Water

[Thehopguy]

Where do you guys get your water for brewing?

I was going to use water from one of those water stations you can fill 5 gallon jugs with.. It's cleaned and tastes good but I'm not sure if it'd be too hard or soft? (going to brew ales)

But anyway, where do you get your water for brewing?

 

[rizomee]

The sink

 

[jaycount]

I've gotten it from my tap before but I'm going to start getting it from an outside tap for two reasons: #1: I'm brewing outside/in the garage now so it makes sense, #2: my tap water INSIDE goes through a water softener and I've read that the increased sodium is bad.

My alternative if I'm not happy with this outside tap water is to start going to the store or probably the local water shack

 

[arturo7]

I assume you are talking about R/O water. If you are brewing extract this water is fine. If you are brewing A/G you need the "sweeten" this water. R/O is mostly devoid of salts and minerals. Salts and minerals are needed when mashing.

Water chemistry can get as complicated as you can stand.

I use R/O water from the water store store and the "saurmalz" method described here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

The sink, thru an under-sink charcoal filter.

RO water from the store doesnt have enough salt/mineral content for really healthy fermentation. Unless you want to f with mineral additions, just filter your tap water.

 

[TotemWolf]

Tap water treated with campdon tablets

 

[Thehopguy]

You think if I just use a brita filter for my tap water it'll be fine???

 

[Golddiggie]

I have a two stage filter setup under my sink that I pull all my drinking/cooking/brewing water from. Getting great brews with it (all using ale yeast)... I've been discussing this with some other brewers, and think that WHEN I make a stand, I'll probably attach a two stage filter setup to that, and simply use it for my brew water. It will be easier to change the filters than where my current setup is. Plus, having it on the stand means that's one less thing I need to carry over to the brewing area (which I'll have when I have the space for a stand)...

I've seen pictures of some rigs/stands with water filters attached to them. I think a two, or three, stage filter would do really well. I would start with a ~20 micron filter, then step to maybe a 5 micron filter, and finish with a .5 micron filter. That should remove all the bad things that you don't want in the brew water, but leave enough of the things you DO want. Right now, I have the 20 and .5 micron filters in use. I'm just thinking that the middle one would help to extend out the life of the .5 micron filter. If you're building your own system, there's no reason you can't tailor it to your desires... :rockin:

 

[msa8967]

What about buying jugs of "drinking" water from the grocery? Will that water be missing key salts?

 

[arturo7]

What about buying jugs of "drinking" water from the grocery? Will that water be missing key salts?

"Drinking water" is almost always R/O.

 

[Golddiggie]

What about buying jugs of "drinking" water from the grocery? Will that water be missing key salts?

For me, it has more to do with cost and convenience.

Bottled water (Poland Springs) at the store: $1/gallon
Water from my system (counting filter costs): $0.04/gallon

I put the savings back into the money I can spend per batch without blinking... Or I set it aside towards additional hardware/gear...

 

[1fast4door]

"Drinking water" is almost always R/O.

What about "spring water"? I have a well that tastes great. It does stain the sink/bathtub, but not bad at all (it will show a streak of brown in the tub if not cleaned for a month). I used "spring water" from some 2.5gal jugs from the grocery store a couple of batches ago. It was a pain and added expense so I didn't do it again. Is well water ok for brewing?

 

[arturo7]

I used spring water for many, many batches with good results. Keep in mind, not all spring water is created equal. However, when I switched to the sauermalz method, my beer got a quite a bit better.

I'm not saying it is the end-all method, but it is quite easy and it works great for me.


Well water can work, but you'll want to send a sample to Ward Labs to get a report on what's in it.

 

[944play]

I use tap water.

BUT I charcoal filter it very slowly, add about a quarter of a crushed Campden tablet to an 8 gallon draw, and calcify the mash with at least 50ppm of CaCl2 and/or CaSO4. This was about 2gm of each in my last batch. I also use a gram or two of Wyeast nutrient in every batch.

The most important thing is to get the chloramine out. Second, to keep the mash pH down. Third, to give the yeast the calcium they need to stay healthy.

 

[unionrdr]

I use boiled tap water for the 2.5G wort brewing part. Then top off with natural spring water from right here in Ohio. It works real well so far. Just keep in mind that spring water isn't well (ground) water. Spring water comes from pockets in the bed rock.

 

[Misfit]

My well water at my house tastes horriable so I have to use spring water. I've been sticking to poland

 

[Clann]

I use a neighbors well that has one of those old timey hand pumps. I get a little rust from the well casing but buy the time I make it home it has all settled. Crystal clear and very good water. Havent had it tested but it makes great beer.

 

[Fennis]

I use tap water from my well. I had it tested a year ago when I bought my house and it had an almost perfect ph of 7.1 with nothing bad in it. The house has a blue toilet/bathtub that the previous owner installed in the 70s, and it still looks like new, so I know we don't have high iron or calcium in the water.

The water has a slightly sweet taste to it, so I don't filter it either. After 4 batches, every beer has been excellent, so I will continue to use my own well water.