jennisnotahomesteader asked: Hi, I just got a home brew kit with glass carboy and plastic bottling bucket. I am incredibly worried about sanitation! Is it safe to use tap water to rinse my equipment, and is tap water safe to use in the wort? I live in San Francisco, so our water is pretty clean and we drink it straight from tap.

American tap water is generally speaking fine to use in your homebrew. The only thing you really need to worry about is if it has any off flavors or smells to it, from chlorine etc., because your homebrew will have those too. If you’re concerned about it you can always filter your water, or just buy some from the store.

Sanitation is important but as long as you use whatever sanitizer you got from the brew store as directed you should be fine. If you have any questions you can always consult John Palmer’s excellent “How To Brew”  which is free online.

Most importantly don’t forget the cardinal rule, coined by the father of modern homebrewing, Charlie Papazian: “Relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew.”