Understanding my water report

[Matt in Birdham]

Thanks. Yeah, sort of my thoughts. I've only brewed 3 times with this water, but fermentation has been swift and vigorous for all, so if that is what Mg is supposed to affect then I don't think I have a problem. I use CaCl and gpysum, with acidulated malt for mash ph. That's probably enough to be going on with..

[kearnage]

Thanks Aleman

I'll sit down later with a nice pint and try to get my head around it all. It's good to find somebody who knows what they are talking about that also has water similar to mine. Everything I had read before seemed to be related to reducing alkalinity.

[WallyBrew]

This bit is confusing me something crazy.

Me too. Entering those figures into the Liquor Treatment Calculator gives a water that can't exist. Initial ion balance check result: 1.47 and 1.26 see note 3: "The two figures should be within 10 per cent at worst".

But if your total alkalinity is 26, not 16 then it all balances nicely. Typo?

Well it does exist and it came out of his tap.

You are relying on the inadequacies of the calculator, which is incomplete for this purpose and the note 3 that is badly worded at best. Whilst % is easy to understand, errors vary with the concentration that are not concomitant with the % term.

If you take the analysis as given you will get a difference of anions - cations of -0.13 which is within the dodgy 10% figure. The water is also likely to contain some siliceous matter which is not accounted for in the balance.

[vacant]

Best calculator to start with is this one. http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water.html

Apparently not - see post above

[Jocky]

Best calculator to start with is this one. http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water.html

Apparently not - see post above

Apparently not indeed.

[Jim my]

EDIT: Please ignore this. Just me asking a stupid question ( which I have deleted) when the answer was staring me in the face.

[orlando]

OK, Thanks for the help.

I think I'm going to get my water tested properly (by WallyBrew if I can), use that as a base and test alkalinity for each brew and adjust as needed.

All you need. Except for sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, oh and a pipette for accurate additions. Bet you post about which pH meter to buy.

[kearnage]

I'll start looking around for one now.

[orlando]

I'll start looking around for one now.

Like Autumn leaves they fall one by one. Welcome to the real Dark Side.

[barneey]

I've run the results through my fav calculator and it certainly balances at only 0.14 milliequivilants difference

Watertemp01.PNG

I have had a look around and cannot find that calculator readily available?

[Aleman]

I've run the results through my fav calculator and it certainly balances at only 0.14 milliequivilants difference

Watertemp01.PNG

I have had a look around and cannot find that calculator readily available?

Yes, Shame That

[Clibit]

I have very soft Manchester water. I either steep dark grains separately, or add them to the mash for the last 30 mins. Do these methods remove the need to add potassium bicarbonate to the mash? I never have done. I stick to just gypsum and calcium chloride, and I never measure the PH.

[kearnage]

I'll start looking around for one now.

Like Autumn leaves they fall one by one. Welcome to the real Dark Side.

I've decided that a PH meter and a refractometer are my Christmas gadgets of choice.

[rpt]

I have water with similarly low alkalinity but I never try to increase alkalinity with stouts and other dark beers. What is likely to be wrong with these beers as a result?

[orlando]

I have water with similarly low alkalinity but I never try to increase alkalinity with stouts and other dark beers. What is likely to be wrong with these beers as a result?

Darker roast malts have an acidifying effect on the mash, alkalinity acts as a buffer, resisting a shift in pH, the higher your alkalinity the less acidification required, e.g. CRS or other acids. If your mash pH falls below 5.2 you run the risk of extracting harsh tannins from the malt making the beer more astringent, there can also be issues with attenuation. I've even tasted a slightly sour note, but Guinness make a virtue out of it so what do we know.