Tap water??

[Someday Co]

So I just got into brewing and decided to start with all grain brewing. I got everything set up from a nice collection of malts to my DIY mash tun, I'm about to do my first brew session tomorrow but I keep running into the question of what water to use. I always knew our tap water was on the better side here in Los Alamos, I found a water report for my area and saw that it was treated with 1.07 ppm of chlorine. Is that good enough for me to use, or is there something I'm missing? would it be better to buy a few gallons of spring water until I get what I need to treat the water?

 

[Mark Farrall]

Simplest starting point would be just to get some Campden tablets (sodium/potassium metabisulfite) to remove the chlorine or chloramine from your water and add it to the water when you're starting to heat it up.

Next level of complexity is to get a water report so you can work out whether you should be adding some of the brewing salts to improve the mashing or taste of your beer. You might be able to get a report from your local water authority, but most people in the US don't seem to be able to get (or rely) on one, so they send a sample of their water to Ward Labs. If you're going to send a sample it'd still be good to have some idea from your water authority how consistent the water is your getting. Is it just from the one source? The one blended source? Or one source part of the year, another source another part of the year, etc

If you do go to the water report level, feel free to post it up here to get some pointers on how to use the site to help with those salts. It generally takes a few attempts at understanding what's going on before you're comfortable with the salt additions.

 

[Minbari]

Second the camden tablets. They are cheap and insure that you won't have chlorine.

FYI most cities don't use chlorine, they use chlorimine, which will NEVER boil off. You have to use camden tablets

 

[Craigerrr]

Can't stress enough the need to deal with the chlorine/chloromine, campden tablet as the others mention.
Half of a tablet for a 5 gallon batch is good.

 

[west1m]

Its your first brew, go get 7-8 gallons RO water from a machine at the store. You already have a bunch of money stuffed into this project (more to come, just wait) a few bucks for water to make your first try go good won't hurt.

 

[Minbari]

Its your first brew, go get 7-8 gallons RO water from a machine at the store. You already have a bunch of money stuffed into this project (more to come, just wait) a few bucks for water to make your first try go good won't hurt.

This is what i do too. Wallmart RO water is nearly 0 on the tds meter. Starting with a clean slate makes things more repeatable

 

[sbaclimber]

I found a water report for my area and saw that it was treated with 1.07 ppm of chlorine. Is that good enough for me to use, or is there something I'm missing? would it be better to buy a few gallons of spring water until I get what I need to treat the water?

I was going to say, that I used campden tablets for a while, but then stopped after noticing no difference. But now, after reading this plus some of the other replies, I at least understand why.
My municipality only adds about ~0.1ppm of chlorine (not chloramine).

 

[Megary]

This is what i do too. Wallmart RO water is nearly 0 on the tds meter. Starting with a clean slate makes things more repeatable

I've never used it, so I have to ask: is it recommended to brew with straight RO water? The OP is new to brewing and maybe salt additions aren't yet in the cards.
I'm wondering if a Campden tablet and tap water wouldn't be easier??

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I have not used RO water yet. I do use salt additions but not in every brew.

 

[Someday Co]

Thanks all!
Alright so until I can get a water report and Campden tablets, I'll definitely use the RO water. I'm wondering - @Minbari said RO water is nearly 0 tds - like a clean slate. So would adding Campden tablets to my tap make it a clean slate or just get rid of chlorine/chloramine yet still leave behind the natural salts and etc? Also I read in a few places that you want some sort of minerals in the water for a better ferment, would this make a few gallons of spring water a better option? or should I not worry about that and just go ahead with the RO?

And one last question - what kind of salts would I need say I decide to do that with the water report and all?

 

[Sunfire96]

You can use just RO. It won't be as ideal as RO plus salts, but it's absolutely doable.

Campden just removes chloramine, but does add sulfur if you use too much. 1/2 tab for a 5 gallon batch is a good starting dose.

To start, in addition to the campden you'll want gypsum and calcium chloride. That will allow you to adjust your chloride and sulfate levels in the beer. Any homebrew shop will have these.

The yeast wants calcium and magnesium to do it's job best. Your tap water may have that, only a report will let you know. Or spend $40 to get it tested. The yeast also wants zinc, which usually isn't reported. A small vial of yeast nutrient will provide zinc and last you quite a few brews. Cheers!

 

[Sunfire96]

Spring water would also work. I wouldn't add any salts unless you can find a water report from the company. Most big name brands provide a report on their website.

In general, you don't want to add brewing salts unless you know what minerals are in the water (for RO water that number is essentially zero). You also don't want to add salts unless you have a goal in mind, such as increased sulfate for a hoppy beer, a balanced profile for an English brown, etc. The goal water profile is usually dependant on the beer style you're brewing and the type of flavors you want to be enhanced in that beer.

Water chemistry is a deep subject! but you can keep it simple if you want.

 

[Someday Co]

@Sunfire96 Thanks, since I'm super new to brewing I'll keep it simple until I know enough to have a goal in mind

Cheers!

 

[Sunfire96]

@Sunfire96 Thanks, since I'm super new to brewing I'll keep it simple until I know enough to have a goal in mind

Cheers!

Sounds like a plan feel free to ask for help here whenever you need! Lots of knowledgeable folks. There are some good articles to read as well, if you're interested

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I've never used it, so I have to ask: is it recommended to brew with straight RO water? The OP is new to brewing and maybe salt additions aren't yet in the cards.
I'm wondering if a Campden tablet and tap water wouldn't be easier??

Your right about adding salts when using RO water. The main goals for adding salts to the water is to increase calcium for yeast health and flocculation; and adding sulfate and to some extent chloride for flavor. The chloride to sulfate ratio has been emphasized by most of the homebrewing world, but this has been called into question recently. The reason for this is that the grain provides a massive amount of chlorides to the beer and less in the way sulfates. Some tests have shown as much as 200ppm of chlorides in beer and 50 ppm in sulfate from just the grain. Calcium levels were fairly low at 25ppm. So this shows that the ratio isn't a big deal, the wort needs calcium either in the form of calcium chloride or calcium sulfate. If I want a drier, more mineral character, I add mostly sulfate. Malty, I add a small amount of sulfate and mostly chloride.

So to make things simple, add @ 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of a mixture of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate to RO water for a 5 gallon batch. Change to amount of either salt to suit the beer your brewing. Your calcium levels will be 70-100 ppm, which is perfect for the yeast. Water additions have been made way too complicated by some, it's actually pretty simple.

I made a all RO water German Pils with only calcium sulfate addition as an experiment. The beer was drier, although the malt still came through. It had a subtle mineral finish to it. I assume the sulfate was the source for the mineral flavor. It is a very nice beer.

Here is a podcast that explores the subject, its actually surprising how much water salts are brought by the grain.

https://www.masterbrewerspodcast.com/066

 

[Minbari]

I've never used it, so I have to ask: is it recommended to brew with straight RO water? The OP is new to brewing and maybe salt additions aren't yet in the cards.
I'm wondering if a Campden tablet and tap water wouldn't be easier??

As others have said. No, not straight RO, you need to season it lol. It isn't hard or costly. I think i bought my brew minerals 5 years ago, cost $20. Still have enough for years to come

 

[Megary]

Thanks for the replies. I only asked for the sake of the OP. Thankfully, my well water is quite suitable for brewing. No lugging water for me!

 

[Someday Co]

As others have said. No, not straight RO, you need to season it lol. It isn't hard or costly. I think i bought my brew minerals 5 years ago, cost $20. Still have enough for years to come

wow so buying the minerals isn't really a problem huh. With all the calculators online I think seasoning my RO shouldn't be a problem, I guess I'll spend a few extra bucks on spring water until the seasoning comes in.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I've never used it, so I have to ask: is it recommended to brew with straight RO water? The OP is new to brewing and maybe salt additions aren't yet in the cards.
I'm wondering if a Campden tablet and tap water wouldn't be easier??

This is how i do it.
Run through a carbon filter then throw some metabisulfite at it and call it done.

For a new brewer I'd keep it simple.

My water is soft here so I'm not sure anything can be gained for me doing RO.
Will test this soon as I've found a local bloke with am RO system that's happy to fill a keg for me yay.

But I'm gunna add salts to it so what the heck.

That being said water is crucial to brewing great beer.

 

[Megary]

Your right about adding salts when using RO water. The main goals for adding salts to the water is to increase calcium for yeast health and flocculation; and adding sulfate and to some extent chloride for flavor. The chloride to sulfate ratio has been emphasized by most of the homebrewing world, but this has been called into question recently. The reason for this is that the grain provides a massive amount of chlorides to the beer and less in the way sulfates. Some tests have shown as much as 200ppm of chlorides in beer and 50 ppm in sulfate from just the grain. Calcium levels were fairly low at 25ppm. So this shows that the ratio isn't a big deal, the wort needs calcium either in the form of calcium chloride or calcium sulfate. If I want a drier, more mineral character, I add mostly sulfate. Malty, I add a small amount of sulfate and mostly chloride.

So to make things simple, add @ 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of a mixture of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate to RO water for a 5 gallon batch. Change to amount of either salt to suit the beer your brewing. Your calcium levels will be 70-100 ppm, which is perfect for the yeast. Water additions have been made way too complicated by some, it's actually pretty simple.

I made a all RO water German Pils with only calcium sulfate addition as an experiment. The beer was drier, although the malt still came through. It had a subtle mineral finish to it. I assume the sulfate was the source for the mineral flavor. It is a very nice beer.

Here is a podcast that explores the subject, its actually surprising how much water salts are brought by the grain.

https://www.masterbrewerspodcast.com/066

Very interesting podcast, especially about the malt. Maybe I'll push these mineral ratios a bit farther than I have in the past. I do wish the targets were hard and fast numbers as opposed to ratios since ratios leave a lot to the imagination, but every bit of info helps.