Using carbonated water in a kit?

Subcomandante Marcos

Hey there.

I've been brewing for a while, usually mini-mash or extract, the odd BIAB .

I was given a gift of a few kits over Christmas from a work colleague who knows I home brew, he's a home brewer too and he was saying earlier in the year that these particular kits were surprisingly good and I should try them.

I also got offered and took about 400 bottles of sparkling water (500ml) by the lad who delivers ou rbottled water to the offices just yesterday. I was just going to stockpile the bottled water because I like it now and then.

But I was thinking just now, the bottles are PET and designed to be pressurised so rather than cleaning, sanatizing and capping glass bottles, I could just use the sparkling water bottles for the beers. But could I also use the water to actually brew the kit?

I won't be adding anything extra to the kit besides spraymalt instead of dextrose and then sugar for batch priming.

I can't for the life of me think why there'd be any problem using the bottled water to top up the fermenter, or am I missing something and this is actually a horrible idea?

BeerNut

All the gas will depart within a short period of opening the bottles, so I doubt it'll make much difference. Except to your hands and arms: filling your fermenter 500ml at a time will literally be a pain.

Subcomandante Marcos

BeerNut wrote: »

All the gas will depart within a short period of opening the bottles, so I doubt it'll make much difference. Except to your hands and arms: filling your fermenter 500ml at a time will literally be a pain.

But at the same time, if I recap the bottles right away and keep them aside for later I have ready to go bottles when the time comes, so swings and roundabouts. That's what I keep telling myself.

The tap water here isn't the most reliable so I tend to use bottled water for kits anyway as you're not boiling it and this saves me a few euros too.

BeerNut

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

if I recap the bottles right away and keep them aside for later I have ready to go bottles when the time comes

I wouldn't be happy that they're sanitary.

Subcomandante Marcos

BeerNut wrote: »

I wouldn't be happy that they're sanitary.

Really? I'd just assumed they'd be sanitised during initial bottling of the water and I wouldn't be too worried about them being contaminated by contact to air?

I could just use a no rinse solution to negate the potential for problems though, I'm always open to tips from people wiser than myself.

BeerNut

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

I'd just assumed they'd be sanitised during initial bottling of the water and I wouldn't be too worried about them being contaminated by contact to air?

I'm sure the bottles are sanitised before the water goes in, but spring water is filthy.

Subcomandante Marcos

BeerNut wrote: »

I'm sure the bottles are sanitised before the water goes in, but spring water is filthy.

It's not spring water, it's just a branded bottled carbonated water.

BeerNut

Same difference.

Padraig Mor

Does carbonated water not have quite a low pH due to carbonic acid, which may be problematic during fermentation - or is my chemistry faulty?

Subcomandante Marcos

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Does carbonated water not have quite a low pH due to carbonic acid, which may be problematic during fermentation - or is my chemistry faulty?

It might affect mashing but I can't see why it would effect fermentation and seeing as I'm making a kit mashing isn't an issue.

Carawaystick

It's peculiar isn't it the fsai found e. coli in bottled water, but didn't publish the manufacturer...

I'd assume all bottled water has crap in it.