What bacterial contaminants are we worried about?

I’m brewing my first batch and want to be sure i’m doing it right. I have the wort in the carboy. My water has not been tested ( well water) . The wort has been boiled in the kettle during mashing and any water that had been added has been bottled water so I know that is OK. However I did thoroughly rinse out the carboy with my well water before using it. Could there be traces there or is the 5 gallons of wort now fermenting an inhospitable environment for the few drops thta could have remained from my pre rinse. Any reliable home tests that I can use to check my water. Or the wort before I bottle?

Use a sanitizer like StarSan or Iodophor to rinse your carboy. I guarantee you there are bacteria in your well water that are now happily multiplying in your beer. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll turn out bad so you’ll have to wait and see. Maybe you’ll get a nice sourish beer :slight_smile:

I’m assuming you are drinking your well water? It’s probably just as contaminated as municipal/rural water is.

You may want to get a W-9 or W-10 test from Ward Labs.

http://www.wardlab.com/FeeSchedule/WaterAnalysis.aspx

Don’t worry about it, although it’s best to use a Sanitizer in your carboy first, your yeast will probably win this fight…my sanitation is really overboard for the most part but people have successfully made beer for millennia with less than ideal conditions.