Using carbonated water in a beer kit?

[Tonibee]

I'm a newbie and, having recently cleared my FV's of cider, I'm going to try a beer kit following the advice in the sticky thread (http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57526).

I live in a particularly hard water area, so I'm going to used bottled water. Is there any particular reason why I should not use carbonated bottled water?

The reason for wanting to do this is so I have bottles for bottling.

Thanks,

 

[strange-steve]

Well according to this thread you definitely shouldn't use it for AG, but I can't see why not for a kit beer. That being said, the bottles used for still water should be fine to use anyway.

 

[GerritT]

I'm a newbie and, having recently cleared my FV's of cider, I'm going to try a beer kit following the advice in the sticky thread (http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57526).

I live in a particularly hard water area, so I'm going to used bottled water. Is there any particular reason why I should not use carbonated bottled water?

The reason for wanting to do this is so I have bottles for bottling.

Thanks,

In my experience those bottles can take a good dose of carbonation, even the ones for stil water. I used bottled water for my ciders, worked like a charm. That was stil water from 1.5L bottles. Quite impressive.

Cold water can hold more gas than hot water, more soluble, so boiling it would remove a lot (if not all) of the CO2 and oxygen.
>edit: forgot about bicarbonate. Better don't use sparkling water<
Isn't still water cheaper though? Or are you buying a few dozen 0.5L bottles, and are they only available with sparkling water?

 

[Tonibee]

>edit: forgot about bicarbonate. Better don't use sparkling water<
Isn't still water cheaper though? Or are you buying a few dozen 0.5L bottles, and are they only available with sparkling water?

Nope, I'm only thinking sparkling water because of the need for pressure capable bottles. I've read elsewhere not to use still water bottles for bottling. I also need the bottles, it's actually cheaper to by bottled beverages from Aldi/Lidl than it is to buy new bottles!! Ideally, I'd like 500/1000ml bottles, but will settle for 2ltr bottles from those stores.

What do you mean about the bicarbonate?

Edit: Don't worry, the thread given by Strange-Steve answers that question and adds more about the bottles.

Thanks for responses guys!

 

[Cwrw666]

I'm pretty sure that Tescos at least use exactly the same bottles for still water as they do for carbonated. Basically it's down to the shape so if the still water bottles have crinkles and indentations they wouldn't be suitable.

 

[Dexter101]

When I first started brewing, I bought packs of 12 330ml bottled sparkling from tesco... I drank the water and used the bottles for beer. didnt have a problem with the bottles and I like sparkling water to drink.

 

[Tonibee]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been doing some more research and reading and I've decided to use my tap water after all.

I've been collecting thrown bottles and asking friends to save me their fizzy drinks bottles, so after 3 weeks in the FV, I should have enough bottles for my beer!!

 

[terrym]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been doing some more research and reading and I've decided to use my tap water after all.

I've been collecting thrown bottles and asking friends to save me their fizzy drinks bottles, so after 3 weeks in the FV, I should have enough bottles for my beer!!

If you are doing a kit there is no real need to get concerned about whether your tap water is hard or soft. That only becomes important if you are doing AG or perhaps extract brewing.
Therefore your only concern about using tap water should be what it tastes like before you use it to make up the wort. If it doesn't taste of chlorine or have any other off tastes and you drink it without a second thought it's good enough for kit brewing.

 

[Fil]

when using the cheap bottles of nominally filtered tap water from tesco (circa 10p for 2l), both the still and carbonated versions are contained in the same style thin pet bottles, and i have used the still water bottles successfully for packaging beer.

afaik the warnings against using still water bottles are focused on the corrugated wall type of bottle used exclusively for still water, not instances where still and sparkling water is sold in identical containers.

the co2 will effect the PH of the water, but if in doubt simply preheat the sparkling water to boiling, that should knock out most if not all of any gas in solution in the water

 

[Ken L]

The first thing your yeast needs to do after rehydrating is to make more yeasties. It does this aerobically before using up all the oxygen and switching to anaerobic respiration to produce alcohol - so it needs a certain amount of oxygen in the must at the start of the brewing process. This multiplication stage isn't going to happen if the water that you use is super saturated with carbon dioxide.
Using fizzy water to brew is a bad idea.

 

[LarryF]

The first thing your yeast needs to do after rehydrating is to make more yeasties. It does this aerobically before using up all the oxygen and switching to anaerobic respiration to produce alcohol - so it needs a certain amount of oxygen in the must at the start of the brewing process. This multiplication stage isn't going to happen if the water that you use is super saturated with carbon dioxide.
Using fizzy water to brew is a bad idea.

I'm trying to imagine the first two days of fermentation of a stout made with carbonated water, that would certainly be a sight to behold. But as Ken said your medium for yeast production already saturated with one of its major waste/by products can't be a healthy environment for it.