water -- how to get started

[braukasper]

Sorry I posted this in the water section but it doesn't seem to be getting the views. I am wondering what is the best way to get started with water modification.

What is the best way to get started? Would a little brewing test lab help? Would like to adjust my water (deep well). I know the water that has been through the softener brews a decent pils. Straight from the well a good IPA. The beers could be better

[russki]

Sorry I posted this in the water section but it doesn't seem to be getting the views. I am wondering what is the best way to get started with water modification.

What is the best way to get started? Would a little brewing test lab help? Would like to adjust my water (deep well). I know the water that has been through the softener brews a decent pils. Straight from the well a good IPA. The beers could be better

If you're starting with well water, you really need to know what's in it before making any adjustments. You can send a sample to Ward Labs, they do water analysis reports fairly inexpensively.

Another option is to run your water through a Reverse Osmosis filter, and build your water profiles using it as a blank canvas.

[DaYooper]

There is quite a bit of good discussion in the water section if you havent already read the threads. Start with Screwy's thread.

[braukasper]

I have been thinking of setting up a second RO line dedicated to brewing. It takes several days to get enough from the drinking water line.

[MadBrewer]

Yeah, if you plan on using your well water it's best to have it tested. WARD Labs has a brewing water test for a decent price. This way you know what you are working with before you start adding brewing salts to try and adjust the water. But water from a water softener really isn't good for brewing, the process is adding a LOT of sodium.

If you are thinking of adding a RO tap to have for your brewing water that's probably your best route...then you can build water from there. But for the most part and it's been mentioned here on the forum before, here is a great little bit of info from a thread on Home Brew Talk. Of course this is in regards to All Grain Brewing and when starting with RO water or very soft water nearly devoid of mineral content.

-----The following recommendations apply to “soft” water. Here we will define soft as meaning RO or distilled water or any water whose lab report indicates alkalinity less than 35 (ppm as CaCO3 – all other numbers to follow mg/L), sulfate less than 20 (as sulfate – Ward Labs reports as sulfur so multiply the SO4-S number by 3 to get as sulfate), chloride less than 20, sodium less than 20, calcium less than 20 and magnesium less than 20. If your water has numbers higher than these, dilute it with RO or DI water. A 1:1 dilution reduces each ion concentration to 1/2, a 2:1 dilution to 1/3 and so on. If your water contains chloramines add 1 campden tablet per 20 gallons (before any dilution)

Baseline: Add 1 tsp of calcium chloride dihydrate (what your LHBS sells) to each 5 gallons of water treated. Add 2% sauermalz to the grist.

Deviate from the baseline as follows:

For soft water beers (i.e Pils, Helles). Use half the baseline amount of calcium chloride and increase the sauermalz to 3%

For beers that use roast malt (Stout, porter): Skip the sauermalz.

For British beers: Add 1 tsp gypsum as well as 1 tsp calcium chloride

For very minerally beers (Export, Burton ale): Double the calcium chloride and the gypsum.

These recommendations should get you a good beer if not the best beer. To get the best you should vary the amounts of the added salts noting carefully whether a change benefits or detriments your enjoyment of the beer. Additional sulfate will sharpen the perceived hops bitterness. Additional chloride will round, smooth and sweeten the beer. Add or decrease these in small amounts.

Those serious about getting the best possible results should buy a pH meter and check mash pH increasing or decreasing the amount of sauermalz to get pH around 5.3. Unfortunately the strips don’t seem to work very well.

[T8rSalad]

Kudos to MadBrewer for a very informative post and thanks to Russki with his comment. Appreciate all this information whether we need to use now or anytime in the future. Thanks to the OP for starting this as well.

[braukasper]

I think for now till I build that brewer I will be buying water. Is it possible to buy it in 10 gallon or 5 gallon jugs? All I see around here 2.5 jugs.

What additvies should I be gathering up. Just started reading the book water.

[DaYooper]

Most grocery stores carry the 5 gallon jugs used for the commercial water coolers (at least in my area). I know a person who uses the water to brew and uses the water bottle as a carboy to brew. When done he simply rinses - no cleaning and sanitizing - and returns it for a fresh, sanitized carboy filled with brewing water.

[T8rSalad]

Interesting this just came via email to me:

http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/w ... d-beer-ph/

[ScrewyBrewer]

So far I've gotten 6 great tasting batches of beer using distilled water and 2 milliliters of 88% lactic acid, haven't tried using Sauermalz yet as MadBrewer had suggested. When seasoning distilled water for tomorrow's brew I'll add gypsum, calcium chloride and Epsom salts in the amounts below.

- Mash water profile 9.0 gallons --
4.00 g - Gypsum (calcium sulfate)
6.00 g - Calcium Chloride
6.00 g - Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate)
2.00 ml Lactic Acid

Using EZwater I set both the mash and sparge water volumes to 4.5 gallons and the percentage that's Distilled or RO water to 100%. I then enter the grain bill and watch as all the mineral and salt additions fall within the recommended ranges, they'll turn green.

00.25 pound Chocolate Malt [US] (4.0 ounces)
00.50 pound Flaked Rye [Briess] (8.0 ounces)
00.50 pound Crystal 40L
12.00 pounds Pale Ale Malt
---------------
13.25 pounds total = 1.05 mash thickness

The recipe is for a RyePA that I brewed a month or so ago and it tasted outstanding, although I've removed the Carafa III this time to lighten up an otherwise black beer to a warmer brown color. Until you've gotten a handle on using a consistent source of water to work with, like distilled or reverse osmosis, go easy on the pH adjustments.

Taking your pH readings 15 minutes after your latest addition allows the water time to stabilize, and recalibrate your digital meter prior to taking a reading and you'll be good to go. Remember to allow at least an hour to your brewday to get these adjustments dialed in, or better yet prepare your water the night before if possible.

[braukasper]

a little read At home water testing

[Crazy Climber]

<Trying to hit the "thanks" button on Screwy's most recent post>

The whole topic of water treatment can be confusing and overwhelming, and some resources and spreadsheets only serve to make it more so. That last post by Screwy - and the EZwater spreadsheet, in particular - made the light bulb go on for me.

[ScrewyBrewer]

The seventh consecutive brewday using modified brewing water went easier than the preceding days. Just knowing what to expect and how to work the water properties into the brewday has made this seem even more natural now.

scwrye-sml.jpg (83.26 KiB) Viewed 991 times

qBrew calculated the original gravity to be 1.059 but I was happy to see a 1.064 reading on the hydrometer just prior to pitching the yeast. I found it helpful having some baking soda handy, to raise the pH incrementally as needed, lactic acid and baking soda can be used to seesaw and fine tune your pH numbers. It's important to note that adding baking soda also adds sodium so you don't want to go outside of the recommended range for sodium while adjusting the pH up and down.