Algae in Sydney Water

[Justin]

Hi All

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on whether the algal bloom in Waragamba Dam (Sydneys main water supply) will effect the beer making process.

Apparently there is a chance it would effect the taste and smell of the water, therefore i would assume this would be passed on to the beer.

Aside from that, is there any chance that the presence of algae toxins in the water might effect the fermentation process?

Boiling or filtering water, or using bottled water is the obvious solution to be sure, but i'm still curious

Justin

[SAMA]

Is the algae actually still present once the water comes outta the tap? Id dare say it wouldnt get past the filtration processes.

[KEG]

i'd say it wouldn't get through the treatment process either, but just keep in mind that algae thrives on light. keep the brew dark if you're worried

[Chris]

I'd be more worried about the chlorine. They always seem to increase the levels when this sort of thing happens. Not that it makes the slightest bit of difference. That's the problem with having 'water consultants' being called in from Los Angeles.

[Kevnlis]

I'd be more worried about the chlorine. They always seem to increase the levels when this sort of thing happens. Not that it makes the slightest bit of difference. That's the problem with having 'water consultants' being called in from Los Angeles.

Yeah everyone in LA came from Mexico, and we all know how good the water is there!

If you boil and cool the water before you use it to brew it will eliminate alot of what worries you. I would only recommend doing this is you dislike the taste of your tap water, the tap water here in Bundy is pretty bad so I installed one of those filters that screws into the kitchen tap and that works well enough to remove the flavour from my K & K brews.

[TommyH]

Hi All

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on whether the algal bloom in Waragamba Dam (Sydneys main water supply) will effect the beer making process.

Apparently there is a chance it would effect the taste and smell of the water, therefore i would assume this would be passed on to the beer.

Aside from that, is there any chance that the presence of algae toxins in the water might effect the fermentation process?

Boiling or filtering water, or using bottled water is the obvious solution to be sure, but i'm still curious

Justin

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/WaterQuality/

[Chris]

Mexican water's fine- as long as you don't drink it. And if you do, there's nothing wrong with a healthy green glow.

[Rabbitz]

Curiously, our tap water in Mt Colah has been quite "tasty" the last few days. I was under the impression that our water was drawn from Prospect reservoir so they must have upped the chlorine etc. in that supply as well...

[James L]

you might find that the treatment and filtration (if any) of the water wont remove any of the off colours of the water or taste, but should remove any biological matter (ie algae and bateria), so i wouldnt be worried about algae growing in your beer, but i would be worried about the change in colour and taste of the water...

i dont think there is a hell of alot you can do to remove the taste and colour of the dirty water... filtering through activated charcoal might help...

[Iron-Haggis]

They are drawing water from Warragamba at a much deeper level than usual to help limit any off smells or flavours the algae may bring to the water. Other than that I am yet to notice any off flavours or smells to our water. But really there is always something happening to the water in Sydney.

[Boonie]

But really there is always something happening to the water in Sydney.

Too true, move North to Newcastle. Never a prob with our water and we never seem to run out . We are even filling up the Central Coast dams with our water........no kidding.

Wonder how the desalinated water will go. Probably better than current water