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I was wondering if it makes much difference what kind of water you use in the wash? Tap, spring, distilled? Of course I only use distilled water to dilute the final product but does it matter to the yeast during fermentation?

OverTork wrote:I was wondering if it makes much difference what kind of water you use in the wash? Tap, spring, distilled? Of course I only use distilled water to dilute the final product but does it matter to the yeast during fermentation?

nah, shouldn't matter for the final taste because destilled water is what you get from your wash. The only influence it can have is the growth of your yeast but this is only marginal. Unless your making a non-distilled beverage I wouldn't be too worried about it. Just use the cheapest source available

If you are using a pot still, the choice of water for fermentation will matter much more than if you are using a reflux still and getting a 95% pure product.

Also distilled water may not be the best for all liquors. Supposedly the best whisky is made from really hard water that has low levels of iron.

Garbage in - Garbage out. If you like your water you will probably like the wash and final product. If not, don't use it.

I have good clean well water and still filter everything that goes into the wash or as a final cut. Demineralized water is just that......water with no minerals and tastes rather flat. I don't have to filter everything but it does seem to keep the ingredients constant and uniform. My suggestion would be, if your water is in anyway disagreeable, filter it or use something else.

AkCoyote