Hey y'all
I am a partial mash brewer and am wondering if I need to look into treating my strike water. Is water treatment really only something to worry about if you are an AG brewer or will it make a big difference to my beers? Here is the very general water profile for my postcode:
Water Supply Zone Forked Bridge Dunmurry
Zone water quality report (2019 dataset) View report.
Calcium Hardness (mg/l) 68.8
Magnesium (mg/l) 9.0
Potassium (mg/l) 3.7
Calcium (mg/l) 53.8
Total Hardness (mg CaCO3/l) 171.9
Clark English Degrees 12.0
French Degrees 17.2
German Degrees 9.6
NI Hardness Classification Moderately Hard
Dishwasher Setting 1 - 2
Key
mg/l Milligrams per litre (also known as parts per million)
p.p.m. Parts per million (also equivalent to milligrams per litre)
CaCO3 Calcium carbonate, the compound which is the main cause of hardness
I have the full report but chemistry isn't my strong suit. Does anyone know if there is something immediately obvious that I should be addressing?
Cheers
Edit - I should point out that the chlorine levels are:
Min: 0.050
Mean: 0.346
Max: 1.010
Taken from 156 samples in 2019
And the pH levels are:
Min: 7.420
Mean: 7.599
Max: 7.850
Taken from 52 samples in 2019
The mash needs help with its conversion but as you are bypassing that then that part is fine. To follow though you still need good amounts of calcium as that carries on through the fermentation. Chloride and sulphate also for how you want the hop extraction to come good from your boiling of the extract wort.
Quote from: DEMPSEY on November 06, 2020, 12:59:42 PMThe mash needs help with its conversion but as you are bypassing that then that part is fine. To follow though you still need good amounts of calcium as that carries on through the fermentation. Chloride and sulphate also for how you want the hop extraction to come good from your boiling of the extract wort.
Yeah, I will be pushing the calcium up to at least 100ppm with gypsum. Also treating with a camden tablet to remove chlorine and chloramine. Should I be doing anything about the pH levels for the styles of beers I mentioned?
Thanks
PH is always important to know. In finished beer you want to see it around 4 ... 4.2 ish. A rising or higher PH can often indicate infection.
For those that do full all grain, I like what Jasper says here about treating your sparge water.
Cheers, bud.
Quote from: DEMPSEY on November 06, 2020, 07:05:04 PM For those that do full all grain, I like what Jasper says here about treating your sparge water.
Reminds me of FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks!
😅 He does sound like him. They may be related