Garden hose? No. I have been using a white RV hose for the last two years. Not filtering, which I’m just about to start doing, only to try and tweak my process. All my beers turn out great. It’s way easier to attach my hose to my HLT than it is to try and pour 10-15 gallons of water in there. My system is gravity fed, that would be a pain! The end product is always awesome.
I definitely think you can build your water from scratch if you’ve got the itch but it certainly isn’t necessary. Outdoor spigot through food grade hose through a carbon filter is all you need.
I ruined two batches of beer using a garden hose. If you are going to use tap water, take it straight from the hose bibb.
I tasted my first beer made with all water from my RV hose. I didn’t pick up any garden hose taste whatsoever. And it sure did save me some time on brew day. Thankyou for all your input.
I’m still entertained by the phrase “overpowering hose flavor”.
…especially on a BJCP score sheet. ;D
Eventhough I’ve never seen it quoted like that, it is a distinct flavor that I can remember from when I was child and it certainly doesn’t fare well in beer.
What if you entered garden hose ale in Category 23 and listed it as the special ingredient? Call it “childhood memories”.
I’ve had my garden hose for a couple of years and it still tastes like s*#! when I taste it. Go food grade!
Dave
Thanks to the advice earlier in this thread I bought a food grade RV hose. Before using it in my beer I let it run 5 minutes, drew a glass from it and another identicle glass from my tap. Tasted them side by side and detected absolutely no difference between the 2.
+1, this is part if my process now too. Don’t let the water sit in the hose either, run for a few minutes if the hose is left off between uses on brew day.
I always drank water from a hose when I was a kid. It always tasted funny, I just didn’t care.
I hook my system up with a white rv/marine hose.