how big is your water choice?

[tripplehazzard]

I have been wondering for a while ..how many of you strictly use bottled water for brewing. What kind do you use? Or do you think tap water is just as good as anything?(assuming your water isn't crazy hard)

 

[TopherM]

Hard water isn't really a big deal in brewing, especially in maltier and darker styles. There are plenty of commercial beers made with hard water, with Guiness and most British ales being prime examples.

The real bad guy in tap water is chlorides. I have a fancy filter I use at home that does reverse osmosis and controls PH, but when I brew away from home, I just take one of those Wal-Mart special $12-14 inline hose filters, which is a charcoal filter that easily filters chlorides.

That's all you really need to make good beer.

All of the medal-winning brewers in my brewclub swear by reverse-osmosis water with just a gypsum addition to the mash. The gypsum lowers the mash PH, helps with hops utilization, and "hardens" the water by adding calcium content.

 

[Yooper]

"Hard" water is usually good. It's alkalinity that can be an issue.

I've never heard before that "chlorides" are bad, but you certainly do want to keep them under 100 ppm. Most water supplies don't have that as an issue, though.

Chlorine (and the sister chloramine) that water supplies add is a problem though, and should be removed before brewing. Chlorine boils off, or even off-gasses just by sitting, but chloramine does not and should be removed. One crushed campden tablet per 20 gallons of brewing water is sufficient for removal.

 

[tripplehazzard]

Hard water isn't really a big deal in brewing. There are plenty of commercial beers made with hard water. The real bad guy in tap water is chlorides. I have a fancy filter I use at home that does reverse osmosis and controls PH, but when I brew away from home, I just take one of those Wal-Mart special $12-14 inline hose filters, which is a charcoal filter that easily filters chlorides.

That's all you really need to make good beer.

All of the medal-winning brewers in my brewclub swear by reverse-osmosis water with just a gypsum addition to the mash. The gypsum lowers the mash PH, helps with hops utilization, and "hardens" the water by adding calcium content.

Thank you so much!! We have been getting great brew from strictly tap water. But now I have been thinking a filter would be a good move. I know hb guys who want every detail to be perfect for their brew and I feel the same. Cheers!

 

[TopherM]

I've never heard before that "chlorides" are bad

Sorry, I thought chlorides was a term for a range of chlorine compounds, but I just looked it up, and I was definitely using the term incorrectly.

Looks like calcium chloride is a fairly common brewing water addition that neutralizes sodium ions that can be adverse to yeast health, so some "clorides" are definitely beneficial to beer!

 

[conpewter]

I had hard water at the old place and used it for everything. I would occasionally add some distilled water if I needed to adjust the profile for a lighter beer, and would add gypsum for IPAs (for the sulfide/chloride ratio). There are some good water adjustment spreadsheets out there if you do a search.

 

[Braufessor]

As mentioned - chlorine is always a problem. And alkalinity (high bicarbonate water) can be problematic in many beer styles (other than stouts/Porters etc.) The first step is figuring out what you are working with in terms of your own water source. Once you know that, then you can start to decide if "tap water is ok."

For me (very high bicarbonate) R.O. water has made a huge difference in my brewing. I now dilute with 40-100% RO water, depending on style. I use tap water with carbon filter for the rest. Bru'n Water to figure out additions.

For a lot of people, tap water is just fine. But if you are among those with alkalinity or chlorine issues - You can take your beer to another level by adjusting your water.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I am very OCD and have to control every aspect of my beer so I brew with R/O water and use Gypsum, calcium chloride, epsom salt, and canning salt using the Bru'n Water spreadsheet. This way, I can try to re-create any wins or avoid re-creating disasters. That being said, I have great success using bottled spring water as well but where I live the city water is no good for brewing.

 

[andvari7]

I don't relish the idea of using bottled water, because it costs too much, but my municipal water supply tastes of chlorine. Probably chloramine, knowing my luck.

 

[Yooper]

I don't relish the idea of using bottled water, because it costs too much, but my municipal water supply tastes of chlorine. Probably chloramine, knowing my luck.

That's an easy fix. If you want to know if your water is suitable for brewing, you can send a sample to Ward Lab and get a report to know for sure. Then you can remove the chloramine (easy) and get brewing.

 

[25518]

I have a problem with the chlorine were I live. I have a few water carboys I fill up. ¢25. A gallon. $1.25 for 5 gal.

 

[rico567]

We have a well that produces water with way too much dissolved iron and calcium to even think about brewing with it. I buy RO water at the grocery store for forty cents a gallon, simple solution, produces great beer. I amend the water with CaCl2 and gypsum per the sticky on water at the top of the "Brewing Science" section. I just follow the simple formulas given there, no spreadsheets for me.

 

[tripplehazzard]

I have a problem with the chlorine were I live. I have a few water carboys I fill up. ¢25. A gallon. $1.25 for 5 gal.

That's a good deal. And not expensive

 

[tripplehazzard]

Do larger brewerys just pump tap water into their brew? I know some might be lucky and sit on a natural spring .but most treat their water I would guess.

 

[bumstigedy]

I buy distilled water and add salts. I add only calcium chloride to the mash. Dark grains that only need steeping get added at the end of the mash. Additional salts I get the desired flavor are added to the kettle.

I'm still in the process of getting the right mash addition to nail the pH, but unlike this approach as I am always starting with exactly the same water.

 

[bovineblitz]

My water is so high in bicarbonates (super hard) that I dilute 50/50 with RO water. It's notoriously high here though and it tastes pretty bad. Generally I add a bit of calcium and magnesium (gypsum/epsom salt) because those levels are surprisingly low. It's pretty weird water but works well when treated right.

 

[TopherM]

Do larger brewerys just pump tap water into their brew? I know some might be lucky and sit on a natural spring .but most treat their water I would guess.

Most of the microbreweries around here run all of their water through a RO filter before it goes into the HLT.

The Yuengling brewery here alters their water so that it has the same profile as their Pottsville, PA brewery. I met the chemist responsible for their water treatment and spoke with him about it for about an hour.

 

[osagedr]

RO water is cheap at Costco and I mostly use it to brew now. I probably should just use tap water with k-meta.

 

[Kolsch_Meister]

Do larger brewerys just pump tap water into their brew? I know some might be lucky and sit on a natural spring .but most treat their water I would guess.

I'm lucky in that I was able to drive a well into a water source that surfaces as a spring on my neighbor's land. The spring water makes excellent beer..

 

[Monster Mash]

Do larger brewerys just pump tap water into their brew? I know some might be lucky and sit on a natural spring .but most treat their water I would guess.

Most micro breweries use municipal water run through carbon filters. Most big breweries use distilled water with minerals added back in so all of their breweries use the exact same water profile even in other countries.

 

[tripplehazzard]

I'm lucky in that I was able to drive a well into a water source that surfaces as a spring on my neighbor's land. The spring water makes excellent beer..

You got lucky! Delicious!