FL water, extract or infection?

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing
1

So I only brewed a few extract batches before going to AG and thought I’d never look back. However, I’ve been working in central Florida for a few months and since good craft beer is hard to come by here I decided to brew a few extract batches. I’ve been pretty anal about sanitation and ferment temps, fermenting in a small concrete room with a dedicated window unit set to 60 degrees seems to work pretty well. I’ve done 2 batches of Irish Red Ale and 1 Innkeeper and all seem to have a tangy off flavor. The water here has a skunky smell and taste to me but I’ve used only water filtered through the fridge filter. I’m kind of at a loss as to what could be causing the off taste I’m experiencing.

At home in Virginia I use well water and adjust it for my AG batches. This water is municipal water and has chlorine even though my nose says it smells like sulfur and sewer. Should I be treating it for chlorine? Using RO water or spring water instead? Any idea or advice especially from FL brewers appreciated!

2

Your frig filter will not take out the chlorine or chloramine. You can treat the water for this, but the filter may also leave high amounts of trace minerals found in FL ground water. Brewing one batch with RO water will tell you if your tap water is the problem.

3

thanks for responding flars. That’s kind of the direction I was headed. I should have thought about the chlorine before. I’ll try a batch with RO water next.