What kind of water do you use?

[Tophe]

I am just curious what water you all use for your beer...I have well water at my house with a good water softener and used that water for my first two batches. I read that bottled water is good to use also.

Anyone else use soft water? Any problems with the traces of salt in the water?

 

[Janx]

I betcha a lot of the minerals precipitate out after the boil.

I use the water that comes out of the spring up on the hill behind my house Unfiltered, untreated. No idea what the ph is like, but it makes tasty beer.

If you use bottled water, get spring water, not something that has been reverse osmosised. That filtering will strip out all the minerals you need for happy beer.

The biggest concern for me when brewing with city water is the chlorine and floride and all the crap they add to it. I guess a lot of that boils off...

 

[Tophe]

Yeah, the guy that gave me the kit used a chlorine filter he used because of lots of chlorine in the city water.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Municipal tap water. I do have a faucet mounted PUR Ultra filter, but that's it.

 

[smorris]

Tap water that I boil the night before to remove the chlorine.

 

[crum]

I just use the city water that comes from my tap. Every batch I have made tasted just fine after I boiled it. I do smell the chlorine in it at first but boiling appears to get rid of the smell, but that could just me my imagination also. I have read that if you buy bottled water you can get a different taste out or your beer. Not sure on the taste difference but it is something I am going to try soon.
When making a batch of wine we always buy spring bottled water.

 

[Dark_Ale]

I just use the city water that comes from my tap. Every batch I have made tasted just fine after I boiled it. I do smell the chlorine in it at first but boiling appears to get rid of the smell, but that could just me my imagination also. I have read that if you buy bottled water you can get a different taste out or your beer. Not sure on the taste difference but it is something I am going to try soon.
When making a batch of wine we always buy spring bottled water.

I use the water right out of the sink. I am not even sure I could tell a beer brewed with bottled water verses tap water? All of my beer has been jam up, I guess the only real way to tell is use the same recipe one with tap and one with bottled? but there are so many variables...

 

[ChrisKoivu]

I use the water out of my toilet. If its good enough to poop in it, it's good enough to brew with it... Just joking I use city water, but I boil it before using it to get the added toxins out (chlorine, chloramide). It seems our water also has a high mineral content.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I use the water out of my toilet. If its good enough to poop in it, it's good enough to brew with it... Just joking I use city water, but I boil it before using it to get the added toxins out (chlorine, chloramide). It seems our water also has a high mineral content.

...that might explain why you got the runs....


Tap water through a PUR filter.

 

[arachnyd]

I use the tap water
I have never had a problem with it and it makes excellent beer so I've never felt the need to fiddle with the chemistry.