Water

[RugerBrew]

Obviously I am new to home brewing. First batch fermenting - Mr. Beer IPA. I have a couple of really basic questions regarding the water:
1. What TYPE of water should I be using (i.e. tap; spring; distilled; etc?
2. Does the type of water make a difference?
3. Mr. Beer instructions calls for "refrigerated" water 40 to 55 degrees (F) too start the wort - is this really necessary or can I just use COLD water from the tap (mine is ~ 61F)?

See? I did say I'm new. Any input would be appreciated before I start my second batch?

Best Regards,

RugerBrew

 

[motobrewer]

if your tap is good to drink, it'll make fine extract beer. otherwise spring water. don't use distilled.

not familiar with mr. beer instructions but cold tap is probably sufficient.

 

[bja]

if your tap is good to drink, it'll make fine extract beer. otherwise spring water. don't use distilled.

With extract, it's perfectly acceptable to use distilled water.

 

[Hello]

If you don't really know what is in your tap water, best to use spring until you do. A basic water report on your town/city website may suffice. Ward Labs will do a full brewer's profile for you on the cheap. My opinion is water from the tap that tastes good is likely okay, but it very well could not be for all styles. At the very least, I would add a campden tablet to tap water.

 

[RugerBrew]

Thanks for the input folks.

 

[Yooper]

Distilled or reverse osmosis water is preferable. "Spring water" means nothing. There is a bottler in my area, bottling water only, called "Crystal Spring Water".

It's tap water from a city that has "Crystal" in its name.

Spring water can be full of minerals and alkalinity, or more like distilled. You want the lowest amount of minerals as a rule, and little to no bicarbonate. That means that the big "water machines" at the grocery store are ideal if they are marked reverse osmosis water. It's cheap, too- often like 35 cents a gallon.

If you have chlorine-free tap water, that might be good for brewing but it's hard to say without knowing what's in it.

Does the mr beer kit have you add cold water to chill down the mixture? That could be why it's stated to use refrigerated water.

 

[AQUILAS]

I go to my local grocery store and fill up two of my 6.5gal fermenting buckets with water from the Glacier water dispensers there. It's RO'd water.

 

[menerdari]

Been using my municipal tap water for years, makes great beer and wine.

 

[mabrungard]

As mentioned, spring water is not what you want to use with extract. The maltster removed pure water from the extract and you would be better off reconstituting the wort with as pure a water as possible...RO or distilled. The extract has all the mineral content of the original mash, so there isn't a great need to add more. The main detractor in using water's other than RO or distilled is that they are likely to add alkalinity to the wort and end up raising your kettle pH. That is not good for flavor.

If your brew has specific flavor needs, then adding minerals to the wort is OK. Just be sure that you really want them and that you add only enough to satisfy.

 

[unionrdr]

In my experiences, the tap water from Lake Erie was ok, depending on the time of year. Chlorine & other additives seem to vary by time of year, as it sometimes smells like alka seltzer. I use spring water from giant Eagle ( Ohio spring water) for hoppy beers, or from White House Artisan Springs (a local source) for maltier beers. It's 25c per gallon 7 is ozoned, filtered, etc. either works quite well for mashing, etc. At any rate, for 5-6 gallon batches, I chill three gallons for a day or two before brew day for topping off with down to 65F or so. The lil yeasties seem to like it. So I think it depends on where your local spring water actually comes from.

 

[RugerBrew]

Thanks again all!

RugerBrew
"putting a whole new meaning to a SHOT AND A BEER"

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

Not sure how "spring water" became associated in people's minds with "pure water." The term "spring water" means nothing other than where the water came from. The quality of spring water can be very good, but it can also be some of the nastiest stuff.

Russ

 

[unionrdr]

It's my understanding that spring water comes from pockets in the bedrock, like gas & oil. Well water is just ground water & can contain a lot of minerals. The spring water I've been using is definitely better than well water or tap water.

 

[rmarshall100]

As mentioned, spring water is not what you want to use with extract. The maltster removed pure water from the extract and you would be better off reconstituting the wort with as pure a water as possible...RO or distilled. The extract has all the mineral content of the original mash.

I have been brewing all grain for over 3 years now, but I saw a deal for "free" stuff if I bought a couple kits. I figured, "What the heck!" I figured with good yeast and good process, I should be able to produce a wonderful beer. Thanks Martin for another key piece to the process!

 

[unionrdr]

I've used distilled, tap & spring water for extract to partial mash. The spring water tastes a hair better to me...

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

As I recall when making beer using the Mr. Beer method you simply boil a gallon of water, preferably carbon filtered at minimum, turn off the heat source and then mix in a can or two of their liquid extract. In theory the temperature of this gallon and a quarter of 'wort' is around 200F after the extract has been added.

By topping off with about a gallon of 40-50F chilled water the temperature of the two and a quarter gallons of 'wort' should drop to between 65-75F. This is an 'average' pitching temperature range for the yeast that is pitched next. This is not the best way to make beer, although it is the simplest way for noobs though.

I'd suggest you buy yourself a good thermometer and use it to make sure of your temperatures rather than guesstimate. Good temperature control is the key to making great tasting beer, your beer will thank you.