OG, ABV, and such

[Mozart]

If you can get a water profile from your water supplier, or send a sample to Ward Lab to get the information (it costs $16.50 for the info you need), that would help you know what your water is to start with and then how to fix it if it's a problem.

For $16.50, if all we're doing is measuring pH, I'd head to the local pet store instead. There are any number of pH test strips and liquid test kits that are made for the aquarium hobby. The liquid kits are more accurate than the strips, and you can test whenever you like, and the liquid kits have, I think, enough reagent to perform hundreds of pH tests. Additionally, while a water report is a good idea, pH in tap water can fluctuate in many municipalities over time.

One bit of advice, when measuring the pH of your tap water as a starting frame of reference for your water chemistry, I recommend letting it sit in an open wide-mouthed vessel (an ordinary drinking cup is fine) for a day or two, or boiling it for 15-20 minutes before testing. The reason is to allow the chlorine in the water to gas off, as chlorine alters pH. Since heating water encourages the chlorine to gas off, the heated water we mash or brew with will ultimately wind up with a pH closer to the tap water after it has gassed off than before.

I may not know much about brewing beer yet, as I'm new to the hobby, but having an aquarium has taught me a little bit about water chemistry.

Cheers!

 

[Stauffbier]

For $16.50, if all we're doing is measuring pH, I'd head to the local pet store instead. There are any number of pH test strips and liquid test kits that are made for the aquarium hobby. The liquid kits are more accurate than the strips, and you can test whenever you like, and the liquid kits have, I think, enough reagent to perform hundreds of pH tests. Additionally, while a water report is a good idea, pH in tap water can fluctuate in many municipalities over time.

One bit of advice, when measuring the pH of your tap water as a starting frame of reference for your water chemistry, I recommend letting it sit in an open wide-mouthed vessel (an ordinary drinking cup is fine) for a day or two, or boiling it for 15-20 minutes before testing. The reason is to allow the chlorine in the water to gas off, as chlorine alters pH. Since heating water encourages the chlorine to gas off, the heated water we mash or brew with will ultimately wind up with a pH closer to the tap water after it has gassed off than before.

I may not know much about brewing beer yet, as I'm new to the hobby, but having an aquarium has taught me a little bit about water chemistry.

Cheers!

It's not just about pH. Since water profiles have different minerals a person might have water with a lot of sodium, which isn't really good for you or for the flavor of your beer. Some minerals enhance bitterness, while other enhance malt. For this reason it's good to know what's in your water and what the pH is.

As far as chlorine... you shouldn't be using water with chlorine in the first place. If you have to "gas off" to get a proper pH reading from your brewing water, then you need to treat your water to remove the chlorine before you use it to brew with.

 

[chickypad]

Also the pH of the tap water means nothing, it is the pH of the mash that counts which is mostly affected by the alkalinity/buffering capacity of the water and the particular grainbill. I have tap water with a very high pH but extremely low alkalinity so it is still good for brewing.

 

[Yooper]

Also the pH of the tap water means nothing, it is the pH of the mash that counts which is mostly affected by the alkalinity/buffering capacity of the water and the particular grainbill. I have tap water with a very high pH but extremely low alkalinity so it is still good for brewing.

And I have high bicarbonate but not a bad pH- but my water has far too much alkalinity for most beers.

You want to know the calcium, sodium, magnesium, choride, sulfate, bicarbonate, and carbonate hardness. If there is chlorine in the form of chloramines, that must be removed as it doesn't boil off. It easiest to remove that with campden tablets (potassium metabisulfite).

 

[Demus]

+1 to the comments on water.

The pH is influenced by many factors so checking it with aquarium strips would be a waste of time and provide you with no useful info. To estimate mash pH you need to know the full water profile. Calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium and other minerals are what influence the pH along with your mash temperature and grain bill. Darker grains tend to lower the pH, pale ones less so. This is actually one of the main reasons the beer styles of the world developed. Certain regions' water was poorly suited to brew certain styles of beer, so they stuck to what worked. Stouts in Ireland, pales in England, etc. With a little know how and some of the key minerals in hand, you can taylor your water to the beer you are brewing. But you have to know your starting point. No one can tell you what to add or how much until you know what's in the water you are using...

 

[Demus]

PS- If your mash pH falls outside the recommended range you can have poor efficiency and/or extract tannins from the grain husks...

 

[BlindFaith]

I have had similar issues with my OG and efficiency. I started with investigating my thermometer and turned out it was off by a good bit. That still didn't solve my issues, so then I had my grain double crushed and still had efficiency problems. I have made up for it by adding proper amounts of the correct DME at flameout and my beer has been fine, but I want proper efficiency. So, today I am using baseline RO water with the proper additions for my APA and hoping to get my mash right. I do not have any ph strips, but I will know if my water was indeed a problem pre-boil when I take a refractometer reading. I feel your pain.