Solutions to bad water and high temps

A foil boil is the way to start for sure.

Go ahead and buy store bought water that's what I have to do as my tap water sucks. Bottled water is usually just tap water from somewhere else so you'll be fine.

Get a big Tupperware container and fill it with cold water and possibly some ice to keep adding and keep the temp down. Just set your fermenter in it and it will at least help keep it cooler.

Feel free to BM or ask any other questions and I'll help with what I can.

 

Assuming you're brewing an extract kit (you probably are), spring water or even distilled or RO water would be fine, because the liquid and/or dry malt extract still contains all the minerals from the water in the mash that was conducted during its manufacture.

 

There's a professionally made cooler for fermenters at www.cool-brewing.com
It's expensive ($55) but less of a PITA than a swamp cooler setup.
I've also heard you can get a cheap styrofoam cooler, fill with water and frozen water bottles, change out bottles.
Personally I have a big fish cooler that I keep my fermenters in, just switch frozen bottles twice a day keeps it around 62.
Or you can make saisons when it's hot which can ferment comfortably up to 90F.

 

I would recommend using RO water from the supermarket. At about 35 cents a gallon it's cheaper than bottled springwater. As Vikeman said, mineral nutrients aren't an issue with extract brewing because they will already be present in the extract. And you don't want to have to worry about chlorine from your tap water.

As for temperature, I would suggest doing whatever it takes to get the wort down to a low starting temp. For most ales, it's best to start in the 64-66F range and let it come up degrees as the fermentation takes off. This is because the initial "lag time" when nothing seems to be happening is the most crucial period for cell reproduction and the production of various esters that affect flavor. In most cases, lower temps are going to keep the production of off flavors to a minimum. The temperature at the end of the fermentation is less critical, though you still want to keep an eye on it. I'd suggest getting one of those rubbermaid tubs--they're cheap, and they're useful in all sorts of ways--and using an ice bath to get the temp down to ~65F. Measure this as carefully as you can, being sure to sanitize your thermometer if it comes in contact with the wort. If you pitch at that temp, you'll probably be fine letting it primary at your 68-70 ambient. But keep an eye on it, and if it goes above ~71, use the old wet t-shirt trick--ie, put a wet t-shirt over the carboy, and keep it damp. This will drop the temperature inside by a few degrees.

Good luck!

 

If you're trying to pull of a full boil for your first brew, you're ahead of the game. Good job on the burner, you'll need it to get 6 gal of wort to a boil. I hope your kettle is at least 6.5 (26qts). An hour boil for hops is usually about a gallon of water evaporated over 60 min. Anti foam drops/powder also don't hurt at all if you don't have a few extra gallons of extra space in your kettle.

I've used a swamp cooler for years with great success. I can keep the ambient temp constant within 2F down to 60F. You just need about 4 or 5 frozen 2 liters. The emit cold pretty slowly and when in a large body of water you can get this down and it stays cool for 10 or 12 hours. Do you have an extra bath tub laying around?