Rain water ( good or bad)?

[Ducatiboy stu]

I'm considering switching to rainwater for my brews, but living in the middle of coal mining country, I'm a little worried about water chemistry
Has anyone up this way used rainwater before?

Ironically, Anthracite ( a form of coal ) is used in water filtration plants

 

[bradsbrew]

Better in your water, than in your lungs?

 

[sp0rk]

I'll tell you what, after living here for a year now, I'm only just getting used to the sulphury smell
No one believes me that the whole town smells like farts until they visit us...

 

[sp0rk]

This paper seems to suggest it shouldn't be a problem
http://www.tomfarrellinstitute.org/uploads/2/3/7/3/23738054/coal_dust_paper_2009.pdf

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I'll tell you what, after living here for a year now, I'm only just getting used to the sulphury smell
No one believes me that the whole town smells like farts until they visit us...

It still smelt like rotten egg gas even after 7 years when I lived there

 

[Pidgeot]

Much of the water used in the brewing process doesn’t go into the beer itself. It’s used to cool the hot wort and clean the brewing tanks. At Block 15 in Corvails, Oregon, they catch and store excess water and reuse it in the cooling process on the next brewing day. They also use a closed-loop system to clean their tanks – treating the water and using it again. It takes a lot of water to produce a glass of beer, but from rainwater beer to other water reclamation efforts, breweries are doing a lot to reduce their water footprints.

 

[sp0rk]

Ok...

 

[mtb]

I'll tell you what, after living here for a year now, I'm only just getting used to the sulphury smell
No one believes me that the whole town smells like farts until they visit us...

Suddenly "Mayor of Pooptown" makes so much more sense

 

[crowmanz]

Should rainwater be considered similar to RO or distilled for mineral additions?

I have access to rainwater and am considering it for some lighter beers I have planned.

 

[evoo4u]

No one believes me that the whole town smells like farts until they visit us...

And they fall for the old "it's the water, not us" story do they...

 

[Chambo52]

I've done 10 AG brews using tankwater, making English bitter. Tastes pretty damn good to me, but now I'd like to try modifying my water.

I've looked through various water calculators, but they seem very complicated. Can anyone recommend a supplier of premixed salts to add to rainwater to make it suitable for brewing beers like Landlord, Hobgoblin, etc?

Otherwise I'm going to have do battle with all that chemistry and it makes my brain hurt.

Thanks guys

I think the best all-grain brewing software out there is Brewfather - it isn't free but is only about $3/ month. It does all the hard work - choose a beer style and it will tell you if your grain bill matches the style, does all the water addition calculations and can connect to Grainfather and other systems to control the mash process. I use rainwater and treat it as RO water. No problems.