"Jake Woods" <jake.woods@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:S_mdnT4sm9FCEE7bnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Bill Fright wrote:
>> Jake Woods wrote:
>>> Bill Fright wrote:
>>>> Jake Woods wrote:
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>
>>>>> The area I live in is in severe need of rain, and it's affected our
>>>>> water quality to the point where I don't even want to wash my
>>>>> equipment with the muck that is coming out of the faucet.
Officially,
>>>>> they tell us that it is an algae bloom and it is safe to drink but
>>>>> will taste like pond water until we get some rain.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any opinions on the following questions are welcome.
>>>>>
>>>>> 1. Will a thorough cleaning/sanitization job with PBW and Star-San
>>>>> overcome any nasties that the water introduces?
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. If I buy water to clean with, and don't heat it up to my tap
>>>>> water's usual temp, will that affect the performance of the
sanitizer?
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. I have 5 gals that I made about 5 weeks ago that is (past) ready
to
>>>>> be bottled. How long can I wait before giving in and buying water
to
>>>>> clean and sanitize my bottling rig with?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks - this one's got me a little perplexed.
>>>>>
>>>>> - Jake
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> one- if the water tastes funny your beer will taste funny. Here in
the
>>>> states they sell 5 gallon water bottles. I'd switch entirely over to
>>>> those until your water goes back to normal.
>>>
>>> I'm not worried about the brew water - for the wort and for topping
off
>>> , I never used the tap even when the water tasted fine. I'm only
>>> concerned about any off tastes that could be left by the water I
>>> sanitize with. I'm still really small time and never have more than
one
>>> batch going at a time :)
>>>>
>>>> two- heat your water for the sanitizer until warm and put in a
>>>> sanitizing bucket. The stuff I use requires warm water.
>>>>
>>>> three- I've let my beer sit in the secondary 4 weeks longer than
normal
>>>> once and kegged it. Since it's air tight and is filled with CO2 you
>>>> should be fine.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Is this well water or city water? Do you mind if I ask where you
live?
>>>
>>> Middle Tennessee. Let's hear it for the ***berland River.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> After cooling your wort I'd be sure to use good clean water to top
off
>>>> your brew. Algae bloom and beer can't mix well!!!
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> - Jake
>>
>> Interesting. I use my well water entirely to brew my beers. The good
part
>> is the water is very hard (limestone). The well pulls from about 200'
>> deep. At first I was concerned about using non-treated water especially
>> after fermentation but I've never had a bad batch yet and I've brewed
>> roughly 500 gallons.
>>
>> My question to you is are you using bottled spring water or the
filtered
>> stuff at grocery stores? I'm thinking of doing more pilsners and think
>> the softer water might be better.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Bill
>
> Bill,
>
> Everything I've read says to stick to water specifically labeled
"Spring"
> and not "Distilled" since the latter is just too soft. I use the local
> grocery store brand, but strangely enough have found a difference in the
> two brands available to me (Kroger and Publix if that means anything to
> you). Both of the Publix batches I did had ridiculously bad mixing
> problems, in both cases I had to remove the fermenting beer from my
> primary and stir it. I now stick entirely to Kroger. Just
> experimentation I guess, like every other part of the process!
Why don't you just install a filter on the tap? I have one that filters
out
larger particles and then has a second stage that uses carbon for the
rest.
They don't cost much and work great.
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