Using tap water in brew?

[timmystank]

I recently used my homes tap water as the add on to the wort to make the 5 gallons. I didnt boil the water or anything before just pouring the wort in. I got to thinking about it later and kinda woprried that the straight tap water would ruin the taste/infect the beer. Should I be worried about this at all? The airlock has been goin crazy with bubbles(know thats not a def sign of good things to come.)

 

[GranillaNutz]

i've tried brews that my brother has made with the same recipe. one with tap water, and one with bottled water. i really couldn't tell the difference. i'm sure most of the "off flavors" you'd get from it are boiled off. same with the risk of infection. i wouldn't think it would make much of a difference if u were just using it to top off, even if it wasn't boild.

 

[truckmann]

Too early to worry. If your tap water is safe to drink then chances are it will be ok. Give it some time to finish fermenting then taste it. No sense in worrying about it now since what's done is done!

 

[Revvy]

You didn't happen to notice the thread from yesterday did you?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/brewing-tap-water-115021/

Besides telling you it's OK to use tap water, many of us do....I'm going to give you the same additional advice that I gave the OP of that thread..since you used the clue words, "worried," "Ruin" and "Infect."

By your use of those words, it is clear that you have a typical new brewer fear that your beer is somehow weak, like a new born baby..and will be ruined or die of you look at it wrong...I want to put it into perspective for you, and save you a lot of new bewer nerves...

Beer has been made for over 5,000 years in some horrific conditions, and still it managed to survive and be popular....It was even made before Louis Pasteur understood germ theory....

If beer turned out bad back then more than it turned out good..then beer would have gone the way of the dodo bird, New Coke, or Pepsi Clear...

It is very very very hard to ruin your beer....it surprises us and manages to survive despite what we do to it...

I want you to read these threads and see..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-ever-messed-up-batch-96644/

And this thread to show you how often even a beer we think is ruined, ends up being the best beer you ever made, if you have patience....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

There is a saying we have in the homebrewing community...RDWHAHB...make that your mantra and you will be a successful homebrewer...

Oh this thread is really good too...if you adopt the mindset in here you will do well...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/youre-no-longer-n00b-when-24540/



This ain't rocket science, or brain surgery...it's a hobby, not something that should cause you to worry...you will not make a mistake and poison yourself or your friends...You will not breath wrong and have your yeast die...so with that in mind....Don't worry, make beer.

 

[SchizoFilly]

Kudos to Revvy in highlighting some great points, listen to him.

 

[jolleyphoto]

I took a brewing class at our local beer store and was told that in our area we have the perfect (harness) water for brewing beer. Although we do need to let it sit over night to let the chlorine evaporate. I do sterilize a pitcher to place the water in that will not be boiled in making the wort. I have had success with this process. Find out what your water has in it or what needs to be added.

Waiting to be brewed: Orange Honey Wheat
Primary: IPA
Secondary:
Bottled: Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout
Drinking: Pale Ale

De`ja`-Brew
We have all been beer before.

 

[mmb]

I recently used my homes tap water as the add on to the wort to make the 5 gallons. I didnt boil the water or anything before just pouring the wort in. I got to thinking about it later and kinda woprried that the straight tap water would ruin the taste/infect the beer. Should I be worried about this at all? The airlock has been goin crazy with bubbles(know thats not a def sign of good things to come.)

Tap water from a municipal water supply or from a home well? From a municipal water supply you may get some "interesting" flavors from the yeast processing chlorine and fluoride if your water is fluoridated.

The beer will not be ruined or infected. Beer is pretty hard to hurt.

 

[gramps]

What about well water run through a softner...would the wort boil take care of evrything? Cheers

 

[Munsoned]

What about well water run through a softner...would the wort boil take care of evrything? Cheers

I think that may remove a lot of the minerals that the yeast need to do their thing. Or maybe its a problem with the conversions in the mash process. Or both? Others with more of a knowledge base than me can chime in, but my understanding is that you want a certain level of "hardness" in the water.

 

[sundaybrewingco]

Timmystank,
I originally did the same thing you did. I used straight tap water to top off my carboy on 2 batches. The first batch tasted awful. It had a soapy / acidic aftertaste. I thought it was due to using tap water without boiling. So this weekend, I brewed and bought spring water to see if there is any difference. During the all spring water brew, I decided to open up a 1 week bottle conditioned amber ale (using non-boiled tap water to top off the carboy) and it was amazingly good. So, I probably didn't need to buy all the spring water because it wasn't an issue. Now, I know the water situation varies from state to state, but I figured i'd just let you know I did the same and worried about it and it ended up being an awesome tasting beer.

 

[mmb]

What about well water run through a softner...would the wort boil take care of evrything? Cheers

Except if you use a salt based water softener. Then you're salting your beer and depending on the levels of salt in the water you could have issues with taste.

If your water taste good, you should be good to go.

 

[Revvy]

Timmystank,
I originally did the same thing you did. I used straight tap water to top off my carboy on 2 batches. The first batch tasted awful. It had a soapy / acidic aftertaste. I thought it was due to using tap water without boiling. So this weekend, I brewed and bought spring water to see if there is any difference. During the all spring water brew, I decided to open up a 1 week bottle conditioned amber ale (using non-boiled tap water to top off the carboy) and it was amazingly good. So, I probably didn't need to buy all the spring water because it wasn't an issue. Now, I know the water situation varies from state to state, but I figured i'd just let you know I did the same and worried about it and it ended up being an awesome tasting beer.

There was nothing wrong with the beer originally except that it was simply green.....

Glad it turned out...

 

[sundaybrewingco]

Thanks Revvy, it was actually my first batch that tasted like a beer, so I was pretty excited. I was brewing a Belgian Dubbel, drinking outside on a nice 75 degree day, and finally sampled a beer I brewed that tasted like beer (after only 1 week of conditioning). It was a good day!

And I do agree, never throw out a batch of beer. The yeast will do its thing sooner or later.

 

[michaelm]

I have VERY hard water and when I mean VERY hard I mean you can fill a glass with tap water and let it sit and watch hard water lines form on the glass LOL.... showerheads last about 2 months without routine de liming .... for my stouts and dark brews I use streight tap water... when I am doing pales and such I will cut my water 50/50 with distilled water...

Either get a water profile from the city or have one done or just play around with it till you find what works for the beer your brewing thats part of the fun