Hi,
I'm quite new to brewing and after my last batch I decided to get a water report for our municipal water and start reading up some on brewing water chemistry.
These are the numbers I got when requesting information about the water:
In the water primer (from this forum) "soft" water is defined as water that has alkalinity less than 35 (ppm as CaCO3). Since I only got HCO3 in my report I found a formula in Palmers book for converting HCO3 to alkalinity as CaCO3 ppm. He writes that you should divide the HCO3 with 61 and multiply by 50 to get the alkalinity as CaCO3:
(45/61)*50 = 36.9 (rounded to one decimal)
Would this water be good without diluting it with RO water?
I have only brewed american pale ales and IPAs so far and my next batch will be a quite hop forward american pale ale. If I understand the primer correctly the only recommendation for that style would be 1 tsp calcium chloride dihydrate and 2% acidulated malt. If I input those numbers in the EZ Water spreadsheet along with the grainbill for my next brew I get the pH estimation in the correct range for mashing. The spreadsheet does however list my SO4 content as too low (17 and the recommended range is 50-350). Adding gypsum would help me raise the SO4 content. If I understand things correctly it might also help to accentuate the hop bitterness. Would it be a good idea to do that?
I also see that my Mg is quite low. Should I just leave it that way or do you think that I would benefit from a tiny addition of Epsom salt?
The Calcium Chloride I ordered came in form of flakes and it does not say that it is dihydrate. It only states 77-80% on the label. I will probably use a scale to measure around 4g instead of using a teaspoon. Should I increase the amount slightly since it is 77-80%?
Any other recommendations for my water?
I have ordered a pH meter and I'm hoping that it will get here in time for my
next brew
Thanks!
I'm quite new to brewing and after my last batch I decided to get a water report for our municipal water and start reading up some on brewing water chemistry.
These are the numbers I got when requesting information about the water:
Code:
pH 8.1 - 8.2
dH 2.8
Alkalinity (Bicarbonate, HCO3) 45 mg/l
Calcium (Ca) 18 mg/l
Magnesium (Mg) 1.5 mg/l
Chloride (Cl) 1.5 mg/l
Sulfate (SO4) 17 mg/l
Sodium (Na) 1.8 mg/l
In the water primer (from this forum) "soft" water is defined as water that has alkalinity less than 35 (ppm as CaCO3). Since I only got HCO3 in my report I found a formula in Palmers book for converting HCO3 to alkalinity as CaCO3 ppm. He writes that you should divide the HCO3 with 61 and multiply by 50 to get the alkalinity as CaCO3:
(45/61)*50 = 36.9 (rounded to one decimal)
Would this water be good without diluting it with RO water?
I have only brewed american pale ales and IPAs so far and my next batch will be a quite hop forward american pale ale. If I understand the primer correctly the only recommendation for that style would be 1 tsp calcium chloride dihydrate and 2% acidulated malt. If I input those numbers in the EZ Water spreadsheet along with the grainbill for my next brew I get the pH estimation in the correct range for mashing. The spreadsheet does however list my SO4 content as too low (17 and the recommended range is 50-350). Adding gypsum would help me raise the SO4 content. If I understand things correctly it might also help to accentuate the hop bitterness. Would it be a good idea to do that?
I also see that my Mg is quite low. Should I just leave it that way or do you think that I would benefit from a tiny addition of Epsom salt?
The Calcium Chloride I ordered came in form of flakes and it does not say that it is dihydrate. It only states 77-80% on the label. I will probably use a scale to measure around 4g instead of using a teaspoon. Should I increase the amount slightly since it is 77-80%?
Any other recommendations for my water?
I have ordered a pH meter and I'm hoping that it will get here in time for my
next brew
Thanks!