RO Water in yeast starter

[crupp]

All,
I've posted a couple of posts about the shitty water in my new house, and have received a number of great responses. It's funny how little I really thought about water before I had to deal with really shitty water....We’ve purchased one of those office type water coolers for now, and refill five gallon jugs with RO water at the local grocery store. We’re presently looking into an RO system for the house.

My new question is this...Is it OK to use RO water in a yeast starter? I've read that it's perfectly fine to use RO water in an extract batch...and that's all yeast starters are...little extract batches. I plan to add nutrient and all that jazz. Will the nutrient and whatever minerals within the DME be sufficient?

What say you?

Thanks in advance!

[captain carrot]

It'll be fine. I use RO water for everything.
Relax Don't Worry And Make Some Homebrew.

[BigNastyBrew]

Yep. You're fine, man. All those minerals from the mash to make that extract are still there. Just the water was evaporated. If only water was evaporated (no minerals), it's perfectly fine to just put water back.

[crupp]

Thought so. It's just nice to get confirmation from the ranks. Thanks for the quick feedback!

[ajdelange]

Absolutely nothing wrong with RO water. Extracts are (or were - perhaps the manufacturers have addressed the problem recently) notoriously low in Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) so be sure to use some nutrient in the starter at least and probably the beer as well.

[Otter]

Sorry for the hijacking...

I carbon filter all my brewing water, and my tap water tastes great.

However, I haven't really worried about the water for my starters. I've just been using my tap water. I figured it was such a little amount that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference in a 10 gallon batch. Especially, if I decant it prior to pitching.

Should I be filtering my starter water also?

[captain carrot]

Sorry for the hijacking...

I carbon filter all my brewing water, and my tap water tastes great.

However, I haven't really worried about the water for my starters. I've just been using my tap water. I figured it was such a little amount that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference in a 10 gallon batch. Especially, if I decant it prior to pitching.

Should I be filtering my starter water also?

If the water tastes good it shouldn't be a problem. I chlorinate my well 3 times a year, have 2 whole house filters and a water softener and the tap water tastes fine but I still use the RO water for brewing. I'd rather use the RO water than lug water from a Lake Michigan source treated with chlorine or chloramines.

[11amas]

Just remember that, when adding mineralized water to extract, you are possibly doubling up on those minerals. It might not be a big deal with a starter due to the low volume but I wouldn't do it personally. I can't imagine you are very far from a Water and Ice store or one of those machines that dispenses it at $.20/gallon.