Tap water cause weird fermentation?

[nwbrewing32]

Hey everyone,

I brewed a batch of brown ale over the weekend and I had a fermentation with no Krausen (at least when I checked each time. I've used this yeast a lot of times and always have had a good krausen. Now here we are four days later and the beer looks to be clearing out a lot.

The only difference between this batch and the others is this time I used tapwater straight from the kitchen sink. Normally I drive to the edge of town and get the natural spring water.

Could this be a possibility in why this fermentation didn't have a krausen?

 

[shaky6]

Yes. Nasty stuff comes out of the tap. Have you ever checked it? I've always smelled lots of chlorine out of mine and black rings don't grow in our toilets, so one day I tested my tap water with my pool test kit. More chlorine than my pool. 7.8ph. Plus I later found out they add rust inhibitors and fluoride. So, I use Culligan R/O water now and salt accordingly. Then I add enough acid to my sparge tap water to bring the ph down to 5.8.

 

[LostBoyScout]

100% depends on your tap water. I'm lucky and have great tap water, low in all minerals and no chloramines. If your tap water has chloramines (like chlorine but doesn't boil off readily) it is not suitable for brewing unfortunately - it will inhibit the yeast.

 

[dyqik]

Worse than inhibiting the yeast, tap water with chlorine or chloramine will also likely make your beer taste of chlorophenols, which is like lightly toasted PVC (IME).

Read the Campden Tablet sticky in the Brew Science section for guidelines on how to deal with this if you are stuck with using tap water in the future.

Short version, add 1/4 of a Campden tablet, crushed, to each 5 gallons of water before you use it. If it still smells of chlorine after adding 1/4 of a tablet, add another 1/4 tablet. Campden tablets are cheap at your LHBS.

 

[Norselord]

Where do you live?

Get a water report from the municipality. Most places are more than happy to share this information and already have it posted to their website.
If you are on a well, then you will need to send your sample out to a lab, like ward labs.

Water contains all sorts of minerals and potential additives that will effect the functionality of the enzymes in your mash, and the yeast in your fermenter.

You can have chlorine, chloramine, and (hopefully not) nitrates in your water.
The pH of your water can be anywhere between 6.5 and 8.5, and in addition can be very alkaline or not alkaline at all.
You may have plenty of yeast micronutrients, or be lacking.
You may have water that naturally brings out malty flavors, or water that emphasizes hops.

One of the reasons why certain regions historically specialized in specific types of beer is due to the water profile.

 

[Jim311]

I used to filter with carbon and stuff but it's way more work than just throwing a crushed campden tab in and being done with it. You eliminate all doubt with that approach.