RO Water for kits and extracts

[manson81]

I've been using RO water which I get at the shopping centre down the road for the last 6 months or so thinking that the purer the water, the better the beer would turn out. Now I've just been reading in this forum that might not be the case!

I know there's plenty of info and discussion on the topic but it leans more towards AG and I only do kits and extracts (one day I'll upgrade to BIAB).

Do you think the RO water would be negatively affecting my beers (mostly different ales, hotted up kits)? Should I not bother with it and just use the brisbane tap water?

Main reason I started reading the water forum was that the bloody machine at the shops wasn't working tonight when I went to fill up my jerry can!

 

[dent]

I don't think it would make much difference one way or another, assuming your tap water is palatable.

 

[Feldon]

Water that has been stripped of all mineral content (if that's what you mean by RO - reverse osmosis) might not be good. Yeast need those minerals to function properly. But you could use RO water if you then dose the water with minerals to suit the yeast and beer style.

Been plenty of discussion here. Try searching under 'water profile' or simply 'RO'.

 

[dent]

I'm sure there's plenty of minerals left over from the extract process, they use water too after all, and hell, they have to mash with it too.

 

[mabrungard]

RO water is fine for extract brewing. All the mineral content of the extract producer's water will be in the extract and there is no need to add more unless the maltster's water was deficient in certain minerals. If using Cooper's extract, its fairly modest on all minerals. So its OK to add a bit more when using that extract to accentuate aspects of your beer's flavor. If brewing hoppy ales, then a dose of gypsum may be welcome for helping the hops and bittering pop a bit more.

If your tap water is quite mineralized, then it may be advantageous to use the less mineralized RO water for brewing.

 

[manson81]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think the brisbane tap water is reasonable so I might just go back to using it then! Save my 5 bucks and trip to the shop each brew.