Perth Water Quality?

[lskoelewijn]

Hello all,
I just arrived in Perth from Holland and want to continue my home brewing here. I was wondering what water people use. The tap water tastes like chloride but reading some other topics leaving it for a couple of days should get rid of the this? Can someone confirm this is a good way to go or do I need chemicals? Or is the tap water no good at all and should I look into bottled water?

Cheers!
Laurens

 

[cdbrown]

You'll need to be more specific with the area your in mate. I'm in Guildford and don't notice any chlorine, but going to friends place I can taste it in their water.

 

[keifer33]

It really depends on where you are located as to where your water comes from. I am not too far from cdbrown and can't taste much chlorine if any and seems quite good water.

 

[Pete2501]

I remember one of the beer meetings touching on Perth water. BRB

http://www.westcoastbrewers.com/login/foru...ofile-here#3788

 

[thanme]

In Gosnells, I get a very cholriney smell every now and then. It's almost like they treat the water "once a month" rather than doing it gradually over time.
That being said, my beer turns out fine. I just make sure I give all water a good boil before using it. Too easy!

Pete: Looks like you need a login to check that out.

 

[tavas]

Perth water should be fine for brewing. i have used worse water when i lived in the bush and they turned out fine. You can either boil the water and leave it to cool down, or install an under sink carbon filter. A plumber will charge about $300 to install a filter (parts included). The cartridges last about a year and are available in most hardware shops.

ifyou're really worried about water quality, you can install a bigger filter system on the incoming water to your house, but that's about $800-$1000 for that setup.

 

[benno1973]

I'm in Bayswater, and the water tastes pretty bad to me. Not so bad that you can't brew with it straight, but lots of chlorine and chloramine compared to what I'm used to. I use campden tablets to deal with the chloramine.

Also check out this post if you're in the Mt Yokine supply area...

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Perth water in general is not good for lager and pils, you can get away with ales, darker the better. Best thing to do is Get one of THESE which will remove every thing from your water or use the RO system to make your RO water and cut it with your tap water by 50% .
GB

 

[lskoelewijn]

I'm in Floreat. I think I will just boil tap water for my first batch and see how it turns out. The water tastes fine besides the chlorine.

 

[Jimboley]

I'm in Floreat. I think I will just boil tap water for my first batch and see how it turns out. The water tastes fine besides the chlorine.

I reckon it's more the rusty old pipes then the water source at my place. If you live in a place over 30y/o prob should filter..

Best to at least get a brita water filter jug from Big W or Kmart, Boiling water will help a bit but take a lot of time & electricity.
Jugs & Filters only cost about $30.

Kettles draw more power then ANY other appliance in the house.

When you can afford it, upgrade to a filter system like the RO from gryphon, it will be cheaper in the long run, and give you consistently great results.

Beer is 95-92% & all the most famous breweries attribute their fame to the water source, like the Esk River in Tas.

Anyhow, happy brewing!

 

[CDJ]

I'm in Floreat. I think I will just boil tap water for my first batch and see how it turns out. The water tastes fine besides the chlorine.

Here is the water chemistry for your area (Floreat). Checked it for this year and was within the range reported here.

Cheers
CDJ

View attachment Bold_Park.pdf

 

[DangerousDave]

wow i had no idea the water made such a difference i mean i know if you use it from a tank you should sterilise but i thought outta the tap was fine

i live in karinyup and ive noticed a chlorine like tast in the last 2 tooheys lagers (they where free) i made could this be the tap water? or is it just that its tooheys lager

far out just got approval from the war minister for a keg setup now i gotta convince her to get a water filter

 

[RobB]

Here is the water chemistry for your area (Floreat). Checked it for this year and was within the range reported here.

Cheers
CDJ

That's similar to mine (the Mt Yokine profile posted above). It's basically soft, but salty. The high sodium and chloride values make it tricky to control the pH of your water with salts. If you add calcium chloride, by the time you get the calcium to the level you want, the already high chloride will be even higher and you'll get salty beer. If you add calcium sulphate, you can end up with high levels of sulphate which tastes harsh in the presence of the elevated level of chloride.

Personally, I add campden tablets to remove chlorine (no chloramine in Perth) and control my pH (or attempt to!) with acidulated malt. This leaves my calcium less than what is desirable, but the mash works and the yeast get the job done so I'm not concerned.

 

[brendanos]

I am in Mt Hawthorn and my water either has an obnoxious chlorine smell, or tastes of decaying organic matter. I leave tap water uncovered for a day or two and try to heat water to 80+ a few hours before brewing. I also use campden tablets.

I've finally bought filters for a second hand two stage housing, just need to pick up some hoses for it. Eventually I will RO and blend with tap water (and add salts). I presently use salts at home for pH buffering, to increase calcium & magnesium, to balance chloride:sulphate etc depending on what I'm brewing.

 

[lskoelewijn]

Ok, so campden tablets are the way to go. I will purchase some. I brew mostly dark Belgian ales so the ph value and calcium levels should not pose a big problem. Let's see how the first batch turns out. Thanks for your advice/comments and the water report!

 

[Spoonta]

brendo I got some fittings for you mate

 

[Pete2501]

Perth water in general is not good for lager and pils, you can get away with ales, darker the better. Best thing to do is Get one of THESE which will remove every thing from your water or use the RO system to make your RO water and cut it with your tap water by 50% .
GB

What's wrong with flavoursome beer

I don't find my water to be troublesome. (Bull Creek)

Edit: Oops forgot to add that I love ales and don't brew lagers.