Water for distilling

[Foothills]

I am new to the art of distilling. I have used tap water to make my first few thin mash runs. Someone told me I needed to use well water or water without chlorine added as tap water has it added. He said the chlorine affected the yeast ultimately affecting the yield of spirits. Is this true, does it matter. Just wondering

[Richard Coleman, Jr]

Josh,
If your tap water tastes good for drinking- it is most likely fine for mashing.
If you are first starting out- I would focus more on hitting mash temps, keeping everything sterile, and fermenting at a proper temperature for the yeast- then you can spend more time reading about water chemistry.

If you want to start reading up- this is a great nerdy book if you are into that type of thing- http://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993

If you are worried about the chlorine you can boil it off, charcoal filtered out, or you can simply leave 5 gallons of water uncovered overnight and it is good to go. If you have chloramine you can use Campden tablets that contain potassium metabisulphite to remove it.

Good water is key to making good whiskey- but I have been using city tap water for a long time with good results. (I live in a town with really good tap water though- so that does help)

Hope that helps

[Foothills]

Richard
Thanks for the info. As I said I am new at this and didn’t want a simple thing as using tap water to be affecting my success. What I have been producing has been pretty good.

[BeverageCommander]

Nice! I would keep doing what you are doing. Checkout that book that Richard linked- it is really good- nerdy but good.

[Author]

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