Water Chemistry

[prjectmayhem]

Alright, I've been dancing around this topic for long enough. I want to dive head first into all grain brewing after several years of steeping grains.

How important IS water chemistry actually? I have my water report on hand and am looking at it, trying to figure out what kinds of pH adjustments to make or salts to add to the mash. Most of the all grain recipes don't mention any kinds of water additives so I am wondering how much all of this water chemistry really matters? Should I just focus on hitting the right pH for my mash and go from there? On that note, does a different pH suit different mashes better or is the 5.2-5.3 mark a good place for any color/style of beer?

I am not afraid to do any calculations necessary to make the water adjustments for different styles of beer, it's just unclear to me what adjustments I'd need to make (if any) and if the effort is worth it.

 

[okbecker]

This is a big question....with lots of big answers....check out links below, they can help (if you havent already). I think its a personal choice to build water profiles or your water is that bad and you have too. I noticed an improvement in my beer soon after starting to build water profiles. Find it particularly useful when trying to replicate classic beer styles.

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/03/14/all-grain-water-chemistry-brewing-information/

http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/

 

[mabrungard]

The primary concern is the resulting pH. The rest is mostly flavoring and of lesser concern. I see that you are in SF and I'm assuming your water is from Hetch Hetchy and has fairly low mineralization. Getting the pH in the correct range will make a big difference. Even with distilled or RO water, a brewer can easily screw up a beer...and never added a thing to the water. In most cases, some sort of adjustment is necessary to move a beer from beer to great beer.

That adage: "If the water tastes good, you can brew with it" is not worth the electrons its composed of. How a water tastes has no bearing on its suitability or success for brewing.