Spring water

[murraynoble2000]

I got my first brew kit yesterday. I had sterilised everything and going to rinse it with cold water. It was at this point it dawned on me that my water supply is untreated water from a natural spring. It's perfectly safe to drink but who knows what microorganisms might be in it. So I had to drive with my bucket to rinse all the gear down. Then it came to making up the recipe, same problem again, so had to drive again to use mains water. Am I being too cautious and untreated spring water is ok or is there a way to treat it to kill any microorganisms?

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

what are you using to sterilize it, most are non rinse. i have brewed many batches with fresh spring water and they have all been excellent. you only need to be concerned with sterilizing cold side items. your boil will kill everything on the hot side.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

People and on up to breweries brewed beer 'like' beverages for hundreds of years before anyone knew what a bacteria was.

 

[murraynoble2000]

I used the sterilising stuff that came with the kit. No instructions, so watched video on you tube. They said to rinse with cold water, but it might've been completely different stuff. It's right that people have been brewing long before sterilising, so it makes sense it should be ok. Just hearing that everything should be sterile or your beer's ruined made me worried that putting water straight out of the ground in might defeat the sterilisation process. Thanks for your comments.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

imo good beer requires clean and sterile equipment. if you do that to your best ability and follow the directions on the kit you will get a decent product. like i said typically most sanitizers (star san) or similar you do not rinse after using them. dont drive yourself crazy over it but it is good to be as clean as possible. most importantly have fun and enjoy your brewday.

ps Welcome to brewing and hbt