It's all about the water.

As a general rule of thumb about water quality when brewing beer, 'If your water tastes good, your beer should taste good'.



I recommend installing a water filtration system and filtering your tap water prior to using it for brewing.



Although many water odors will dissipate during the boil, some bad tastes need to be removed via filtration.

According to the many articles I've read, never use distilled water for your wort, as it lacks the minerals and nutrients needed for proper yeast fermentation to take place.

You also don't want to use chlorinated 'city' water or your finished beer can have high levels of chlorophenols which introduce some nasty off-flavor flaws.

Using a good 2 stage filter will remove the chlorine from the water while leaving the good minerals and nutrients intact.

I use a 2 stage 'under the counter filtration' system for all our drinking water. The GE model is easy to install and maintain, the filter cartriges last up to 6 months and the filtered water is free of harmful chemicals and other organic impurities.