Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

(That's water to the rest of us!) Beer is about 95% water, so if you want to discuss water treatment, filtering etc this is the place to do it!
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TheSumOfAllBeers
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Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:50 pm

Has anyone got recommendations for places that will let you bulk buy RO water? Aquarium shops and cleaning supplies shops often sell it in bulk, has anyone experience of using any for brewing (i.e. To build up a water profile from scratch etc)

My brewlengths are a bit beefy at around ~80L so cost us a factor.

Have the car to transport everything.

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vacant
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Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by vacant » Fri Jul 14, 2017 4:48 pm

The first time I bought RO water I built from scratch using the water treatment page on Jim's. Subsequently I reckoned with tap water alkalinity as CaCO3 around 260 I could use 90% RO and 10% tap to get a decent profile, which is what I've been doing ever since. I just add gypsum or Calcium Chloride and don't bother with any Campden tablet as we don't have chloramines.

I went and bought RO water for three brews then just got a £35 RO filter system. It takes a day to get enough for a 40 ltr brew length. You can get faster ones. Waste water gets pumped through the chiller then used for cleaning.
I brew therefore I ... I .... forget

Fil
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Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by Fil » Fri Jul 14, 2017 10:37 pm

our local aquarium shop gives upto 50l away ;) its an awkward wait by the sales counter while the jerrycans get filled, i generally relent and make a modest purchase, so far i have got an alkilinity caco3 test kit and a book of ph papers with an unsuitable test range ;)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

AnthonyUK

Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by AnthonyUK » Sat Jul 15, 2017 9:27 am

Are you looking to use RO exclusively or with some or your tap water? My local water has very high alkalinity but I can meet any grain bill requirements e.g. 100% lager malt with upto a 50/50 split. The benefits of this is that you still maintain a good level of calcium which is difficult to add back in.

BTW Fullers use Thames water exclusively with little adjustment.

beer baron
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Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by beer baron » Sat Jul 15, 2017 9:38 am

Hi
I use it on every brew after I started all grain I was getting strong tannin/astringency tastes in my brews which distorted the taste completley away from the style of beer. I use full mash BIAB and also sparged now I know that sparge can also add to this but I made sure my temps where spot on and also that full mash can also affect the PH . I then decided not to sparge and replaced one third of my water with RO water (25l for £2.50 from my local aquarium shop) I did this as I did not want to build a full water profile as I have at this moment in time not got the time or need to understand water chemistry but realised that diluting the PH and chemicals already there was the simplest option.
This has cured my problem so whether it was PH through full mash volume (number one culprit)or the sparge I will never fully know but it has solved my prob. Can not see any problem building a profile with 100% RO if you have the right additions and have the time to understand the water chemistry
Pete

TheSumOfAllBeers
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Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:54 pm

AnthonyUK wrote:Are you looking to use RO exclusively or with some or your tap water? My local water has very high alkalinity but I can meet any grain bill requirements e.g. 100% lager malt with upto a 50/50 split. The benefits of this is that you still maintain a good level of calcium which is difficult to add back in.

BTW Fullers use Thames water exclusively with little adjustment.
Probably blend it, depending on what is the easiest way to get the minerals I want back in.

This isnt a permanent plan hence I am not wanting to invest in any RO kit.

I just want to experiment on my paler styles, and maybe try my hand at a bohemian pilsner

AnthonyUK

Re: Where to get RO water for brewing in east london

Post by AnthonyUK » Sat Jul 15, 2017 8:27 pm

beer baron wrote:Can not see any problem building a profile with 100% RO if you have the right additions and have the time to understand the water chemistry
Pete
Some things are difficult to add back in making it unecessarily complicated when you can use something that is readily available with next to no effort.

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