Using Tap Water

[Tizzomes]

So I've been brewing for about a year now they all have been extract batches.I've made it a habit to use bottled water but.I've began doing full boils and moving to all grain ( biab ) So here's my question ...if your tap water tastes fine and your doing a full boil isn't a waste to buy bottled water? I mean wouldn't any minor off flavors boil off?I may be answering my own question here, just looking for a opinion .

 

[dnslater]

One issue is hardness or softness of your water, which can be dealt with. I generally use tap water for my boil and then top off with 2 1/2 gallons of spring water to be safe. I have very hard city water, so I would not want to use 100% tap.

 

[Brewpastor]

In many cases your tap water is better then bottled water, especially if the bottled water is RO. You need to make sure the chlorine is dealt with, and you should/can get a general analysis of your water from your local water utility. But yes, there are too many reasons why tap water can't be at least a major part of your brewing water. You can also blend the bottled with the tap water - particularly if your tap water is very hard.

The old rule is: If it taste good it will make fine beer.

 

[nunyafnb]

It is important to treat your water if it has any chlorine/chloramines in it. I learned that after experimenting on a batch of cream ale when I had been using bottled water. Saint Paul city water has both chlorine and chloramine in it, and I didn't treat it before brewing. It now has a distinctive off flavor, and though still drinkable, it is not very enjoyable. I won't be making that mistake again.

Either use some campden tablets (1 tablet will treat 20 gallons of water, scale accordingly) or build yourself a water filter to take out the chloramines. Chlorine boils off, but chloramine doesn't. Here's a link to a DIY style filter at BYO:

http://www.byo.com/stories/projects...self/402-build-your-own-water-filter-projects

After that, I have to defer to everyone else, as I'm still only an extract brewer, but I know that water becomes more important to treat for pH and hardness depending on the style you're brewing. Get a water report and start reading up on adjusting for style. I know that there are some tools to calculate additions deending on style and water profile, so it can't be too tough to adjust if necessary.

 

[Brewpastor]

What he said...

I would advise working hard on fermentation before you get too busy with water treatment. When fermentation temperatures are controlled you can then move to water and other secondary interests.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[joelmole]

It's more important to control the characteristics of your brewing water when brewing all-grain than when brewing with extract, because the mineral makeup and PH of your water can affect your mash negatively.

Typically when you want to know about your tap water, you should get a water report from your municipal water source if possible. The other way is to send a sample of your water off for analysis. People here seem to recommend Ward Labs, the test you need is W-6.

Your tap water as it is could be perfectly fine for brewing certain styles of beer, but might benefit from dilution with RO water or addition of minerals for others. You may also need to treat for chlorine and/or chloramine as suggested here by charcoal filtration or using campden tablets.

I haven't gotten this proficient with water treatment yet, and you may not really need to, especially if you're just starting out with all-grain. It's probably better to stick with what you have at first and tweak your water a few batches down the road if needed, maybe just do campden tablets for now, as it's a very cheap and easy way to get rid of chlorine/chloramine. I just brewed my first all grain batch, and just used tap treated with campden, no filtration or mineral salt additions. I felt fairly confident in doing this because I found detailed water reports from my water source, and the mineral levels and PH were largely within range for the style of beer I was brewing. The beer is still in the fermenter so I don't know the finished result yet, but I took a sample yesterday for a gravity reading and it seemed to be just fine.

Palmer's "How to Brew" book has good information on water treatment. Here's an online link, the printed book is a newer revision and may have more information.