mrcastellino
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I'll be doing my first all grain within a week and couldnt resist jumping head first into water chemistry (for better or for worse). My Ward Labs Water Analysis was as follows :
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 272
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.45
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.7 / 4.5
ppm
Sodium, Na 49
Potassium, K 3
Calcium, Ca 32
Magnesium, Mg 11
Total Hardness, CaCO3 126
Nitrate, NO3-N 1.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 22 (*3 = 66)
Chloride, Cl 49
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 97
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 80
Total Phosphorus, P 0.41
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
In order to soften the water as part of AJ's water primer, a 3:1 dilution w/ RO would yield me the following :
Sodium, Na 12.25
Potassium, K 0.75
Calcium, Ca 8
Magnesium, Mg 2.75
Total Hardness, CaCO3 31.5
Nitrate, NO3-N (SAFE) 0.3
Sulfate, SO4-S 16.5 (66/4)
Chloride, Cl 12.25
Carbonate, CO3 0.25
Bicarbonate, HCO3 24.25
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 20
Total Phosphorus, P 0.1025
Total Iron, Fe 0.0025
Since I will be brewing a PA, I would deviate from the above as follows:
Baseline : Add 1 tsp (4.9 grams) of calcium chloride dihydrate (per 5 gallons)... (+ 2% sauermalz to the grist)
For British beers: Add 1 tsp gypsum as well as 1 tsp calcium chloride...
This would result in the following profile :
Ca 209.4
Mg 2.8
Na 12.3
SO4 161
Cl 262
HC03 24.3
I will be using the following grain profile for the PA:
Base 2-row 7.7 #s
Crystal Malt (10L) 1.181 #s
Vienna Malt 1.93 #s
Acidulated Malt 3.5 oz.
Entering these numbers into EZ water calculator 3.0 would net the following:
Effective Alkalinity: -106
Residual Alkalinity: -257
Estimated Room-Temp Mash pH 5.25 (Ez water calculator recommends a range of 5.4 to 5.6)
And an ending water profile of :
ppm Palmers' recommended ranges
Ca 209 50-150
Mg 3 10-30
Na 12 0-150
Cl 262 0-250
SO4 161 50-350
Cloride / Sulfate Ratio 1.63 (Above 1.3 may enhance maltiness)
As you can see at least according to Palmers recommended ranges 3 out of 5 of the ions are out of range following the primer model. Also its interesting how drastic the ratio of Ca, Cl, & SO4 is in comparison to Na and Mg. Did I screw something up here ? Or are the recommended ranges to be ignored in this case?
The mash pH in Ez Water Calculator came out to 5.25. Pretty good i would guess, although according to Ez water calculator thats too low. Removing the acidulated malt would give me a mash pH of 5.43, which it seems to say is ok...
Anyway, anyone care to chime in? I usually dont care to learn things the hard way (aka less than stellar beer)
I appreciate the input and any help!
Cheers
I'll be doing my first all grain within a week and couldnt resist jumping head first into water chemistry (for better or for worse). My Ward Labs Water Analysis was as follows :
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 272
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.45
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.7 / 4.5
ppm
Sodium, Na 49
Potassium, K 3
Calcium, Ca 32
Magnesium, Mg 11
Total Hardness, CaCO3 126
Nitrate, NO3-N 1.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 22 (*3 = 66)
Chloride, Cl 49
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 97
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 80
Total Phosphorus, P 0.41
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
In order to soften the water as part of AJ's water primer, a 3:1 dilution w/ RO would yield me the following :
Sodium, Na 12.25
Potassium, K 0.75
Calcium, Ca 8
Magnesium, Mg 2.75
Total Hardness, CaCO3 31.5
Nitrate, NO3-N (SAFE) 0.3
Sulfate, SO4-S 16.5 (66/4)
Chloride, Cl 12.25
Carbonate, CO3 0.25
Bicarbonate, HCO3 24.25
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 20
Total Phosphorus, P 0.1025
Total Iron, Fe 0.0025
Since I will be brewing a PA, I would deviate from the above as follows:
Baseline : Add 1 tsp (4.9 grams) of calcium chloride dihydrate (per 5 gallons)... (+ 2% sauermalz to the grist)
For British beers: Add 1 tsp gypsum as well as 1 tsp calcium chloride...
This would result in the following profile :
Ca 209.4
Mg 2.8
Na 12.3
SO4 161
Cl 262
HC03 24.3
I will be using the following grain profile for the PA:
Base 2-row 7.7 #s
Crystal Malt (10L) 1.181 #s
Vienna Malt 1.93 #s
Acidulated Malt 3.5 oz.
Entering these numbers into EZ water calculator 3.0 would net the following:
Effective Alkalinity: -106
Residual Alkalinity: -257
Estimated Room-Temp Mash pH 5.25 (Ez water calculator recommends a range of 5.4 to 5.6)
And an ending water profile of :
ppm Palmers' recommended ranges
Ca 209 50-150
Mg 3 10-30
Na 12 0-150
Cl 262 0-250
SO4 161 50-350
Cloride / Sulfate Ratio 1.63 (Above 1.3 may enhance maltiness)
As you can see at least according to Palmers recommended ranges 3 out of 5 of the ions are out of range following the primer model. Also its interesting how drastic the ratio of Ca, Cl, & SO4 is in comparison to Na and Mg. Did I screw something up here ? Or are the recommended ranges to be ignored in this case?
The mash pH in Ez Water Calculator came out to 5.25. Pretty good i would guess, although according to Ez water calculator thats too low. Removing the acidulated malt would give me a mash pH of 5.43, which it seems to say is ok...
Anyway, anyone care to chime in? I usually dont care to learn things the hard way (aka less than stellar beer)
I appreciate the input and any help!
Cheers