Calling London Brewers! What do you treat your water with?

[yogester]

Seeing as no-one can get a straight answer out of Thames Water that we can use, what do the experienced brewers do to London Water? For a 23L brew what do you add in order to "burtonize" it for example? Would love to see what people do!

Ta,

Yogester

[ADDLED]

BUMP!

[ADDLED]

Why not test your own water for alkalinity. http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/addtob ... sp?skid=98

Once you have a figure of alkalinity expressed as (the equivulent in) calcium carbonate you have the most important piece of information about your water and can treat accordingly.

The kit will give you a figure in Meq/l which you multiply by 50 to express it as calcium carbonate, once you have this figure you can subtract your required residual alkalinity (about 25-30 for pale ales and bitters) and divide the answer by 180 to find out how many mls of CRS per litre you should add.

eg my water has an alkalinity of 205mg/l, take away 25 leaves 180, divide by 180 equals 1, so I add 1ml per litre.

I believe there is a kit in the same range that tests for calcium but unless you are after replicating a specific water profile then all you need to to is make sure there is sufficient calcium in the water by adding a tsp of gypsum in with the mash.

(there's no need to preboil if you follow this proceedure).

Tks Chris, sounds simple enough. Do i still add a campden tab and where can i get gypsum apart from a HBS?

[adm]

Do i still add a campden tab and where can i get gypsum apart from a HBS?

Camdem Tab: I do - it can't hurt! Gypsum: here.

(EDIT - Sorry Addled - if you need it today, you might be able to get it at a chemist if you ask for Calcium Sulphate)

[ADDLED]

Thanks ADM and Chris. THe kit arrived this morning and im 205.5, so in the similar range to yourself. So i just add a ml of gypsum per litre of liquor, but how do i work out a millitre of a dry substance?
Do i use a miligramme/litre?

[ADDLED]

No, you've got them mixed up.

You need to add 1ml of CRS (carbonate reducing solution), to neutralise unwanted levels of bicarbonates.

You should add the CRS with a syringe which you should be able to pick up from the chemists or fleabay.

The gypsum is added to increase calcium levels, a seperate issue. You'll be fine with using a tsp for that. (1tsp=~6g)

You can see how I do it in the first minute of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2kGGh6Y ... annel_page

Tks again Chris. Whats in the CRS? Is it something i can make up from ingredients?

[ADDLED]

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Hear hear!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4

[spearmint-wino]

@yogester

Seeing as you live about a mile from me I'm guessing your water will probably be pretty similar...

For all water:
1 crushed campden tablet in mash liquor
2 or 3 crushed campden's in the mash grains (a Durden Park trick oops did I let out a secret?? )
2 or 3 crushed campdens in sparge liquor

Then

for pale ales / bitters:
1.13ml of CRS per litre (treat all brewing liquor)
0.43g per litre (only brew length e.g. 23l)

for milds, porters and stouts:
0.58ml/l CRS (treat all brewing liquor)
no DLS

for lagers:
1.24ml/l crs (treat all brewing liquor)
1-2g/l DLS (treat only brew length e.g. 23l)

CRS = Brupaks Carbonate Reducing Solution
DLS = Brupaks Dry Liquor Salts

HTH