Mr. Britta. The chlorine will come out in the boil for the most part.

 

[CBBaron]

If it tastes good then it probably will work well for beer.
The only recommendation for the future is treat the water before adding it to the fermenter with a Campden tablet to remove the chlorine. Chlorine can cause off flavors in beer, however your first two will most likely be fine.

To treat your water, crush ONE campden tablet and dissolve it in up to 10gallons of water from the tap. It only takes a few minutes for the reaction to eliminate the chlorine and chloromine. Adding more than 1 for 5gal and it starts acting as a yeast inhibitor if you pitch immediately.

A carbon filter also does a decent job of removing the chlorine and chlormine.

Craig

 

[john from dc]

i don't think the water chemistry is as much of an issue as the fact that it may have picked up some bad microbes on the way to your bucket. lots of people top up straight from the tap, but i don't unless absolutely necessary. if i have to top up i try to use preboiled or bottled water.

that being said your beer's probably fine. if it tastes good then drink it and don't worry. if it starts to turn then refrigerate and drink it fast.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

CBBaron - 1 per 10 gal, thanks that will save me a little.
Usually I pour out the water the night before and treat, but hey any savings is good for me. Thanks.

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

NYC water is about as perfect as you will get for brewing. You might want to try brewing salts for certain styles as the CaCO3.

 

[Saccharomyces]

+1 NYC has enviable water from the Catskills. I wish my water was the good!!

It would be a good idea to filter it, but I don't think there is much chlorine in it so it is probably not necessary.

Our tap water has enough chloramine if you fill a pot and stick your head in it, it smells like a swimming pool, filtering is definitely a requirement if you can smell chlorine in the water...

 

[cd2448]

Agree with what has been said, if it's good to drink it's good to top off with. But I think it gets a bit more technical if you are doing AG (you don't say in your post) as I think pH etc. plays a bigger role than in extract or PM brewing.