I have a Mash & Boil and have done 8 successful extract brews. Want to do my first all grain by brewing an amber or brown ale. I'm the kind that try to research as much as I can beforehand to avoid mistakes. The water thing has me a little afraid. On my latest extract brews I have used 1/2 RO water mixed with half tap (hot or cold) water. I have a TDS meter and the cold water measures around 70 and the hot around 120. RO from my filter measures 5. I have no clue what to do with prepping water for any brew. I know there are salts or chemicals to build a water profile. I have seen some tables. But have no idea what to add and to what water. Is there some place that explains this in real detail? Should I use all RO and buy chemicals to add? How much? When? Is it critical? Can I just go ahead and just use the 1/2 RO 1/2 tap? Don't even want to mention PH. I'm all confused and scared with this and don't want to screw up a good beer. I live 40min from Detroit MI if that matters or someone from there is here. Please advice. Thanks.
Water for first all grain. No clue :-(
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BrewInspector
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Just go with what you normally do for now. 1/2 & 1/2 would be fine. No need to make anymore changes than you are ready for.
Use your regular 1/2 tap -RO water and generally any thing else that translates from your extract procedures to all grain.
When you are ready to have your water analyzed and develop water profiles for various brew types or go all RO to build your own water profiles, that will be the time to dive into it. It might be better to make only one significant change at a time so you can dial in your procedures with each major addition. You don't have to do it all at once.
Use your regular 1/2 tap -RO water and generally any thing else that translates from your extract procedures to all grain.
When you are ready to have your water analyzed and develop water profiles for various brew types or go all RO to build your own water profiles, that will be the time to dive into it. It might be better to make only one significant change at a time so you can dial in your procedures with each major addition. You don't have to do it all at once.
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I recently made the switch myself, too(mostly). The only thing I added to treat water the first few times was campden because i think I had read that advice a few times. I recently acquired some acids and minerals and plan on researching that further down the road, But doing the exact same thing as I was using for extract has worked just fine so far. Good luck!
Hi. My tap water tastes good but is horrible for brewing because the bicarbonate level is over 300 ppm. (not sure what that translates to in TDS) Most people here buy RO water and add gypsum and other brewing salts. I have gone the other direction and use straight tapwater, but I have to add quite a bit of acid. That's working pretty well for me.
One of the local breweries has an RO machine and they mix half RO water and half dechlorinated tap water, and their beers are outstanding. I have no idea whether they add any salts or acid, or not.
Another local brewery just runs the municipal water through a carbon block filter and I think that's all they do. Most of there beers are pretty bad, except the occasional imperial stout or similar strong dark beer like has enough roasted grains and dark crystal to overcome the alkalinity.
All that to say, you probably do need to worry about your water, but you don't need to worry about it much. Almost all municipal water has a high pH to protect the pipes and keep lead from dissolving into the water. But the alkalinity can be low or high. That can be taken care of with acid malt or lactic acid or phosphoric acid.
I've read some rules-of-thumb here somewhere, written by AJ, about using RO water and adding a little acid malt to adjust the pH; the amount of acid malt you need varies with the color of the beer.
One of the local breweries has an RO machine and they mix half RO water and half dechlorinated tap water, and their beers are outstanding. I have no idea whether they add any salts or acid, or not.
Another local brewery just runs the municipal water through a carbon block filter and I think that's all they do. Most of there beers are pretty bad, except the occasional imperial stout or similar strong dark beer like has enough roasted grains and dark crystal to overcome the alkalinity.
All that to say, you probably do need to worry about your water, but you don't need to worry about it much. Almost all municipal water has a high pH to protect the pipes and keep lead from dissolving into the water. But the alkalinity can be low or high. That can be taken care of with acid malt or lactic acid or phosphoric acid.
I've read some rules-of-thumb here somewhere, written by AJ, about using RO water and adding a little acid malt to adjust the pH; the amount of acid malt you need varies with the color of the beer.
Check out the brew science section . Read the primer thread.
I would suggest that you move forward with your 50/50 RO/Tap water. There is a lot to learn with all-grain brewing and water can be a bit complex. It is easier to brew with 100% RO and add the needed minerals, but even this seems more complicated than it should.
I brewed all-grain for over 20 years with tap water. I feel like I have made lots of really good beers. Over the past few months I have invested a lot of time into learning water chemistry. I am still learning and have only brewed a few batches with adjustments (and pH readings). I have also played around with doctoring beers with minerals. Overall the change is positive, but fairly subtle.
That said, there is no generic solution regarding tap water. I have lived in the same area since 2000. I had an analysis on my water done. It is pretty decent for amber and dark beers, lacking in sulfate for hoppy beers, and would not be the best water for a Pilsner (which I have never brewed). If you have "decent" water, then water chemistry could be way down on your priority list.
I brewed all-grain for over 20 years with tap water. I feel like I have made lots of really good beers. Over the past few months I have invested a lot of time into learning water chemistry. I am still learning and have only brewed a few batches with adjustments (and pH readings). I have also played around with doctoring beers with minerals. Overall the change is positive, but fairly subtle.
That said, there is no generic solution regarding tap water. I have lived in the same area since 2000. I had an analysis on my water done. It is pretty decent for amber and dark beers, lacking in sulfate for hoppy beers, and would not be the best water for a Pilsner (which I have never brewed). If you have "decent" water, then water chemistry could be way down on your priority list.
Go for it, just don't do anything for now to your water, half half sounds fine.
You later on probably want to use calcium chloride and gypsum in varying amounts for different beers to complement maltiness/hoppyness a bit and, depending on the colour of the beer, you also might want to add some acidulated malt but for now, get your AG process sorted first.
If you narrow it down to 4 aspects, calcium levels to help the yeast flocc out and stay healthy, so4 levels (from gypsum), cl levels (from calcium chloride) and alkalinity (bicarbonate levels and acidulated malt, if necessary) to get into the right mash pH range, water isn't that complicated at all.
Brewers friend has a nice online tool to calculate salt additions based on your expectations and here in this forum is a thread called "a water chemistry primer" which explains it a bit more in detail.
You later on probably want to use calcium chloride and gypsum in varying amounts for different beers to complement maltiness/hoppyness a bit and, depending on the colour of the beer, you also might want to add some acidulated malt but for now, get your AG process sorted first.
If you narrow it down to 4 aspects, calcium levels to help the yeast flocc out and stay healthy, so4 levels (from gypsum), cl levels (from calcium chloride) and alkalinity (bicarbonate levels and acidulated malt, if necessary) to get into the right mash pH range, water isn't that complicated at all.
Brewers friend has a nice online tool to calculate salt additions based on your expectations and here in this forum is a thread called "a water chemistry primer" which explains it a bit more in detail.
Thanks all! Probably 80% of my brews are Amber to Porter in the color scale. A wheat her and a cream ale or light ale there. Very probable I'll do an all grain Amber that I already did as extract recently to compare it in taste. I think I'l do the 50/50 RO/Tap and then go from there.
Once your ready get your water checked through ward labs and get a program . Theres a few out there . It will allow you to build up water profiles for different beers . You will notice how your water maybe great for darker beers but have to be diluted for lighter ones . Helps you get mash ph which is a plus. I was intimidated by water chemistry but I took the plunge and am starting to get comfortable with my acids and salt additions . Theres many who are very knowledgeable in the brew science section to help out as well.
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