which water is better?

[1984keen]

so ive been reading A LOT lately (before i brew and run into trouble) and there are a lot of opinions on water... i dont plan on using my tap because its hard. lots of calcium.

my question is this, is distilled water better than water you get from a filtered water dispenser? like the ones in grocery stores or a windmill express, to be more exact.

i just moved and am buying my equipment this weekend and plan on brewing when i get fully unpacked. if i do it sooner the mrs will probably throw me in the boiling wort.

thanks for your help

 

[mpsnyder]

I don't know much, but what i do know is that distilled water is just that water, pretty much only water. Filtered water is water that has been run through well a filter. So my guess would be that for consistency, you should choose distilled although either one would most likely be ok. that said I too am only a noob, so if anyone else has anything I would love to hear it.

 

[Kaz]

I would say that for brewing concerns, distilled and reverse osmosis/RO (grocery store filtered) is the same. It is processed in 2 different ways but both have almost no minerals. Just because you have hard tap water and high calcium doesn't mean you can't brew with it.

 

[1984keen]

i was just concerened with my tap water giving any off flavors is all. i want to do my first 5 gallon batch and not think as its fermenting, " maybe i should have just bought the filtered/distilled water".

i think im just being over precautionary is all.

thankyou for your replies.

 

[beerman1957]

I don't know much, but what i do know is that distilled water is just that water, pretty much only water. Filtered water is water that has been run through well a filter. So my guess would be that for consistency, you should choose distilled although either one would most likely be ok. that said I too am only a noob, so if anyone else has anything I would love to hear it.

If you use RO or Distilled, you really should add brewing salts. Yeast propagation and overall health does depend on certain mineral content. Minerals also greatly affect the overall taste of the beer by providing an excellent medium.

 

[Patirck]

If you use distilled you need to figure out what salts to add back for the style of beer you are making. If you don't, you could end up with beer that is cloyingly sweet or at least much less bitter than planned as the hop bitterness won't come through. There are some spreadsheets available in the brewing science forum to help figure out how to make water that matches the water profile of certain parts of the world. For many styles and most homebrewing, if you like the taste of the water, you will most likely be fine. There are a few exceptions where you need super soft water or high calcium water. You can use crappy, harder than nails, super chlorinated water and you will still have beer. The beer may have off flavors like astringency or end up more bitter (not in a good way) than planned.


The grocery store water machines are probably very hit and miss - the machines need to be maintained and the filters need to be changed probably more often than they are. If you happen to get the water soon after the machine was maintained you are in luck, if not, you end up with tap water.

In many areas now there are small mom and pop water stores that will fill up your containers for cheap (I don't know how they make a living at it). The one I have used has a water profile posted. The water was reasonably soft and made pretty good beer.

 

[osagedr]

You don't want to use distilled water for brewing (although it is ideal for Starsan). Spring water is cheap, readily available and will work fine.

 

[jonmohno]

We dont really know whats in spring water though.This is the most confusing part of doing partiall mashes for me. I was wondering if any body uses trace minerals in ro or distilled water? Im thinking about doing this because i drink ro or filtered water but want the minerals it lacks just for better health.So if i use this it will give a good variety of minerals?

 

[mabrungard]

Hard water is not a problem for brewing. Its alkalinity that can be the problem. Don't dismiss using the tap water if it tastes OK. Learn more about brewing water chemistry by reading Bru'n Water.

 

[1984keen]

bru'n water is some good readins. thanks! i'll pick thru that and see what i come up with after i can obtain a report from the city utilities dept.

 

[osagedr]

We dont really know whats in spring water though.

I know exactly what's in the spring water I brew with; it has a complete mineral profile right on the label.

 

[tvtoms]

Beer companies often tout the unique and interesting qualities of their water supply. Go for it half and half or something. I always use straight tap for the boil, and straight RO for topping up. Seems to come out great.

 

[osagedr]

Hard water is not a problem for brewing. Its alkalinity that can be the problem. Don't dismiss using the tap water if it tastes OK. Learn more about brewing water chemistry by reading Bru'n Water.

A rule of thumb some people use is if they like their water for drinking (i.e. no major flavour/aroma problems), they'll brew with it. I use spring water but plan to begin fiddling around with trace elements soon. As a brewer get more advanced it makes sense to me to pay careful attention to water if you are trying to be on style. For some styles it's a big deal.