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I used tap water for my first batch and it came out with a little off taste and flavor that I referred to as a bandaid. I looked it up and found it could be the water I am using, are there any good suggestions as to what water is best for brewing? The quickest and easiest solutions will be the best.

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Bandaid flavors in beer can come from a couple of sources. I wouldn't blame the water first, my guess it's Brettanomyces which is a spoilage yeast. It can give a variety of flavors but one of the bad ones is bandaid flavors. It's a common problem in beer and wine where sanitation has not been the best. This is my first guess. Another source could be your water. Some people suggest that the chlorine in your water can produce a bandaid like flavor. The yeast reacts with phenols produced by the yeast and produces a chemical reminiscent of bandaids. To avoid this, either buy bottled water at your grocery store (those filling stations are cheap) or use campden tablets to neutralize the chlorine.

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  • Thank you for the help. Looking forward to testing it out. Dec 21, 2018 at 18:05
  • Also, go to your local grocery store and buy reverse osmosis water. Most Walmarts, Safeways, etc have one of them and it's about $0.40 a gallon. Well worth it. Dec 23, 2018 at 13:30
  • Is that ready to use without adding anything to it? Dec 23, 2018 at 19:51
  • You will have to add back some minerals depending on what you recipe calls for. Dec 24, 2018 at 15:55
  • Our water treatment agency, in Europe, recommends introducing ascorbic acid to neutralize chlorine. This maybe depends on the type oxidizer used in water treatment. I use a tip of a knife’s amount, barely a comprehensible amount for my 1.3 us gallon batches. Definitely not possible weigh imho.
    – Martin
    Dec 31, 2018 at 19:18

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