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I am just starting to build my first still and hope to do my first run around Christmas, but I have a question regarding water. Where we will be doing this we will either have to buy water from the store or use well water, but the well water gets a sulfur smell if it hasn't been run in a couple of days which means there has to be sulfur in it. The water tastes fine, but I'm concerned about using it? Any recommendations on this? Should I just buy some inexpensive spring water and if so should I do anything to the PH?

BTW, I'll be running this from a pot still and hope to first do a very basic sugar wash and then attempt something closer to a bourbon or single malt if I can find a good easy to follow recipe.

Thanks,

let the water run a few min. and use it, its the only way your gonna find out for sure. i would hate the thought of buying water.

Another option... Do you have any friends who have good water that you could maybe "borrow" some from...??? Perhaps you could barter water for spirits, as long as the friend can be trusted...

if you inadvertently get lots of sulphur in the wash, plenty of copper in the vapour path would probably sort it out.

Then again, the obvious...use your "water purifier" to do just that.

After all, that's what we're all building right?

Can you collect rain water from the house roof? That's all I ever use.

blanik

On another site I was asking this exact question. I started out;
Back in the 1700's the settlers were scared of the water in the "new land" so they fermented it and drank beer/wine/rum/whisky. Even kids drank fermented water (like kids in france today I guess) Now I don't doubt we make better whisky then was made back then, but what difference did the water really make?

What I mean is, spring water or ditch water, both are only used for fermenting. With the exception of chemicals/pesticides I wonder how much water really has to do with the taste? And note I'm talking the water to ferment and not the water to cut with. I only use RO water to cut with and tap water (with chlorine/etc) to ferment with. I am thinking there might be a flavour difference, maybe, but really I wonder if you could tell?
Yes I know big name scotch producers go on and on about "their" water is the best and that's why their whisky is the best, but seriously if I used clean running water from any stream or river, would the extra minerals etc be a hinderance or a help?

minerals help, distilld water should have them added.

My well water has a sulpher smell to it as well. I've not had any problems using it for my ferments. Unless you live in coal country, where there is a high sulpher content, I wouldn't worry about it.

I get a whiff of sulfur from my water from time to time, but it works fine for stilling. Also when was the last time the well was shocked? That's supposed to be done every six months. If not kept up on there's a harmless bacteria that builds up that feeds on the rust in the pipes, I think. What I know for sure is that this bacteria can add to the sulfur smell in well water.