Tap water for wort top-off?

[DonutMuncher]

So I'm still pretty new and have only done a few batches. I usually just follow the instructions, which say that after I'm done boiling my 3ish gallons of wort, "add top-off water to reach 5 gallons".

I usually just add tap water. I was reading around and seem to realize that this is a big no-no? I wonder if this has been causing bad off flavors in my beer.. sometimes they don't seem to turn out quite right.

So, should I pre-boil a couple gallons of water ahead of time, chill it, and stick it in a sanitized container until top-off time? Does that container have to be sanitized?

Or alternatively use distilled water?

Wondering what people here tend to do.

Thanks!

 

[momobono]

I don't think tap-water top offs are a bad thing. Whenever I use partial boils and need to top off with cold water, I always pull straight from the tap. Any off-flavors I get can usually be attributed to another, more basic brewing mistake.

distilled water, I feel, wouldn't make much of a difference - so why waste the money? Pre-boiled water again would be OK too, but in my opinion it's not worth the effort and might actually be detrimental, driving off the natural dO2 in the water. Maybe I'm just waxing scientific here. Over thinking is the number 1 cause of not enjoying homebrew. I'd love to hear if someone has a more definitive opinion, though.

 

[AmandaK]

I usually just add tap water. I was reading around and seem to realize that this is a big no-no? I wonder if this has been causing bad off flavors in my beer.. sometimes they don't seem to turn out quite right.

Depends on the "not quite right"... adding unboiled tap water can directly add both chlorine and bacteria/wild yeasts/unmentionables into your fermentor. Chlorophenols can make your beer taste like a rubber glove, Band-Aid like, plasticy or medicinal. Wild yeasts and bacteria can take on a wide array of off-flavors.

So, should I pre-boil a couple gallons of water ahead of time, chill it, and stick it in a sanitized container until top-off time? Does that container have to be sanitized?

Yes, pre-boil ~3 gallons of water to sanitize it (and yes, a sanitized container should be used to keep sanitized water in) and add it when you need it.

 

[scottedk]

My brews have gone just fine with using tap water. However, if you happen to be in an area that has less than desirable water taste then you might want to do the whole "boil" thing.

 

[Special Hops]

I think it depends on your tap water. I did extract for years and never boiled or treated the top-off water with no issues.

Other folks seem to have issues with it. If it was worked for you why change it?

Or split a batch into two smaller batches. Get DI or RO water for one, tap water for the other and compare.

 

[DonutMuncher]

Thanks for the responses.

I don't particularly like my tap water all that much. It is very hard water out here, primarily with high amounts of calcium and magnesium. Not sure how much chlorine and other things are in it.

Maybe I'll consider pre-boiling a batch in the future and see how it goes. I agree that I don't really want to spend extra money buying distilled water.

 

[AmandaK]

It is very hard water out here, primarily with high amounts of calcium and magnesium. Not sure how much chlorine and other things are in it.

Calcium is the most important cation in brewing. It reduces the extraction on tannins, assists in the hot and cold breaks and keeps the mash pH in the right range.

Magnesium, however, can give a harsh, mineral like taste in too high of concentrations (above 20 ppm). Maybe this is what "off flavor" your beers have?

 

[timewasted]

I've been using tap water from the fridge (runs through a carbon filter) and it works great. It easily saves me 6 to 10 bucks a batch by using tap water.

 

[DonMagee]

I used tap water for the boil, and bottled water for my top off. Never noticed a problem.

 

[unionrdr]

I've noticed that during cold weather,tap water top off is fine. But come warm weather,I think they use more chlorine,etc,because the water can start to taste like flat alkaseltser. Then I like to top off with spring water.

 

[DonutMuncher]

But come warm weather,I think they use more chlorine,etc,because the water can start to taste like flat alkaseltser.

Lol, that does not sound too tasty. Thanks for all the info. Maybe I'll just use water out of my fridge which has a built-in filter on the next batch and see what happens. It'll probably be colder than my tap water anyway to help cool down the wort.

 

[thetragichero]

i use half tap, half spring water (87cents a gallon walmart brand), and i boil everything

 

[idahobrew]

Just did my second batch with 3 gallons tap water for the boil. Topped off with the walmart brand spring water .88 cents a gallon here. My first batch I used all bottled spring water.