******* water question

[boomtown25]

I live in Biloxi, MS and let's just say 90 degrees around here is pleasant. I recently asked some questions about saving money on ice when chilling my wort and got some great answers so I will move on to my next question: WATER. I use water straight from the tap. I have zero idea what is in it, or if it is good for brewing. I do not care to spend 10 bucks on distilled water from the store every time I brew so can someone shed some light on how I can make sure I am doing what is needed to the water? Additionally, could I buy one of these water filters that screws on to the end of the garden hose and would that improve my water for brewing? Saw one on Amazon for roughly $27.....

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I think it is dependent on the water itself. If you don't know anything about the mineral composition, the test seems to be if it tastes good and you drink it often then it is probably OK for beer. Note that OK does not mean ideal and I am sure folks who know more will give you the angles on why good water is worth the effort/expense etc. I have access to high quality water just have to truck a carboy to the spring so I am spoiled there and don't have to worry about this until I start doing beer styles where water additions really put the beer over-the-top.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I'm in the 'if it tastes good, it'll make good beer' club. However, cloning certain recipes or styles from a certain region may require you change your water profile. You can get those water tests from home centers or look-up your water profile on your municipalities website to find out exactly what's in your water.

 

[shoengine]

My water makes malt flavors drown out most yeast and hops expressions in paler beers, so after a few mediocre IPAs and saisons that is how I decided I needed to start treating my water.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Water additions and knowing your water are one of those things that will just help improve your beer - noticeably at that.

I know you said you do not care to buy distilled water and I'm not intending to change your mind. All I'll say is that is what I do and it isn't that bad. I have to go to the LHBS to pickup supplies and I stop at the store by my house and grab 10-12 gallons of distilled water.

There are other options. You could buy an RO filter for your house. Lots of people do this. I opted not to do this as it seems more of a hassle than going 5 minutes to buy distilled water. I think you could use something like this.

I can't comment on whether or not a screw on filter for the end of your hose would do you any good, as I do not know. All I can tell you is water plays a huge part in the beer.

My recommendation to you would be to get your water tested. If your water comes back and looks to be suitable for brewing with some extra additions on your brew day, you've saved a bit of work.

In answer to your question about how can you make sure you're doing the necessary stuff to your water - right now, you can't. In order to know you're doing the right stuff, you'd have to know what's in your water. That's why I buy the distilled - I know that there is literally nothing in that water, so it's a blank canvas for me to make the profile.

On the other hand, if you aren't that picky about your water and the beer your brewing is good to you and you like it, I suppose you don't have to do anything differently. All depends on how technical you want to get.

 

[mscroggi]

There are kiosks around that offer Reverse Osmosis filtered water. I have one a few miles from my house.. Obviously you have to build your water up, but I would rather do that than try to figure out what my water is like from the tap - mine changes frequently.. I am part of a water coop and they buy water from different water sources to supplement their own wells.

Anyway.. the kiosk by my house sells their water for 25c per gallon or less (cheaper the more you buy) .. I spend $1.65 on 8 gal of water. It allows me to know for sure what I am starting with..

I brewed a few batches with the RO water as-is and was unsatisfied with my results. The last batch I took a stab at treating the water and it made a big difference.. I repeated a recipe I had already brewed previously, and surprisingly it even acted differently in the fermenter. The beer was much different, and better for sure..

I am still learning the water stuff.. but I wanted to offer my experience.

My $.02

 

[Konadog]

The first place I would start is to see if you can find a water report for your area, it should be free and available online. Once you have that, you have a starting point.

 

[Tribe Fan]

I never thought water was important. Then I moved. Same equipment, recipes and process and new off flavors across all the beers, and not good ones. I had my well water tested using Ward Labs and it is super hard. Our drinking water was already RO filtered, so I installed a 15 gallon tank to draw from. Walla, good beers again.

Turns out where I was at before was some of the softest natural spring water in the world, actually very close to Pilsen chemistry and pretty rare for the US. Was just lucky.

 

[beermanpete]

If you are on a municipal water supply there is likely chlorine or chloramines in the water that should removed. Campden tablets work well for this and are cheap and easy to use. You can read about this here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/campden-tablets-sulfites-and-brewing-water.361073/

 

[GPP33]

The hose end filter will clean out chlorine but you have to dribble it out really slowely to be effective. Make sure you are using a potable water hose, not just your typical Home Depot hose.

I’ll second trying to find an RO water source. 10 gal costs me $3 at the local health food grocery store. It’s a clean base and building water is pretty damn easy once you get a feel for what to do and understand one of the water building spreadsheets.

As to whether or not it’ll help your beer, all depends on what you have now. If your water tastes good then it’ll probably make good beer assuming the rest of your process is dialed in, it might even make great beer for specific styles. If you want to make great beer across all styles then water would be an important thing to get a handle on. For some it’ll be necessary to address early, for others it’ll be that final step, again, all depends on what you have now for water.

 

[Biscuits]

You can always look up your city's municipal water report and it will give you a rough idea of what is in your water. Keep in mind that these reports are averages and not as accurate as a ward labs report and also consider that throughout the year the city will alter the way they do things like whether they use chlorine or choloramine.

I am of the mind that I do not like to pay for water either...but I am also blessed with very neutral city water.

 

[divrack]

I only use water that has been treated properly... A series of mystical rites and sacrifices are performed by by a trained voodoo priest and a TV medium whilst I dance naked and frantically around.
I'm not sure it's the best method but it's a protected that seems to work for me.

 

[nikkuchan]

I think tap water us generally fine. If it tastes good it will probably brew good beer. Make a batch with it and see if you like it. It's also worth checking the water report on your city's website.

I use a Brita pitcher, which takes forever (pour, fill, wait, pour...), and I'm not even sure if it helps. I've used tap water and have had no problems, though.

 

[turbo 6]

An RV filter and campden tablets is all I use (and of course brewing salts) to treat tap water. My latest batch tasted just as good as previous batches using RO water.

 

[GPP33]

An RV filter and campden tablets is all I use (and of course brewing salts) to treat tap water. My latest batch tasted just as good as previous batches using RO water.

So what “brewing salts” do you add? Do you know your water profile and adjust accordingly or just randomly toss some in?