some combination of andWhat does a "No, really, I swear" emoji look like?
some combination of andWhat does a "No, really, I swear" emoji look like?
Even though I've been brewing for about 15 years, I just recently starting using Bru'n Water. Definitely makes a major difference. A Ward report would be mostly worthless to me as my local water reports fluctuate monthly (they actually have a "Homebrewing" chart on my local water website). Unfortunately, the figures are usually a month or two behind. I now use RO and build.That was the primary reason I suggested that the OP might want to get a Ward Labs report.
We filter our water, with a high quality countertop cartridge type filter, and/or our built in RO system.
As is, the water has a good base profile for most any beer. So we never add anything.
Correct. We do not modify the city tap water, with the exception of filtration.
Yes, all grain.
Anecdotal stories on individuals tap water are, at best, a feel good read.Our city tap water is very constant, with only minor variations from month to month.
We filter our water, with a high quality countertop cartridge type filter, and/or our built in RO system.
As is, the water has a good base profile for most any beer. So we never add anything. Works for us.
Anecdotal stories on individuals tap water are, at best, a feel good read.
Most likely, the stories have little value as everyone is likely to have tap water with a different mineral content.
On the other hand, stories on individuals tap water which include needed mineral content (and adjustments that are made) can be useful - as people do learn by example.
If you RO filter, you are certainly modifying it.
See post #46. Clearly stated that we modify with filtration.
My "aha" moment with regard to "water chemistry" and "all-grain" brewing is that it's really just water adjustments to achieve specific goals.I'm curious what you all do (if anything) to treat (or test) your water at any point in the brewing process.
Thanks for the links!When using RO water, it is possible to start with water adjustments on your first 'all-grain' batch Water Chemistry: How to Build Your Water (link).
Thanks! I know I'm probably overthinking things at this point. I already eager to dig deeper into things.At such an early stage, I would concentrate more on the brewing process and get that worked out before I even thought about water profiles. Heck, I've been brewing for 30 years, and the only time I do water adjustment, is if I brew something under 8 SRM. Otherwise I use my tap water with great results.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not super up on water chemistry yet but learning...Hey, the good news is that they disinfect with chorine (not chloramine) and use relatively low levels (4.0 ppm). Probably a good idea to let it sit out or boil off the free chlorine before use. You have pretty high alkalinity and hardness but Ca++ and Mg++ levels are pretty reasonable and I'm having some trouble reconciling those data. You might want to get a Ward Labs report. In any case, you are probably going to want some lactic or phosphoric acid on hand to adjust pH.
Thanks! I need to pick up some bottle caps today anyway. I'm sure my local shop should have Campden tablets.That's a small but very important detail. ^
Chlorine "kills" beer.
Dosage: 1/4 crushed Campden tablet per 5 gallons of water. Just stir it well to dissolve. And stir it again, a minute or so later (timing is not critical). It works within minutes.
Campden works faster and 100% guaranteed to remove all traces of chlorine.
It's so easy, cheap, and imperceptible, it's borderline criminal that a Campden Tablet isn't included with every recipe kit.
Yeah. I may not sweat things too much until I make the jump to all grain. From what I'm gathering, having the "right" water is more important than when extract brewing.... continuing with a thought based on my previous reply on alkalinity limits ...
Starting out with DME/LME, there's nothing wrong with using tap water of an unknown mineral content - as long as the beer comes out fine. But if the beer ends up with unexpected flavors, inappropriate mineral content needs to be considered as a source of the unexpected flavors.
Starting with distilled/RO/low mineral water is one way to avoid the troubleshooting step.
If mineral content of the tap water is known, there appears to be information (note: this is speculation) in a couple of places that can be used to establish rough ppm ranges for good vs poor tap water. Once this is known, some of the techniques that people use to dilute minerals / alkalinity may (again: this is speculation) be appropriate for adjusting tap water when brewing with DME/LME.
I'm going to have to take your word on these numbers. Haha!Took me a minute to figure out where this came from. Total hardness is expressed as molar mass equivalents of CaCO3
CaC03 = 100.1 g/mol
Ca2+ = 40.1 g/mol
Mg2+= 24.3 g/mol
So, molar mass ratios can be expressed as:
MCaCO3 / MCa = 100.1 / 40.1 = 2.5
MCaCO3 / MMg = 100.1 / 24.3 = 4.1
Good point. Thanks!In the grand scheme of the cost of a batch of beer, especially if you grant a very small hourly wage to your time spent, 6 gallons of RO or distilled water is practically nothing. When brewing extracts, it's a very simple choice to avoid any water based off flavors.
I think the point that may not be have been articulated properly is that you were unclear whether you brew with 100% filtered tap water or 100% RO water or some combination of both. Without knowing the exact ionic content of the tap water, it is impossible that it is ideal for every beer style without some modification. Anecdotally being happy with all beer styles on that water source is fine. It is just not good general advice for anyone looking to maximize their success.
Helpful. Thank you!With regard to water adjustments and extract brewing, there's this from a popular book (circa 2005):
View attachment 745861
RO/distilled water is a good solution to the 1st step, yeast nutrient for the 3rd.
Like someone said on that "other" brewing forum...the best brewers do not worry about water.
"extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence": it's your claim, we're willing to review the evidence.Like someone said on that "other" brewing forum...the best brewers do not worry about water.
I do love the taste of olives and pickles. Not so much in my beer though.I brew with store brand spring water. I make malty beers, as I'm not a huge fan of hops, besides the necessary bitterness.
This has not worked for my attempts at hoppy beers, as I can never seem to taste the hops, even if I add enough to make my mouth burn.
On the other hand, using tap water made all my beers taste like olives or pickles, which I attributed to the chlorine and chloramines.
Using campden tablets fixed this too, but I always got worried I was using too much, and adding hardness, or using too little, and leaving chloramines.
I also used RO for a while, adding my own minerals, before I decided I just prefer to make malty beers anyways, and quit trying to beat my head against the wall trying to bring out the hops.
Spring water has made all my stouts, browns, scotch ales, ciders, and meads delicious.
I brew with store brand spring water. I make malty beers, as I'm not a huge fan of hops, besides the necessary bitterness.
This has not worked for my attempts at hoppy beers, as I can never seem to taste the hops, even if I add enough to make my mouth burn.
On the other hand, using tap water made all my beers taste like olives or pickles, which I attributed to the chlorine and chloramines.
Using campden tablets fixed this too, but I always got worried I was using too much, and adding hardness, or using too little, and leaving chloramines.
I also used RO for a while, adding my own minerals, before I decided I just prefer to make malty beers anyways, and quit trying to beat my head against the wall trying to bring out the hops.
Spring water has made all my stouts, browns, scotch ales, ciders, and meads delicious.
For those who are interested in trying to reproduce the Brulosophy recipes that you mentioned, can you provide direct links to those articles?The above came from experiments where they could not tell differences in beers with treated / untreated water.
Someone may have said this, but I have found the opposite to be true. That includes home brewers and pros.
A brewery located in Bitburg, Germany, uses the local water. With no chemical treatment.
It can be - it seems to depend on the starting point that one chooses.It seems like a process of trial and error and "dialing it in".
Using local water is not the issue - using water with unknown or variable chemistry is the problem.
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