# Rainwater? Good or bad



## Ghizo (27/10/15)

Hi all I have just moved into a new house and while I have town water I also a good sized water tank, is this any good for brewing? Or better to use tap water?


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## osprey brewday (27/10/15)

Are u in populated area if so may not be a good idea, pollution settles on roof and washes into tank rural areas with a correct plumbing would be fine taste it and compare with tap water


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## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

Made my best beers with tank water.


Had 70,000 Ltrs across 3 tanks on my old place, cant beet rain water. :super:


I miss that place


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## Benn (27/10/15)

I use rainwater from the holiday house next door, no problems that I've noticed. I pour it straight into the fermenting vessel (extract brewer) without pre boiling and haven't had any infection issues etc.


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## leighaus (27/10/15)

if it tastes good as a water, it should taste good as beer. 
i have filtered water and mains water at my house. The mains water is actually quite good where i am, so i dont bother with that much filtered water (just for additional time really). I did use it once, but didn't notice anything drastic asides from more time spent.


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## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

My best beer done with rain water was SAAZ Pale Ale

5% light crystal
10% wheat
Ale Malt

SAAZ 6%AA

SG 1055

IBU 35ish

27ish IBU @ 60m
5ish IBU @10-15m
5ish IBU at 5-0m

Yeast. 


Note. Proper SAAZ is very low in AA% so you need a lot.


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## superstock (27/10/15)

So, the birds & possums don't poop on your roof, the frogs don't live in the rotting leaves in the gutters and nothing washes off the roof material itself?
Wouldn't take the chance myself. If you must use, boil first.


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## Benn (27/10/15)

A bit off topic but...I opened a pouch of Saaz pellets that I bought the other day and they smelt quite different to other hops I've smelt. They smelt more earthy and woody than bright and "hoppy" is that typical of Saaz? I've never smelt them before.


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## spog (27/10/15)

Helps build up your immune system.


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## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

superstock said:


> So, the birds & possums don't poop on your roof, the frogs don't live in the rotting leaves in the gutters and nothing washes off the roof material itself?
> Wouldn't take the chance myself. If you must use, boil first.


I had frogs living in my tanks. 

Thats are sure fire way of telling if the water is good

Water was always really sweet to taste....I used to go into town and think the water was make of concrete


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## Mozz (27/10/15)

Not so sure about that Ducati Stu. Currently fighting with about 5 green tree frogs for the dunny bowl at the moment. [emoji37]


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## rockeye84 (27/10/15)

Done 40+ brews with rain water, with salt additions of course, never an issue.


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## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

Mozz said:


> Not so sure about that Ducati Stu. Currently fighting with about 5 green tree frogs for the dunny bowl at the moment. [emoji37]


Bastard things they are... 

Had them in both inside toilets....

Used to love turning the verandah lights on and then turning it off after and hour and watch the frogs have a feast of insects


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## real_beer (27/10/15)

Mozz said:


> Not so sure about that Ducati Stu. Currently fighting with about 5 green tree frogs for the dunny bowl at the moment. [emoji37]


When one of my mates had a party at his house in the 70's we used to hang out close to the under house toilet and wait for the screams of horror from the girls using it for the first time as thy flushed the three resident frogs from under the rim into the bowl. Great fun and it never got old :lol:


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## Mozz (27/10/15)




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## real_beer (27/10/15)

I think Chernobyl rainwater would encourage some interesting new yeast mutations! Giant cells that can ferment a brew in 6 hours and fart so much carbon dioxide you could backfill a CO2 bottle. You'd probably have to re-enforce the fermenter with carbon fibre though.


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## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

Mozz said:


> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1445946999.707071.jpg


Yep....been there.....etc...etc....


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## manticle (27/10/15)

You've been to Mozz's loo?
I hope with permission.


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## Cervantes (27/10/15)

I used to use rain water, but then bought an RO unit.

When I dismantled the rain water butt and saw the crap in the bottom I was pleased that I'd switched.

And I live out in the sticks and have gutter guard fitted.

But to be fair the beer made with rain water was always very good...............


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## Ducatiboy stu (28/10/15)

manticle said:


> You've been to Mozz's loo?
> I hope with permission.


I just want to know how he knew where I lived so he could take that photo


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## rockeye84 (28/10/15)

Cervantes said:


> I used to use rain water, but then bought an RO unit.
> 
> When I dismantled the rain water butt and saw the crap in the bottom I was pleased that I'd switched.
> 
> ...


Did you notice any improvement switching from rainwater to RO water? Just made the switch my self. Yet to taste my brew, RO water def has less taste than rainwater.


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## Aces High (28/10/15)

Your tap water goes through old crappy pipes for hundreds of kms. How could you think that was cleaner than tank water. Tank water is great to brew with, tastes so clean compared to fluoridated tap water


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## Midnight Brew (28/10/15)

I'm all for rainwater brewing and used it for a while now with salt additions to suit the profile of the beer. When it comes from your roof you do need to be aware if the roof has any lead flashings, as this renders the water undrinkable.


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## spog (28/10/15)

Tell that to the population of Port Pirie.
The way the media was beating it up years back they were dropping dead in the street.
I've a relo over there who is rail thin but weighs 160 kg.


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## Spohaw (28/10/15)

Check your ph and use salt additions 

I've been using rain water and my beers have been coming out astringent and acidic , entered beers in the wa state beer comp and "check your water" was the main comment I got back 

My rain water turned out to be a bit acidic .... Lower than the ph strips and a water hardness test kit that I was given could read 

Done two brews since with salt additions and 5.2ph stabiliser , I got a better mash efficiency for the last two brews ...... Hope this fixes the problems I've had 

I boil all the water I use as well 

I'm hoping these next two beers will be light years on previous ones ..... Not so acidic


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## MHB (28/10/15)

Same answer as you would get to the question "Tapwater? Good or bad"
Short answer is maybe - it will depend on whether or not the water is good!
Mark


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## Mozz (28/10/15)

Jokes aside and getting off topic. Sorry couldn't resist. Tank water would be great. It's going to be very soft requiring salt additions if you're mashing as said above but that is controllable, and then it's boiled anyway. If you're adding it straight to the fermenter without boiling? Experiment I guess. Even though it's not disinfected the microbial flora might be fine. Tap water is not sterile anyway and kit brewers add that straight to fermenters. Who cares about a few extra organics. Darwin has great water and comes with special saltwater croc additions.


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## RdeVjun (28/10/15)

Fellas, putting all the hilarity and OT aside, being the wet blanket, this would be AHB's Kits & Extract board, so presume that the OP is not mashing with his rainwater but most likely diluting tins of goop with it.
I would urge caution using rainwater in a kit scenario as the microbiology may be unkind. IIRC its been done to death here before, but the take home message is that some treatment (eg. boiling it, Campden tabs etc.) may be worthwhile but many brewers use it straight from the tap without any problems.
A simple experimental batch without any rainwater treatment would be a pragmatic way to find out- if it's satisfactory and not infected then there's the answer, if not then it is time to work out if the infection is from the rainwater or something else perhaps (ie. a process of elimination).


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## Bribie G (28/10/15)

New place has a handy sized tank, I'll be boiling mine first ... not a biggie, just let it cool in urn to 68 then away we go.


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## Spohaw (28/10/15)

I'd still be looking at the ph with K&k brews , acidic water would still lead to acidic brews I think

Even though my gutters have been cleaned a few times living on a rural style block we get a lot of leaves and stuff in the gutters which have leeched into our tank

The water has turned a noticeable yellow colour , I'm thinking that's what has changed my water ph to 6 down to round 4


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## real_beer (28/10/15)

Chaps, I now pose this question:

How many Australians living on properties that rely solely on tank water actually have rainwater in them? Most people I know have to regularly buy in water and who knows where that comes from?

A lot of water quality also relies on the volume of the water storage provided. A merchant seaman mate of mine had a party and one of his mates told me a ship he was on stopped for maintenance in the Middle East (cheaper labour costs). Two days out to sea an emergency crew was flow out by helicopter to lock down, and bring it back to port under quarantine as every member of the crew suddenly became violently ill,

So they wouldn't loose their job maintenance workers would sleep on the deck of the ship at night so head counts weren't very accurate. One of the poor devils had died while cleaning the inside of the main drinking water tank without being noticed. If the same thing happened in a huge city water storage tank you'd be okay because of the sheer volume of water surrounding the putrefying mushy rotting corpse. Everything's relative of course but maybe it explains why some beers you brew mysteriously seem to have much more body than usual :lol: 

Yuk: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/weird-news/strange-taste-water-supply-caused-corpse-supply-to/njngx/


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## Cervantes (28/10/15)

rockeye84 said:


> Did you notice any improvement switching from rainwater to RO water? Just made the switch my self. Yet to taste my brew, RO water def has less taste than rainwater.


Not really.

I really did the switch as I only had a small rainwater tank, which was fine for the winter, but soon ran out of the water when brewing in the summer, so I purchased a small RO unit to give me consistent water quality all year round.

Both require mineral additions.


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## droid (28/10/15)

yep must hit up some friends with tanks for future lagers, lovely chubbly soft water


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## Ghizo (28/10/15)

So I guess I chuck one down and see?
Do I add anything to the water?


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## Benn (28/10/15)

Earlier this week I listened to a beersmith podcast which discussed water, they mentioned that minerals etc are generally added to the wort when making tins of extract at the factory, so extract brewers should be more or less ok if that info is correct. 
I don't add anything to the tank water that I use and when I brew to a standard formula/recipe good beer comes out the other side.
I do however live close the the surf and salt gets onto everything, including our roof & gutters.


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## drsmurto (29/10/15)

I've been using rainwater for brewing for several years. It is carbon filtered prior to use although i don't find it necessary. The water tastes good unfiltered, a slight smokey taste in winter from the wood fires but the filter strips that out. I do live in the country and have no overhanging trees and the resident possums have enough trees to destroy without the need to spend time on the roof. 

You will need to adjust your water with brewing salts though and how much depends on what you are brewing. Ideally you'd get your water analysed too to know what your starting point is.

The pH of your water is largely irrelevant, the pH of your mash is what needs to be within a set range. I'd only be adjusting water pH if and only if my mash pH was out based on a measurement, not a theoretical calculation.


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## pcmfisher (29/10/15)

All tank rainwater I have ever tasted tastes horrible, even compared to Adelaide tap water. I know that is a large statement.

I would brew with rainwater if I really had to but would make sure it was boiled/sanitised/filtered somewhere along the line.


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## Curly79 (29/10/15)

pcmfisher said:


> All tank rainwater I have ever tasted tastes horrible, even compared to Adelaide tap water. I know that is a large statement.
> 
> I would brew with rainwater if I really had to but would make sure it was boiled/sanitised/filtered somewhere along the line.


Does it really taste horrible? Or does it just not taste like drinking out of a swimming pool that has just been dosed with chlorine.... Like your obviously used to living in the city?


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## wide eyed and legless (29/10/15)

Spohaw said:


> I'd still be looking at the ph with K&k brews , acidic water would still lead to acidic brews I think
> 
> Even though my gutters have been cleaned a few times living on a rural style block we get a lot of leaves and stuff in the gutters which have leeched into our tank
> 
> The water has turned a noticeable yellow colour , I'm thinking that's what has changed my water ph to 6 down to round 4


http://www.extension.org/pages/32302/drinking-water-treatment-ph-adjustment#.VjFp4dIrIsY

I was going to suggest potassium carbonate, its what I use to lift my pH for my hydroponics but I thought it may be to dangerous but apparently they use it to adjust the pH of mead.


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## seamad (29/10/15)

pcmfisher said:


> All tank rainwater I have ever tasted tastes horrible, even compared to Adelaide tap water. I know that is a large statement.
> 
> I would brew with rainwater if I really had to but would make sure it was boiled/sanitised/filtered somewhere along the line.


the rainwater in Qld tastes bloody good :lol: .
If it tastes bad it's probably coming from a dirty tank. No town water where I live, just keep your gutters clean and have a floating pickup in the tank, give the tank a clean out as required.


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## Ducatiboy stu (29/10/15)

pcmfisher said:


> All tank rainwater I have ever tasted tastes horrible, even compared to Adelaide tap water. I know that is a large statement.
> 
> I would brew with rainwater if I really had to but would make sure it was boiled/sanitised/filtered somewhere along the line.


You obviously havnt tasted much good rainwater then


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## superstock (29/10/15)

Whether rain water tastes good is not the concern, it's the bacterial count that is of concern. Town water is treated and has a very low bacterial count. We as a group are concerned about contamination of our product and most of the prolific posters on this forum advocate sanitation of everything to do with the brew. Now these same people seem to be advocating the use of water that is suspect in its cleanliness......go figure!

P.S. I too live in the bush on the outer fringe of a major city, after 40+ years suburbia is only a few kliometers away, so I now have town water as well as tank. I used to boil the tank water but I now use town water straight from the tap. Haven't noticed any difference in the brew and I've never had an infection. Touch wood.


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## pcmfisher (30/10/15)

Aces High said:


> Your tap water goes through old crappy pipes for hundreds of kms. How could you think that was cleaner than tank water. Tank water is great to brew with, tastes so clean compared to fluoridated tap water


You can taste fluoride in tap water?


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## pcmfisher (30/10/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You obviously havnt tasted much good rainwater then


Obviously not!


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## wombil (30/10/15)

I have been using water straight from the tank for 30 years.Makes terrific beer.
I think the bird shit etc improves it ok.
Everything is boiled for 60 minutes anyway.
I don't have town water either and don't want it.


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## Ross (30/10/15)

Ghizo,

There's some good advice amongst the chaff here...

Quite simply, tank water needs to be boiled or treated to kill any bacteria present. If you are grain brewing, this happens in the process, but if you're kit brewing, which I assume you are with where this question was posted, you'll need to add this step in. Personally, when i kit brewed, i found it easier to pick up jerry cans of water from friends on mains water, when I wanted to brew.
As MHB pointed out, water quality especially from tanks can be very variable, from a host of different factors, so the only real way to find out, is to brew & taste.

Cheers Ross


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## wide eyed and legless (30/10/15)

It isn't microbial hazards I would be worrying about, its the chemical hazards, boiling will not eliminate chemicals which will find their way into rainwater tanks.


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## Ross (30/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> It isn't microbial hazards I would be worrying about, its the chemical hazards, boiling will not eliminate chemicals which will find their way into rainwater tanks.


Maybe you like drinking infected beer, but I consider microbial hazards well worth worrying about!!!
Anyone on a tank water, should already have carbon filters etc to ensure the drinkabillity of the water, & as I said, the quality of tank water can vary considerably with the only real test, being the flavour of the final beer. 

Cheers Ross


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## wide eyed and legless (30/10/15)

Ross said:


> Maybe you like drinking infected beer, but I consider microbial hazards well worth worrying about!!!
> Anyone on a tank water, should already have carbon filters etc to ensure the drinkabillity of the water, & as I said, the quality of tank water can vary considerably with the only real test, being the flavour of the final beer.
> 
> Cheers Ross


No, I don't drink infected beer I brew mine from tap water, the water from the tank would inevitably be boiled so eliminating the micro bacteria in the water, simple. 

And carbon filters will not filter out chemicals either.


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## Benn (30/10/15)

What if I put my tap water in my water tank, will that make water tank tap water or tap tank water?


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## Vini2ton (30/10/15)

It's not that long ago that no water was ever considered safe to drink unless it was boiled first. Fermented beverages were safe to drink and I carry on that tradition. One can never forget what the great W C Fields said as to why he refrained from drinking water. People sometimes put fish in their water tanks to purify it. Vile depraved creatures they are. The tank owners and the nymphomaniacal fish.


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## MHB (30/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Snip -
> And carbon filters will not filter out chemicals either.


Actually activated carbon will remove a lot of chemicals but no not all.
It will remove most Halogens, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, quite a few minerals and metals especially some very nasty ones and/or their organic derivatives see TEL (tetraethyl lead) (admittedly less common than it was but still lots of it in the environment), if you had an aluminium refinery with in a few dozen km's you might want think about what you are drinking!

Like it or not; not all tank water is a wonderful brewing water - some is but not all - it would be sensible to have some basic testing done.
Mark


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## drsmurto (31/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> No, I don't drink infected beer I brew mine from tap water, the water from the tank would inevitably be boiled so eliminating the micro bacteria in the water, simple.
> 
> And carbon filters will not filter out chemicals either.


What chemicals are you referring to?

A carbon filter will remove organic compounds but not dissolved, inorganic ions.


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## Ducatiboy stu (31/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> And carbon filters will not filter out chemicals either.


Umm....actually they do

Thats the whole point of using them 

You might want to read this WEAL.....


Carbon filtering

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia









This article *needs additional citations for verification*. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. _(May 2013)_
*Carbon filtering* is a method of filtering that uses a bed of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, using chemical absorption.
Each particle/granule of carbon provides a large surface area/pore structure, allowing contaminants the maximum possible exposure to the active sites within the filter media. One pound (450 g) of activated carbon contains a surface area of approximately 100 acres (40 Hectares).
Activated carbon works via a process called adsorption, whereby pollutant molecules in the fluid to be treated are trapped inside the pore structure of the carbon substrate. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water purification, in air purifiers and industrial gas processing, for example the removal of siloxanes and hydrogen sulfide from biogas. It is also used in a number of other applications, including respirator masks, the purification of sugarcane and in the recovery of precious metals, especially gold. It is also used in cigarette filters.
Active charcoal carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), taste and odor from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds.
Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range from 0.5 to 50 micrometres. The particle size will be used as part of the filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed to the filter media for a longer amount of time.


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## Batz (31/10/15)

If I did not brew with tank water I could not brew at all, in fact I would get rather thirsty as well. Not everyboy lives where there is town supplied water, and I'm glad I don't.
I'm really supprized how people believe rain water collected from their roof is not as safe as what comes out of your city taps.


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## Ducatiboy stu (31/10/15)

Batz said:


> .
> I'm really supprized how people believe rain water collected from their roof is not as safe as what comes out of your city taps.


Yep

If you believe what people say, those that rely on tank water would have all died out by now

I never had any filters on my tanks, when my kids where new born they drank straight tank water, never boiled it, never filtered it

Never got sick from it, nor have any of the many people I know who are on tank water


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## drsmurto (31/10/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Yep
> 
> If you believe what people say, those that rely on tank water would have all died out by now
> 
> ...


Likewise. I grew up on the stuff, We only got 'tap water' late in my teenage life. When i moved to the city (Adelaide) to go to uni I would go home each weekend and fill up containers of rainwater to keep me going for a week. Couldn't stand the taste of the water out of the tap.

Now living well away from the city i love the fact i have access to rainwater and my kids(s) get the same experience I did. As for brewing, mine has been analysed to be below 0.1 ppm for all of the brewing salts so it's free RO water.

Whilst I am a chemist and understand why the relevant chemicals added to water are there, the taste of rainwater wins every day of the week.


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## Batz (31/10/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Yep
> 
> If you believe what people say, those that rely on tank water would have all died out by now
> 
> ...


Never had a filter or boil my tank water either, hell I bet I've even used malted grain pass it use by date. No chilled and many other death defying practices.


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## rockeye84 (31/10/15)

Both my grandparents drank & lived on rainwater for years, one is still going and pushing 90, so if you think rainwater shit for brewing full of toxins.. Lol go back to school and re sit your chemistry degree.. Got pretty hard mains water where I live, chocked full of shit, it's about ~900ppm TDS, run a batch thru a RO unit for a brew a few weeks ago, most horrible astringent brew I've made in years. Done over 40 double batches with rainwater, all have been pretty decent. As far I'm concerned rain water is hard to beat for all grainers..


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## wide eyed and legless (31/10/15)

In your article stu.



Active charcoal carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), taste and odor from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds.
Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range from 0.5 to 50 micrometres. The particle size will be used as part of the filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed to the filter media for a longer amount of time.

Chemicals and heavy metals will not be removed by active carbon, who is to say how effective the carbon filter is that one purchases, even if you stepped it up to a reverse osmosis there is still no guarantee it will be efficient enough to remove everything plus it would probably remove more water than you would want.

In the end I don't know why you guys on tank water are worrying, your making a carcinogenic toxin anyway.


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## goomboogo (1/11/15)

In the end I don't know why you guys on tank water are worrying, your making a carcinogenic toxin anyway.
[/quote]
You seem to be the only one concerned about tank water. The guys who use tank water seem comfortable with it.


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## wide eyed and legless (1/11/15)

Now be fair goomboogo, there is more than me with concerns, I have 13 tanks on my property but wouldn't use tank water unless as MHB stated I got the water analysed.

But you have to admit the lengths home brewers go to, to keep chemicals out, is the plastic HDPE, even though those who 'no chill go over the 74 degrees C into a plastic drum, best not use brass fittings and taps because of the lead content, some won't even use aluminium pots, and a recent thread about using water out of the hot water service for brewing!

Yet it warms the cockles of the heart that we happily make and ingest ethanol, which is metabalised into acetaldehyde and that is a group 1 carcinogen, we are quite happy to run the risk of cardiovascular and liver disease along with damage to our nervous system and accept that we will possibly also gain weight, leading to other ailments.

I might take up smoking, my grandparents smoked all their lives and they are in their nineties now, so there cant be anything wrong with that.


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## Crusty (1/11/15)

I don't think rain water from the tank would be a bad thing but it would surely be lacking in some of the beneficial minerals & chemicals that help us all grain brewer's achieve the optimum pH for our mash. I'm on town water & get an updated water analysis chart from my council every 3 months & looking at the amount of crap they put into it to make it safe is a bit scary. Compare that to rain water & I can see the reasons why people would prefer to use it if they had the choice. Like Ross pointed out, carbon filtering before using it is the way to go. I'd have no hesitation in using it but I'd be a bit dubious about using it straight from the tank. At least run it through some carbon.


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## goomboogo (1/11/15)

Weal, every one of us exhibits contradictions every single day.

Regarding tank water; the suggestion to have it tested is a good one. Tank water in a rural area is going to be different to tank water in smog enveloped, major city.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Chemicals and heavy metals will not be removed by active carbon, who is to say how effective the carbon filter is that one purchases, even if you stepped it up to a reverse osmosis there is still no guarantee it will be efficient enough to remove everything plus it would probably remove more water than you would want.
> 
> In the end I don't know why you guys on tank water are worrying, your making a carcinogenic toxin anyway.


You just cant help yourself can you

In the end, those on tank water are not worrying, only you


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## wide eyed and legless (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You just cant help yourself can you
> 
> In the end, those on tank water are not worrying, only you


Why would I be worrying, I use tap water, but if I didn't have tap water I would be using tank water, as I said, we are producing something far far more toxic than we would get out of a tank, heavy metals included.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

I never said you where worrying....nice try but


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## superstock (1/11/15)

To the OP
Tank water in AG = GOOD..............Wort is boiled as part of the process.

Tank water in K&K = possibly NOT good............ BOIL to ENSURE it is GOOD.


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## Batz (1/11/15)

You city folk amaze me.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

Batz said:


> You city folk amaze me.


They are truly amazing


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

I used to use tank water in the odd kit I did, un filterd, not boiled...etc..etc


Beer was fine


As they say, if if it is good enough to drink, then it is good enough to brew with.

Active yeast will tend to stop most deadly pathogens from taking over

Feel sorry for the poor precious city folk...

I used to drink water straight from the inland rivers,...the Murrumbidgee, Darling, Gwyder, Murray, Lachlan.....dip the old mug straight in, drink it neat....still alive to tell the city folk that it can be done B)


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## Batz (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Feel sorry for the poor precious city folk...
> 
> I used to drink water straight from the inland rivers,...the Murrumbidgee, Darling, Gwyder, Murray, Lachlan.....dip the old mug straight in, drink it neat....


You were lucky....when I was a kid we were happy for the price of a cup of tea, without milk, or sugar, or tea!!


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## superstock (1/11/15)

Batz said:


> You city folk amaze me.


If this was directed at me. Read my post #42

P.S. The bats from the army reserve also shit on my roof.


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## Batz (1/11/15)

superstock said:


> P.S. The bats from the army reserve also shit on my roof.



Wouldn't drink it without Bat shit!! RAHAHB superstock :beerbang:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

Batz....shit.


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## dicko (1/11/15)

RO


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> RO


Boring


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Boring


But very predictable...


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

But very boring


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## real_beer (1/11/15)

The way people are divided on this issue maybe the question should be "Is judging home brewed beers really a wise choice as a hobby?" 

Also think about someone who brews with well water in a fracking zone, if a smoker was in the area when you opened it ........... Kabooooom! :lol:


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## seamad (1/11/15)

my tank water has @ 12ppm TDS, which is close enough to RO water h34r:


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## Midnight Brew (1/11/15)

Brewed today with mains water instead of the normal rainwater. 10% drop in mash efficiency. 

I should have known better.


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> But very boring



http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v510/willard3/5bfffc17_pissing-contest-t.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1989746/water-quality-and-hydroponics-gardening&h=541&w=800&tbnid=82PU0XSrzW2fdM:&docid=hSePU60y689NiM&hl=en-au&ei=QcM1Vp3ODcOTmQHUgo2YCg&tbm=isch&client=safari&ved=0CEsQMygkMCRqFQoTCN3y59Td7sgCFcNJJgodVEEDow


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## Batz (1/11/15)

real_beer said:


> The way people are divided on this issue maybe the question should be "Is judging home brewed beers really a wise choice as a hobby?"
> 
> Also think about someone who brews with well water in a fracking zone, if a smoker was in the area when you opened it ........... Kabooooom! :lol:


Do you chill or no chill, do you skim, dry yeast or liquid, temperture control fermenting, ferment in plastic or stainless, 3v, BIAB, Grainmaster, Braumeister,FWH, mash hop, diacetyl rest, hop back, no rince sanatizer, bottle or keg, bottle ferment or add sugar, glass bottles or PET, sleep at night???


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Midnight Brew said:


> Brewed today with mains water instead of the normal rainwater. 10% drop in mash efficiency.
> I should have known better.


Efficiency can suffer with incorrect mash PH....
Town water supply can, at times, be very unpredictable specially with different malt additions for different beer styles

I have just ordered new carbon filters and a new membrane for my RO sytem and what I noted is that the last two brews I did the mash PH was not as predicted with previous brews of the same recipes with the same salt additions.

I was quite impressed that the filters lasted well over 18 months before I experienced PH inaccuracy and a small losss in efficiency.

To the OP....if I was using rain water in an extract brew or K and K I would boil it first just to be sure....just cause Stu hasn't died does not mean that your rain water will be as clean as his is.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

Dont tell WEAL about your carbon filter membrane thing...he wont agree at all


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## Batz (1/11/15)

If I was on town water I'll want filters of all sorts.


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## seamad (1/11/15)

You should know by now Stu that weal is never wrong.


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Dont tell WEAL about your carbon filter membrane thing...he wont agree at all


Mate, if I lived in Melbourne I would probably brew with the tap water but unfortunately many other areas in our vast land have absolute crap town supply water for brewing.
I did the exercise and it has cost me a bit over $1.00 per brew for the new filters...that equates to about an average of 33 litres per batch.

I figure that even using town water most brewers still use an addition of some water salts so I did not figure the salt additions into the equation but that cost would be very minimal compared to other ingredients and mash PH is very predictable using any commonly available software.


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## seamad (1/11/15)

big towns have traffic lights too, another good reason not to live in one.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

seamad said:


> You should know by now Stu that weal is never wrong.



Sorry...my mistake...


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

seamad said:


> big towns have traffic lights too, another good reason not to live in one.


Traffic lights...What are they....dont see them round these parts....


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## seamad (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Traffic lights...What are they....dont see them round these parts....


no traffic lights where I live, council put some street lights in couple of years ago and the local paper had complaints about them for months.


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## dicko (1/11/15)

We have one set of traffic lights in Port Lincoln......since they were installed I have had nothing but trouble making a decent cup of coffee but my brews have improved out of sight.

All us town folk vote for roundabouts....you can get the malted grain home a lot quicker than sitting around at traffic lights and I for one, have never had a bag of grain go out of date while it was on the way to my place.....

A wise man once said.....If you have traffic lights in your village then you dont need rain water tanks or RO filters.
Unfortunaly he was banned from all brewing forums world wide....


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> Mate, if I lived in Melbourne I would probably brew with the tap water but unfortunately many other areas in our vast land have absolute crap town supply water for brewing.
> I did the exercise and it has cost me a bit over $1.00 per brew for the new filters...that equates to about an average of 33 litres per batch.
> 
> I figure that even using town water most brewers still use an addition of some water salts so I did not figure the salt additions into the equation but that cost would be very minimal compared to other ingredients and mash PH is very predictable using any commonly available software.


Not against adding salts at all.

Rain water gives the perfect opportunity work from a soft water

Out of interest most local councils will do a water analysis for you, so its no biggie of you want to get it tested.


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## Batz (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Traffic lights...What are they....dont see them round these parts....


I saw them once in the city, pritty colours.


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## wide eyed and legless (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> A wise man once said.....If you have traffic lights in your village then you dont need rain water tanks or RO filters.
> Unfortunaly he was banned from all brewing forums world wide....


Not all of them, I'm still on this one.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> We have one set of traffic lights in Port Lincoln......since they were installed I have had nothing but trouble making a decent cup of coffee but my brews have improved out of sight.
> 
> All us town folk vote for roundabouts....you can get the malted grain home a lot quicker than sitting around at traffic lights and I for one, have never had a bag of grain go out of date while it was on the way to my place.....
> 
> ...


I miss Bum -_-


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

Batz said:


> I saw them once in the city, pritty colours.


That was the local disco batz...


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Not all of them, I'm still on this one.


He did say wise... B)


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Not against adding salts at all.
> 
> Rain water gives the perfect opportunity work from a soft water


We run rainwater through a ceramic filter for drinking but we still get a bit of crap on the filter stone.
I have brewed with our rainwater, treating it with salt additions the same as I would with the RO water and I get very good results.
Using rainwater in most instances is good for beer brewing if you know it is clean and you adjust for mash PH as required.




Ducatiboy stu said:


> I miss Bum -_-


Some said he was an "arsehole"...maybe something to do with the nic handle.
Me, I dont get excited by mens bums...


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> Some said he was an "arsehole"...maybe something to do with the nic handle.
> Me, I dont get excited by mens bums...


Apparently he did excite many Mods


Maybe he should have showered in rainwater to soften himself up


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> He did say wise... B)


WEAL = Wise, Extremely knowledgeable, And, Loves town water.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/11/15)

Maybe Quilton can sponsor AHB...


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Apparently he did excite many Mods
> 
> 
> Maybe he should have showered in rainwater to soften himself up


My wife has bought some Quilton Toilet Tissue and on the packaging part of the advertising says...

"We Love Your Bum"

Was Quilton ever a member on here?
He may have gone with the big AHB clean up that took place a couple of years ago!!


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## dicko (1/11/15)

Ghizo said:


> Hi all I have just moved into a new house and while I have town water I also a good sized water tank, is this any good for brewing? Or better to use tap water?


Lets get back to water.

A good rule of thumb is if you are using tank water for extract or KandK then boil it.

If you are using it for all grain or partial mash then get a ph meter and test and adjust mash PH and filter it prior to using it even if you like the taste of it.


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## Camo6 (1/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Boring


RO water is boring? But with it you can create any water profile from around the world. But I suppose that is irrelevant on a homebrew scale as you can make perfectly good beer from plain ol' possum water. Hence why all beer tastes the same.


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## Camo6 (1/11/15)

Ross said:


> Ghizo,
> 
> There's some good advice amongst the chaff here...
> 
> ...


Here is, IMO, an accurate, succinct post from Ross that answered the original question and should have ended any more conjecture. Yet thanks to the effects of alcohol and pride the battle rages on.

On that matter, I'm gonna have another CSA with a whiskey chaser and get in on the action.


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## spog (1/11/15)

dicko said:


> We have one set of traffic lights in Port Lincoln......since they were installed I have had nothing but trouble making a decent cup of coffee but my brews have improved out of sight.
> All us town folk vote for roundabouts....you can get the malted grain home a lot quicker than sitting around at traffic lights and I for one, have never had a bag of grain go out of date while it was on the way to my place.....
> A wise man once said.....If you have traffic lights in your village then you dont need rain water tanks or RO filters.
> Unfortunaly he was banned from all brewing forums world wide....


Port Lincoln and roundabouts,I think we are on a par with Canberra....but it works.


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## wide eyed and legless (2/11/15)

If you happen to go on some of the hydroponic sites you will find a mirror image of this thread, some are happy with tank water others prefer tap water, even the ones growing cannabis will filter water so they can smoke good clean buds!


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## Ducatiboy stu (2/11/15)

I see your into growing hydroponic medicinal cannabis


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## Bribie G (2/11/15)

Batz said:


> You were lucky....when I was a kid we were happy for the price of a cup of tea, without milk, or sugar, or tea!!


When we were lads, Mam would send us out with a bucket and a hammer to get water from t'horse trough, hammer were to smash t'ice in t'Winter and to scare off t'horses in t'Summer.


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## wide eyed and legless (2/11/15)

Yep I did make cannabis oil last year but it was to powerful, once I had taken it I couldn't get out of the chair.


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## sponge (2/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Yep I did make cannabis oil last year but it was to powerful, once I had taken it I couldn't get out of the chair.


Need someone for additional QA testing? h34r:


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## goomboogo (2/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Yep I did make cannabis oil last year but it was to powerful, once I had taken it I couldn't get out of the chair.


You say that like it's a bad thing.


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## wide eyed and legless (2/11/15)

Pity you live so far away sponge my brother has it now but I have the bottle I originally made it in with a fair bit stuck to the side, it only takes a bit as big as a grain of rice (short grain at that)

It felt bad at the time goomboogo, things to do and no will to do them.


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## Ducatiboy stu (2/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Yep I did make cannabis oil last year but it was to powerful, once I had taken it I couldn't get out of the chair.



Mmmm...hash oil...worth good money that stuff from what I hear.... B)

....although the police tend to take a very, very dim view off it.....more so than a bag full of weed....


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## wide eyed and legless (2/11/15)

Big difference between hash and cannabis oil, the oil is far more potent imagine extracting the oil from a kilo of bud to make 100 ml of oil it is a concentrate of THC.


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## Ducatiboy stu (2/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Big difference between hash and cannabis oil, the oil is far more potent imagine extracting the oil from a kilo of bud to make 100 ml of oil it is a concentrate of THC.


You should have seen what a mate of mine did with 5LB of prime buds...


Hash Oil is known as oil on-the-street

And yes I do know the difference between the 2....


not that I have ever seen or handled pure afghani red stamp..... h34r:


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## manticle (2/11/15)

Can we please reign the discussion slightly away from illegal happenings and more towards tankwater?

Thankyou.


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## spog (2/11/15)

Well it's supposed to piss down here over the next 2 days.( if you can call > 30 mm a lot ,which it is ) and its going to cause my 4 tanks to over flow so I'm going to have lots of free water for brewing.
Gotta be happy.


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## sponge (2/11/15)

My tank was getting a little low but should be nicely topped up over the next few days by the sounds of it.


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## Midnight Brew (3/11/15)

Midnight Brew said:


> Brewed today with mains water instead of the normal rainwater. 10% drop in mash efficiency.
> 
> I should have known better.


Tested the theory by brewing again today with tank water. Back to 82% mash efficiency. :icon_cheers:


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## spog (3/11/15)

Pissed down here an hour ago and picking up again now, raining tomorrow as well,got all outside work so looking as a day off for a brew.....using fresh rainwater.
I've got a bag of Ella hops plus some others,any suggestions using Ella ,ale malt and some home roasted crystal 10 ?


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## spog (4/11/15)

Went to work,but got 28 mm of rainfall so alls well.


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## dicko (5/11/15)

No shortage of rainwater in Whyalla at the moment.....not getting much work done this week.

I wish I had my brewery here.

I think the eastern states are copping it today


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## seamad (5/11/15)

last 3 days have had exactly 20.5mm rain each day, checked the rain gauge for holes this morning...


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## Camo6 (5/11/15)

dicko said:


> No shortage of rainwater in Whyalla at the moment.....not getting much work done this week.
> 
> I wish I had my brewery here.
> 
> I think the eastern states are copping it today


I'd have to disagree with you there Dicko. I'm carrying enough kg's without a constant diet of beer and blue swimmer crab!

Currently at a 'Union Support Rally' on the Sapphire Coast. Two days leave got me nine days off! Problem is it hasn't stopped raining since the second day. Then the van roof started leaking... (Not trying to derail the thread but I blame the Coalition and CHAFTA)


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

dicko said:


> No shortage of rainwater in Whyalla at the moment.....not getting much work done this week.
> 
> I wish I had my brewery here.
> 
> I think the eastern states are copping it today


At least it will keep the flies down B)


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## dicko (5/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> At least it will keep the flies down B)


I wasn't going to comment but I just cant help myself........

So;

The only fly that is down on here Stu is yours,


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## Camo6 (5/11/15)

*pops beer and grabs the popcorn*


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## Spohaw (5/11/15)

I'm still waiting for Ducati to see what yob said about him at band camp on the new fermentis yeast thread haha


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

dicko said:


> I wasn't going to comment but I just cant help myself........
> 
> So;
> 
> The only fly that is down on here Stu is yours,


You have a strange fascination with my fly...says a lot about you B)


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

Spohaw said:


> I'm still waiting for Ducati to see what yob said about him at band camp on the new fermentis yeast thread haha


Boring


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## Spohaw (5/11/15)

Damn


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

Camo6 said:


> *pops beer and grabs the popcorn*


Yeah...Dicko & WEAL are like shooting fish in a fish shop....


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## TheWiggman (5/11/15)

Bugger me threads are digressing these days.


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

TheWiggman said:


> Bugger me threads are digressing these days.


I wont comment on the first bit....but yeah...threads do tend to wander a bit these days


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## manticle (5/11/15)

Off topic and political types fair enough but it would be great if brewing topics could either stay on topic or diverge on logical tangents.

Please.


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## spog (5/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> At least it will keep the flies down B)


Pigs arse it will !
I worked in Whalla for a year and I swear that when it rains the little feckers are wearing raincoats.
The rain up there adds to the humidity and the flies go nuts,millions of them.


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/11/15)

Only while it is raining...after that...its game on....


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## crowmanz (9/11/15)

Just don't let the young'uns snort the water http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-09/rural-children-at-risk-of-parasite-thriving-in-fresh-water/6922432


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