I’m reading through JP’s “how to brew” and he says not to rinse a bottle with tap water after sanitizing - and I get why, however it does bring up a question that i’ve been meaning to ask. With an extract kit doing partial boil, the water thats added to the bucket to bring it to the 5 gal mark -do people boil that water to kill any potential bacteria? I mean, any other water that is used for any purpose (priming sugar or otherwise) seems to be boiled for that reason. I’ve never seen this exact subject mentioned so I thought I’d ask. I’ve done two batches so far and the first (American wheat) is still conditioning and is freaking awesome. BTW its well water, I live in the country.
I’ve never boiled top off water and never had a problem from not boiling it. But I know my conditions…I don’t know yours.
Water conditions? Typical Georgia hard water, a little calcium a little rust. Actually I do filter though, through a charcoal refrig filter. Haven’t had any problems, just seems like conflicting info. OT, is NB site acting screwy or is it just me. Our posts are kinda running together, not displaying right. Had the same problem the other day placing an order. And thanks for the fast reply.
I’ve topped it off for years using tap water (and well water) as you describe and have never had a problem. You should be fine.
i guess i’m just used to throwing in a little potassium metabisulfite powder just in case the city adds chloramine; if i’m not mistaken, the campden acts as a “wild yeast killer” as well…
not bad insurance if you aren’t comfortable with your water source.
Thanks for the replies, I’m fine with my water supply, its just a question i’ve never seen specifically adressed before so i asked. I won’t worry about it and like I said , so far the results have been awesome.posting.php?mode=reply&f=1&t=109970#
Thanks for asking the question. I’ve always wondered about it myself so I began using my tap water (city water, well not city, but municipal) to use for the 4 gallon boils I do, then dropped 2 bucks on 2 gallon jugs of spring water to top up with. I don’t miss the 2 dollars, plus I put them in the fridge the night before to help bring the temp down.
I cool the wort down with an ice bath to around 90 degrees. I then pour into the fermenting bucket (which has a 5 gallon paint strainer in it). One important sanitation rule I always remember is to wipe the outside of the pot off before pouring into the fermenting bucket. I whirlpool my wort while also moving the pot in a circle the opposite way that I stir in a 20 or 25 gallon laundry tub filled with ice water. I find I can get almost 4 gallons of boiling wort down to 90 degrees in like 8 to 10 minutes using two different batches of icewater this way. After pulling the pot from the ice water bath I make sure to wipe down the outside of the pot as I don’t want any of that water dripping into my fermenter as I’m pouring my wort into it.
Maybe I’ll just save the 2 bucks and fill some empty gallon jugs with tap water and then cool them before my next batch. The county I live in periodically sends a letter that has all our water stats in it. I should pay attention to it next time to see what minerals and such are present. The water tastes great. A lot of my friends tell me how much better the water here tastes compared to their well water but who knows.
Anyhow, good question!
