Brita water filter worth using??

[Jon1964]

Hi all
Just preparing to start my first Brew, when it arrives next week.
We live in Derbyshire and the water is on the hard side and all our tea mashing and drinking water goes through a brita filter jug.
Would it be worth running my brewing water through this rather than straight from tap.
The taste of the tap water through the brita is much better BTW.
Cheers Jon

 

[umfana]

I do. I have an undersink brita GAC filter. It removes the chlorine for me.
Mostly so my water for whiskey (drinking not making) tastes super nice.

 

[Jon1964]

I do. I have an undersink brita GAC filter. It removes the chlorine for me.
Mostly so my water for whiskey (drinking not making) tastes super nice.

Thanks, will give it a go.
Funny thing, I can't use tap water in my whisky either, always the Brita

 

[strange-steve]

Hi all
Just preparing to start my first Brew, when it arrives next week.
We live in Derbyshire and the water is on the hard side and all our tea mashing and drinking water goes through a brita filter jug.
Would it be worth running my brewing water through this rather than straight from tap.
The taste of the tap water through the brita is much better BTW.
Cheers Jon

It depends what type of filter it is. If it's a GAC filter (for removing chlorine) then yes go for it, but if it's an ion exchange filter (a softener) then no don't use it for brewing.

 

[Jon1964]

It depends what type of filter it is. If it's a GAC filter (for removing chlorine) then yes go for it, but if it's an ion exchange filter (a softener) then no don't use it for brewing.

Thanks will have to look into, it takes the brita maxtra cartridge which says reduces limescale and chlorine and impurities.

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks will have to look into, it takes the brita maxtra cartridge which says reduces limescale and chlorine and impurities.

That sounds like a softener, and despite common misconception, hard water is actually good for brewing. An ion exchange filter removes calcium (which you want) and replaces it with sodium (which you don't want), which is great for stopping your kettle furring up but not good for brewing.

 

[Jon1964]

That sounds like a softener, and despite common misconception, hard water is actually good for brewing. An ion exchange filter removes calcium (which you want) and replaces it with sodium (which you don't want), which is great for stopping your kettle furring up but not good for brewing.

Cheers Steve, will give the filter a miss in that case.
Jon

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Brita Maxtra cartridges are just activated charcoal, or the ones we use in the kettle are anyhow.
However I really wouldn't bother: just put half a camden tablet in 30L to knock out the chlorine, and see what you've got after that. Worth taking a look at your local water company report (easy enough to find online) and then you will know what you are working with. Armed with that info you can what (if any) adjustments need to be made.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I've got to come clean though Jon, and say that I only came to this conclusion after making my first two brews with effectively distilled water (RO + DI), plus a bit of Epsom salts and good old NaCl to pep it up a bit...
To cut a long story short, yes you certainly can go this way - and to hear a lot of U.S. brewers, you'd think it was compulsory. It produces very clean tasting beer, but in my case at least I increasingly could tell that it was lacking character... Bottom line is that if you take out all the minerals and then 'put back' the ones you want, you also eliminate a lot of trace elements that the yeast can use to make your ale taste more interesting (well, that's my current opinion )