Cedar Water & Homebrew

[G. Russell Juelg]

I have been making homebrew with my well water, which I believe comes out of the Kirkwood-Cohansey system, and the beer comes out pretty darn good. However, I have only been using malt extracts, and I want to get into mashing. I'm thinking the chemistry of Cedar Water or aquifer water (by and large) is probably good, as far as the pH and the purity, but that it's probably very low in dissolved minerals, so it may require some treatments before mashing. Also, I realize that Pine Barrens waters can vary a lot from place to place. Some Cedar Water may be too acidic to try in a mash. Anybody have any experience with this?

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Russ, I have long wanted to brew with cedar water, but never thought that it would work. Why don't we put our heads together and give it a whirl? I have some ideas for "piney" beers that I'd like to run by you. Maybe I'll see if I can meet up with you guys when you go out for some brews.

 

[G. Russell Juelg]

Russ, I have long wanted to brew with cedar water, but never thought that it would work. Why don't we put our heads together and give it a whirl? I have some ideas for "piney" beers that I'd like to run by you. Maybe I'll see if I can meet up with you guys when you go out for some brews.

10-4! I plan to be over at Tom's place by around 3:00. He says that after a little riding we can head over to a bar called "Spirits." He says it's in a shopping strip close to his place on Cherry Street.

 

[woodjin]

cedar water and aquifer water should be very different I suspect, as the aquifer is not subjected to the influence of cedar and iron. Although the aquifer is high in iron I believe.

Jeff

 

[G. Russell Juelg]

cedar water and aquifer water should be very different I suspect, as the aquifer is not subjected to the influence of cedar and iron. Although the aquifer is high in iron I believe.

Jeff

I reckon there are lots of variables, and normally they would be different. For example, the water in the Batsto River is going to vary seasonally, and even on a day to day basis if rainfall and temperatures are taken into the equation, while aquifer water conditions might not fluctuate as much. On the other hand, I have seen the Batsto running nearly crystal clear in mid summer, apparently due to a drought period. In that case, it seems the water would be nearly identical to the water in any nearby Kirkwood-Cohansey water, since all the water running in the river would be coming directly from the aquifer, and not from any surface run-off.

 

[Ben Ruset]

My wife bought me a "Mr. Beer" home brewing kit, and I was contemplating brewing a batch with water from Cedar Creek. I think I may just try it...

 

[whitingrider]

I'm in when and where are we doing Piney Brew? Also Russ, there are an almost infinite number of malt extracts you could use and using them removes the grunt work- oh sorry Russ. Semper Fi!

 

[G. Russell Juelg]

My wife bought me a "Mr. Beer" home brewing kit, and I was contemplating brewing a batch with water from Cedar Creek. I think I may just try it...

Ben, that is how I got started. My son gave me the Mr. Beer kit for Xmas, and all the beer I made with that kit has come out fine. I bet your Cedar Creek brews will be good, too. From what I have read, though, low mineral content in water tends to yield milder flavors in the beer, which would seem to be the only concern with extract brewing. Even so, my well water, which goes through a water softener, still makes perfectly good beer with robust flavor.

 

[G. Russell Juelg]

I'm in when and where are we doing Piney Brew? Also Russ, there are an almost infinite number of malt extracts you could use and using them removes the grunt work- oh sorry Russ. Semper Fi!

Tom, don't worry. The anal fungus of the Navy does not fear the word "grunt."

Yep, I am fine with extract brewing, and, from what I can understand, we can make almost any kind of beer by varying the amount and types of extract and hops. I'm just want to try all-grain brewing too, and I'm not clear on how Pine Barrens water may need to be treated in order for the mash to come out right.

Maybe we should all get our brewing water analyzed to see if we are all working with the same basic stuff.

The last brew I made was a 5 gallon batch with Coopers dark liquid malt extract and some pale malt dry extract, and a modest dose of SAAZ hops. I'm gonna try to bottle it today, so it should be ready to sample in a week. (I never can wait any longer than that.)

 

[G. Russell Juelg]

Apparently the amount of iron in Cedar Water is a problem for brewing. I just read the other day that iron in the water gives beer some unpleasant flavors. Maybe that's why nobody established any breweries in the Pine Barrens, in spite of the famous pure water? We have very soft, pure water, which would imply that you could brew a good Pilsener, but maybe the iron ruins it for brewing.

 

[anansi]

Ben, that is how I got started. My son gave me the Mr. Beer kit for Xmas, and all the beer I made with that kit has come out fine. I bet your Cedar Creek brews will be good, too. From what I have read, though, low mineral content in water tends to yield milder flavors in the beer, which would seem to be the only concern with extract brewing. Even so, my well water, which goes through a water softener, still makes perfectly good beer with robust flavor.

Was it that easy to brew using Mr. Beer? I'm planning to buy one.

 

[anansi]

Ben, that is how I got started. My son gave me the Mr. Beer kit for Xmas, and all the beer I made with that kit has come out fine. I bet your Cedar Creek brews will be good, too. From what I have read, though, low mineral content in water tends to yield milder flavors in the beer, which would seem to be the only concern with extract brewing. Even so, my well water, which goes through a water softener, still makes perfectly good beer with robust flavor.

Was it that easy? I've been planning on starting to brew on my own with Mr. Beer. Is it that good? Thanks!

 

[kayakmac]

Russ, I have long wanted to brew with cedar water, but never thought that it would work. Why don't we put our heads together and give it a whirl? I have some ideas for "piney" beers that I'd like to run by you. Maybe I'll see if I can meet up with you guys when you go out for some brews.

How about "Cran-Hop Piney Brew", "Sphagnum Malt", or "Bass River Cider"? (Or worse, it could be "Thundermug Comforter"). LOL

 

[PancoastDrifter]

I did a search for "cedar water" just to inquire about ph etc. This was the first result... have a laugh!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cedar%20water

1. cedar water

A type of poop-brown water found in the Tuckahoe river. It houses the world's most disgusting creatures, including rattle snakes and aqua zombies who live on the bottom of the river and breath water. Most people who live near cedar water are hicks with shotguns. When you jump in cedar water it gets in your nose and many are known to cough it up for hours afterwards. It pretty much looks like iced tea. The zombies can be brought to life by listening to Phish and looking up cedar water on the internet on urban dictionary.

Boy, this cedar water sure tastes like poop.

Boy, I wish there weren't zombies in this cedar water.

I wish my skin didn't look poop-brown in this cedar water.

The Atlantic Ocean is 4% cedar water.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

1. cedar water

A type of poop-brown water found in the Tuckahoe river. It houses the world's most disgusting creatures, including rattle snakes and aqua zombies who live on the bottom of the river and breath water. Most people who live near cedar water are hicks with shotguns. When you jump in cedar water it gets in your nose and many are known to cough it up for hours afterwards. It pretty much looks like iced tea. The zombies can be brought to life by listening to Phish and looking up cedar water on the internet on urban dictionary.

Boy, this cedar water sure tastes like poop.

Boy, I wish there weren't zombies in this cedar water.

I wish my skin didn't look poop-brown in this cedar water.

The Atlantic Ocean is 4% cedar water.

:rofl:

 

[kayakmac]

So that explains my quest for "phish"!

 

[PINEY MIKE]

If you guys dont mind, Id love to participate in your quest. I too have a well here in Bamber. Its a shallow well with a softner for the high iron and a purifier. If the water (which is excellent) can be of any help, Im more than willing to put it towards a good cause. Id also be willing to fire up the grill and fill the cooler during the process. Just keep me posted. I've mentioned before that we make our own wine in the yard and I've always wanted to make brew too!
Mike

 

[TrailRunner]

pinelandspaddler and myself have come up with a killer recipe for a good cedar-inspired brew, a "loch-bock." If PP ever gets off his lazy ass and finds his brewing equipment we can get to it.

 

[PINEY MIKE]

Shoot me a message when things are ready. Id love to get involved and put in $ for whatevers needed. I live in a pretty rustic area of the pines, which would serve as a great brewing spot for "loch bock" if we need a brewing destination.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

http://books.google.com/books?id=MN3Huu6A7FcC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=atzs cedar water beer&source=bl&ots=En2QaC_3IP&sig=5mbaJrtdHcPWuUrws_toL9bX84o&hl=en#v=onepage&q=atzs cedar water beer&f=false

So according to Maxwell, Christian Atz and brewer Conrad Will developed a cedar water brew. I have serious doubts as to the veracity of this claim. They might have marketed it as cedar water beer (does anyone know if they did in fact advertise it as such?), but I can't take seriously the claim that they actually brewed with cedar water. As we know, cedar water is high in iron, acidic and teaming with organic material, which makes cedar water highly undesirable for brewing. I'm curious though as to whether or not there is any historical evidence that Atz used cedar water.