Well water

[fightingswede]

I live in the country and have my own well. I have been brewing with battled water but would like to try my own. I don't have any test on it. Can anyone think of what could go wrong? Anyone ever use water from a country well? Thanks in advance.

[Ó Flannagáin]

How's the water taste? I know a lot of well water can have a slight sulferic taste which is not good for brewing. But, if it tastes good I suspect it'll work fine. If you notice problems with efficiency or off flavors then you might to get it tested and see if you need to use a ph balancer or salts

[Lerxst]

Do you brew AG, Extract or PM?

Depending on which method you brew, it may not matter a whole lot. Barley D posted recently about water testing and Ward Labs...who are commonly used by homebrewers to get a sample tested at a decent price. http://www.wardlab.com/

[mr x]

I think the worst that could happen is a bad pH messing up your brew. A quick pH test would be beneficial. And I wouldn't try a lager style that needs soft water. Well water is usually on the harder side. How does the water perform for washing dishes and clothes?

[Diver Down]

I use well water.And I have had no problem with it. If you drink the water and it taste good you will likely be OK. I know poeple with wells that the water is only good for is to water the lawn. Give it a shot and brew with it.

[Lerxst]

Every time I hear "if it tastes good, brew w/ it" I always think of my old neighbors that had bacterial contamination in their well water and only figured that out when visitors complained about getting "intestinal issues" after visiting. Apparently, they built a tolerance to the concentration of bacteria and it didn't effect them the same way. They thought the water tasted just fine the whole time.

Granted, this isn't to say that your well is contaminated.

[ben the brewman]

my cousin has well water and it has a lot of iron in it so much you can taste it. but there is only one way to find out if it will work just do it.

[Barley-Davidson]

I would image at some point there was an analysis of the well water done. Usually when someone buys a home with a well they get an analysis done or have one supplied by the seller.
If you could dig that up it should have some useful info.

[fightingswede]

Thanks for all of the input! The water is somewhat hard as we need to have a water softner on it, plus it has some iron -- we have to buy the rust remover type of softner pellets or we get a brown ring. However, it tastes great and definitely doesn't have any sulfur odor/taste to it.

[Lerxst]

Thanks for all of the input! The water is somewhat hard as we need to have a water softner on it, plus it has some iron -- we have to buy the rust remover type of softner pellets or we get a brown ring. However, it tastes great and definitely doesn't have any sulfur odor/taste to it.

do you have a supply spigot pre-softener?

[fightingswede]

Yeah, I'm taking the water BEFORE it gets to the softner.

[Barley-Davidson]

I would see about running that water (pre-softened) through a reverse osmosis filter.

If you do that you then need to replace some minerals that are removed by the RO process, but you can tailor your water to what you're brewing.

Depending on how much you brew bottled water may still be the way to go.

[Shenanigans]

Meh, I'd probably just try something like this RV water filter 1st. (http://www.amazon.com/TastePURE-40043-Filter-Flexible-Protector/dp/B0006IX87S)
One of the reviews says the guy uses it to get rid of rust in his pool and hard water sediment on his car. You'd want to get a potable white hose to go with it too. The only real problem would be the rust as hard water can be desirable in some styles.

[mdd134]

I use well water, with no problems. I say give it a try, and check ph.