I made a Russian Imerial Stout this weekend and was looking for something fun to add to it. We had a heavy rain late last week so I put a bunch of pots and brew buckets out in the yard. Yes, I collected rainwater and used it in the boil. I got 3 gallons of rain. I made what I am calling “Rainbrew Stout”. The brew day worked well. I am very excited to try this one in 6 weeks. Funny how for my first brew I was filtering tap water through a carbon filter and making sure I had purity. Now, 6 months later I am collecting rain. I tasted the rain after boiling it to sterilize and it was a very nice tasting water. It had actual flavor, and it was pleasant.
Very intriguing approach…let us know how it turns out!
I just bought the Palmer book on Water. Wow, here we go. So much to learn. Glad I had chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry!
Yeah, I am not really worried about water chemistry since I am doing extract brewing. Chemistry isn’t really an issue with extract. They say if it tastes good you can use it.
FWIW, in most places you wouldn’t want to use rainwater becasue of all the pollutants in it.
Now now Denny. You had to rain in the parade.
Now now Denny. You had to rain in the parade.[/quote]
Hey, you made a joke! 
I just think it’s prudent to be aware of stuff like that.
I never worry about the pollution in rain water. The water would have the pollution from picking it up from the air. That means if its in my rainwater it’s the same pollution I would breathe. So, no big difference. We’re all gonna die anyway so why not do it at the hands of rainbrew.
I agree. Lots of pollutants, and little or no mineral content.
You want to add something to it? Will it stand up to adding something?
See where it is at once done fermenting and if you achieved what you were going for and what would be nice to add if anything.
As for chemicals in the rain water, apparently we have lots of environmental scientists here. SO they would then know how much bad stuff you come into contact with on a daily basis…
I am no enviornmental scientist, but I would not be surprised at all if there were a few on this forum, given such diverse backgrounds among us. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night…
Rain water is formed higher up in the atmosphere, where pollutants can accumulate. So the air we breathe can be different than what atmospheric water (rain) is exposed to.
I know that where I live, they say it is best to not use rain to fill up swimming pools because it screws up the pool chemistry.
I think if it were me, I would be a bit hesitant to willingly drink 5 gallons of rain.
[quote=“Steeler D”]I am no enviornmental scientist, but I would not be surprised at all if there were a few on this forum, given such diverse backgrounds among us. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night…
Rain water is formed higher up in the atmosphere, where pollutants can accumulate. So the air we breathe can be different than what atmospheric water (rain) is exposed to.
I know that where I live, they say it is best to not use rain to fill up swimming pools because it screws up the pool chemistry.
I think if it were me, I would be a bit hesitant to willingly drink 5 gallons of rain.[/quote]
where do you think a good portion of your water comes from? You dont think there are chemicals in your tap water?
[quote=“grainbelt”][quote=“Steeler D”]I am no enviornmental scientist, but I would not be surprised at all if there were a few on this forum, given such diverse backgrounds among us. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night…
Rain water is formed higher up in the atmosphere, where pollutants can accumulate. So the air we breathe can be different than what atmospheric water (rain) is exposed to.
I know that where I live, they say it is best to not use rain to fill up swimming pools because it screws up the pool chemistry.
I think if it were me, I would be a bit hesitant to willingly drink 5 gallons of rain.[/quote]
where do you think a good portion of your water comes from? You dont think there are chemicals in your tap water?[/quote]
It gets treated. For better or worse. There’s a sh!tload of chlorine and who knows what else in my tap water that did not fall from the sky.
[quote=“Steeler D”][quote=“grainbelt”][quote=“Steeler D”]I am no enviornmental scientist, but I would not be surprised at all if there were a few on this forum, given such diverse backgrounds among us. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night…
Rain water is formed higher up in the atmosphere, where pollutants can accumulate. So the air we breathe can be different than what atmospheric water (rain) is exposed to.
I know that where I live, they say it is best to not use rain to fill up swimming pools because it screws up the pool chemistry.
I think if it were me, I would be a bit hesitant to willingly drink 5 gallons of rain.[/quote]
where do you think a good portion of your water comes from? You dont think there are chemicals in your tap water?[/quote]
It gets treated. For better or worse. There’s a sh!tload of chlorine and who knows what else in my tap water that did not fall from the sky.[/quote]
Ha ok
Check out this thread for a similar discussion:
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=119533
[quote=“mattnaik”]Check out this thread for a similar discussion:
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=119533
[/quote]
this was the only good peice of adivce on that whole topic from the water man himself…
[i][size=85][color=#000040]Rain water is fine for brewing usage. Do recognize that it will contain impurities and is not really safe for drinking without treatment. However, the brewing process does make water safe for consumption. A consideration everyone should recognize is that all water was once rain water and any of those sources could be similarly or more contaminated than the roof drainage may be. Those of you with water utilities getting their water from rivers or reservoirs should understand that your water has run across every filthy thing you can imagine on its way to you. Modern treatment processes are capable of cleaning that water to potable quality.
Most water treatment plants DO NOT remove dissolved constituents like organic compounds (like the roof tar example above) and metals (zinc from a metal roof), so its a foolish assumption that tap water is automatically better. The thing we can count on with our tap water is that it is sanitary and relatively free from hazardous levels of a variety of contaminants. With that said, the advice to collect water after the first flush of a rain storm is wise. That will wash away a large percentage of contaminants. There are millions of homes that rely on roof catchment and cisterns for their water. Minor treatment is all that is required to make that water safe to drink. But it is already safe to brew with.
Brew on![/color][/size][/i]
