WATER. WATER. WATER.

[David Baker]

5 gallons of beer resulting from the homebrew process

1.5 gallons lost to evaporation, grain absorption, etc. during the brew

6.5 gallons hot water for cleaning with PBW through the system before brewing

6.5 gallons hot water to flush the system before brewing

6.5 gallons to sterilize the system with Iodophor before brewing

1 gallon left behind at the bottom of the mash tun and the boil kettle (1/2 gallon each) after brewing

2 gallons at least for other clean-up – buckets, tubing, etc.

4 gallons for scrubbing the fermenter after first ferment


That’s at least 33 gallons of water.

Try as I might to economize on water consumption before, during, and after a brew, it seems my 5 gallons of homebrew requires the use of at least 33 gallons of water, 28 gallons of which will go down the drain.

 

[firerat]

Yeah but you get beer.

 

[Immocles]

I've never done any pre-brew cleaning outside of starsan (never used iodophor) on the fermenter and various tubes. And I reuse a couple gallons of that for several brews. Otherwise all my cleaning is done afterwards so I can utilize the water used in chilling. I use the first bucket of that outgoing IC water for my cleaner (since its quite hot), and the rest gets used to rinse gear or fill bird baths, water garden, etc etc. Some still gets dumped, but nowhere near that number.

I bet some of that water could be recollected and reused. (hot water flush, then use the same water to add PBW to? Then using that leftover chemical water to later clean up buckets and tubing)

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Remember that "down the drain" is back into the water cycle. It's not like it's non-renewable. Just assume that 28 gallons is going to fall on your lawn in the next rainstorm.

I understand if it's a cost thing, though. I'm blessed to live in an area where water is incredibly cheap.

 

[Yooper]

6.5 gallons hot water for cleaning with PBW through the system before brewing
WHY? This doesn't make any sense

6.5 gallons hot water to flush the system before brewing
Um, not if you don't run 6.5 gallons PBW through it first.

6.5 gallons to sterilize the system with Iodophor before brewing
No, absolutely not. How about 1 gallon of star-san mixed up, and saved and reused? It's 5 mls of star-san and 1 gallon of water, and it lasts for months. You NEVER have to make up so much sanitizer- that's crazy. What in the world are you doing with 6.5 gallons of sanitizer? You only need to wet the surfaces and not soak/dunk/bathe in it.

4 gallons for scrubbing the fermenter after first ferment
No, seriously. You need about a quart of water to wash, and maybe two quarts to rinse. I can't even imagine using 4 gallons for cleaning one fermenter- I can't LIFT four gallons of water in a carboy.

Brewing does use alot of water- but holy cow are you wasting water.
Maybe rethink some of these habits. I reuse my chiller water to wash my system after brewing, or to fill my washing machine (I brew in the laundry room)

 

[yoop89]

In my recent research the average startup brewery produces 5 gallons of wastewater to every gallon brewed. So your high for HB but pretty much inline with "commercial" standards

How are you chilling? Are you not factoring that into your totals?

 

[firerat]

How are you chilling? Are you not factoring that into your totals?

That's what i was wondering. That is where I use the most water even when i catch it and use it for cleaning. It's why the majority of what i brew is no chill.

 

[David Baker]

In my recent research the average startup brewery produces 5 gallons of wastewater to every gallon brewed. So your high for HB but pretty much inline with "commercial" standards

How are you chilling? Are you not factoring that into your totals?

No because I am reusing the water in my ice bath several times.

 

[David Baker]

I've never done any pre-brew cleaning outside of starsan (never used iodophor) on the fermenter and various tubes. And I reuse a couple gallons of that for several brews. Otherwise all my cleaning is done afterwards so I can utilize the water used in chilling. I use the first bucket of that outgoing IC water for my cleaner (since its quite hot), and the rest gets used to rinse gear or fill bird baths, water garden, etc etc. Some still gets dumped, but nowhere near that number.

I bet some of that water could be recollected and reused. (hot water flush, then use the same water to add PBW to? Then using that leftover chemical water to later clean up buckets and tubing)

Yes. Thanks for that tip about reusing the PBW wash. That will help a bit.

 

[Joshuah57]

Here along Lake Michigan we are blessed to have plenty of clean water. Pretty much all of the water that goes down the drain ends up at the treatment plant and back in the lake. When I do think of the amount of water used to brew beer at home, I can't help but think of how much water is used by industries and even people just watering their lawn. Homebrew water is small potatoes in comparison.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

You don't need to make a full batch of sanitizer

 

[PberBob]

I water the plants with the warm water from my wort immersion cooler.

 

[robertkerr79]

I find the immersion cooling is the hardest part to shrug off. That's why I've got 2 x 100L water butts setup near my brewing area. It takes about 200L to cool a 5 gallon batch so it sets me up for watering the plants until the next brew day.

 

[porterguy]

No chill saves a lot of water for me. And Starsan can be applied to many surfaces via a spray bottle...you don't need 5 gallons of water w/Starsan to sanitize a 5 gallon container. You ca also reuse Starsan solution A LOT of times. You just need to check the pH with those paper strips to make sure it's still viable. I dump my rinse water into my compost bin, which needs periodic watering anyway.

 

[Jim R]

That list shows 25 gallons of the total of 33 gallons for cleaning and sanitizing. I probably use 5 gallons for all of this for a 5 gallon beer batch.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

6.5 gallons hot water for cleaning with PBW through the system before brewing

6.5 gallons hot water to flush the system before brewing

6.5 gallons to sterilize the system with Iodophor before brewing

You realize all your hot side gear just need to be clean, not sparkly and certainly not sanitized, right?

212 degree boiling wort is self-sanitizing...

I clean my gear after brew day with a hose sprayer and a sponge. I don't then pre-clean before the next batch. There's no need because it's already clean and the heat will kill any bacteria / etc that might be in there.

Obviously the cold side (fermenter / etc) needs cleaning and sanitizing. But the hot side just needs a basic scrub when you put it away after a batch.