How's my water?

[xpops]

hey,

So I'm at about 7-8 AG batches into my homebrew journey, and this forum continues to be a wealth of knowledge! Things are starting to come together, beers are starting to taste better, and i'm starting to make some minor changes to make things even better.

This brings me to a point that i'm sure everyone has reached, and i'm looking for a little reassurance. I know there are tons of posts about water, but i was hoping i could get some input on my water in particular? I've been using salts based on what i THINK i should be doing, but i'm at the point where i've read so much about it, i'm starting to question myself! so - without further adieu, my water profile averages from my city water report last year;

Alkalinity as CaCO3 - 90
Hardness as CaCO3 - 107
Field pH - 7.9
Ca - 29.5
Mg - 8
So4 - 33
Na - 15
Cl - 16


Typically i've been making IPAs, the odd dark ale. I know they need to be adjusted based on each brew, but i'm really just looking for a "baseline" as to how my raw brewing water is? I'd just like some input from some experienced brewers how the profile looks, and how it could be affecting my brews.

Thank you so much!!

 

[rwing7486]

hey,

So I'm at about 7-8 AG batches into my homebrew journey, and this forum continues to be a wealth of knowledge! Things are starting to come together, beers are starting to taste better, and i'm starting to make some minor changes to make things even better.

This brings me to a point that i'm sure everyone has reached, and i'm looking for a little reassurance. I know there are tons of posts about water, but i was hoping i could get some input on my water in particular? I've been using salts based on what i THINK i should be doing, but i'm at the point where i've read so much about it, i'm starting to question myself! so - without further adieu, my water profile averages from my city water report last year;

Alkalinity as CaCO3 - 90
Hardness as CaCO3 - 107
Field pH - 7.9
Ca - 29.5
Mg - 8
So4 - 33
Na - 15
Cl - 16


Typically i've been making IPAs, the odd dark ale. I know they need to be adjusted based on each brew, but i'm really just looking for a "baseline" as to how my raw brewing water is? I'd just like some input from some experienced brewers how the profile looks, and how it could be affecting my brews.

Thank you so much!!

Looks very similar to my profile (see below). Like you said its a baseline and depending on the style of beer I was brewing I add different minerals to the water to get it where i want for that beer. I use Bru n water software - works great. Just input your water profile and beer recipe and add your water adjustments based on the type of water profile you want to target for each beer.

 

[xpops]

thanks for the reply! - i'll look at that Brun Water. i typically have been using http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/ worksheet. Maybe i should check out Brun Water - although i'm sure they're probably all pretty similar. I was really just trying to find out if "wow - XXX is way off in your water" or "that water is way too hard/soft to brew with". even though there is no "standard" profile, i just want to compare mine to something "standard" just to get an idea...

or maybe i'm just overthinking everything again! I should maybe just RDWHAHB!

 

[rwing7486]

thanks for the reply! - i'll look at that Brun Water. i typically have been using http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/ worksheet. Maybe i should check out Brun Water - although i'm sure they're probably all pretty similar. I was really just trying to find out if "wow - XXX is way off in your water" or "that water is way too hard/soft to brew with". even though there is no "standard" profile, i just want to compare mine to something "standard" just to get an idea...

or maybe i'm just overthinking everything again! I should maybe just RDWHAHB!

I Only thing I would say is your bicarbonate level is high for doing ambers and blonde ales. I would suggest keeping some latic acid on hand to help reduce this Also if you need help using Bru N water there are plenty of youtube videos out there to help you.

 

[xpops]

Good to know! How would the high bicarbonate level affect ambers/blonds/lights? Off taste? Bad conversion? Etc... Thanks !!

 

[rwing7486]

Good to know! How would the high bicarbonate level affect ambers/blonds/lights? Off taste? Bad conversion? Etc... Thanks !!

your beer can have a harsh finish for those styles - I have experienced it myself. When you get to your IPA's and stouts its not as important to keep that bicarbonate level low as you will have a higher hop bitterness. You will see these targets change when you select different "profile" targets

 

[xpops]

your beer can have a harsh finish for those styles - I have experienced it myself. When you get to your IPA's and stouts its not as important to keep that bicarbonate level low as you will have a higher hop bitterness. You will see these targets change when you select different "profile" targets

excellent - something to keep in mind. I love how you can learn something new everyday when it comes to brewing!

 

[xpops]

Come to think of it, one of my early batches was an amber ale...and didnt have a very pleasent after taste. but it was more of an almost too sweet? i chalked it up the 2-row or yeast i used. it pretty much turned me off from brewing a light beer. maybe i'll have to try another, and bring down that bicoarbonate level.

 

[xpops]

Come to think of it, one of my early batches was an amber ale...and didnt have a very pleasent after taste. but it was more of an almost too sweet? i chalked it up the 2-row or yeast i used. it pretty much turned me off from brewing a light beer. maybe i'll have to try another, and bring down that bicoarbonate level.

so i've been thinking about it a little more since this discussion last week - and i had a buddy try this amber ale in question. He also agreed there's a bad taste to it, almost chemically or medicinal. From what i can see, this can be result of wrong pH levels during mash - this links up to your comment that my HCO3 is too high for a pale beer.

My question is, i see lots of people who treat ALL their water, some who treat just their mash, and some who treat their sparge water seperately.

What's really the best way to go?

(ps - i started playing with bru'n water sheet this weekend)

 

[rwing7486]

so i've been thinking about it a little more since this discussion last week - and i had a buddy try this amber ale in question. He also agreed there's a bad taste to it, almost chemically or medicinal. From what i can see, this can be result of wrong pH levels during mash - this links up to your comment that my HCO3 is too high for a pale beer.

My question is, i see lots of people who treat ALL their water, some who treat just their mash, and some who treat their sparge water seperately.

What's really the best way to go?

(ps - i started playing with bru'n water sheet this weekend)

I always treat both my mash and sparge water. Usually ambers and blondes that are lower in bitterness require a lower level of bicarbonates. Granted this is only one piece of the puzzle, but you want to also make sure you are at the correct pH level like you said. here is another good thread to read below that helped me in the past. Also I posted below the finished water profile I use in my American Amber. To reduce the bicarbonate level i added latic acid to both my mash and spage using a 5ml Glass syringe that I bought online.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/hey-martin-question-about-bicarbonate-387390/

Ca - 80.3
Mg - 9.0
Na - 5.0
SO4 - 68.2
Cl - 63.1
Carbonate - 40.9
Hardness - 238
Alkalinity - 34
RA - (-29)

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

Also, if you're not already doing so, consider dissolving 1/2 campden tablet per 10 gallons of brewing water before you start heating for strike/sparge to remove chlorine/chloramines.

 

[xpops]

I always treat both my mash and sparge water. Usually ambers and blondes that are lower in bitterness require a lower level of bicarbonates. Granted this is only one piece of the puzzle, but you want to also make sure you are at the correct pH level like you said. here is another good thread to read below that helped me in the past. Also I posted below the finished water profile I use in my American Amber. To reduce the bicarbonate level i added latic acid to both my mash and spage using a 5ml Glass syringe that I bought online.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/hey-martin-question-about-bicarbonate-387390/

Ca - 80.3
Mg - 9.0
Na - 5.0
SO4 - 68.2
Cl - 63.1
Carbonate - 40.9
Hardness - 238
Alkalinity - 34
RA - (-29)

Great, thanks for the info! i agree it's only a piece of the puzzle, but it appears to be the one piece of the puzzle that is making my dark beers taste great, but my light beers....not really so much! i think i'm just finally meeting my next level of tinkering to making a better beer, regardless of what type it is.

 

[xpops]

Also, if you're not already doing so, consider dissolving 1/2 campden tablet per 10 gallons of brewing water before you start heating for strike/sparge to remove chlorine/chloramines.

yup, i've always done this - I typically get all my water poured out the night before with my campden in it, along with all my additional salts i add based on my brew.

thanks!

 

[xpops]

I always treat both my mash and sparge water. Usually ambers and blondes that are lower in bitterness require a lower level of bicarbonates. Granted this is only one piece of the puzzle, but you want to also make sure you are at the correct pH level like you said. here is another good thread to read below that helped me in the past. Also I posted below the finished water profile I use in my American Amber. To reduce the bicarbonate level i added latic acid to both my mash and spage using a 5ml Glass syringe that I bought online.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/hey-martin-question-about-bicarbonate-387390/

Ca - 80.3
Mg - 9.0
Na - 5.0
SO4 - 68.2
Cl - 63.1
Carbonate - 40.9
Hardness - 238
Alkalinity - 34
RA - (-29)

sorry i keep beating the proverbial horse and dragging this thread on...but in bru'n water spread sheet i see a note specifying to add acid prior to heading water for mash and sparge...but when is the ideal time to add the salts? pre or post boil?

thanks!!

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

I add my mash salts straight into the crushed grain. That way I know it will get mixed in well with my mash & strike water.

I add sparge/kettle salts right to the sparge water if I am batch sparging, but when I use my fly sparge arm I will add the acid to the sparge water and salts to the kettle.

 

[rwing7486]

sorry i keep beating the proverbial horse and dragging this thread on...but in bru'n water spread sheet i see a note specifying to add acid prior to heading water for mash and sparge...but when is the ideal time to add the salts? pre or post boil?

thanks!!

I add all my additions straight into my water. I like to make sure they get fully dissolved before adding them to the mash

 

[xpops]

OK - so they can all be added after water is already heated up. Thanks for the clarification!