Here's my water profile.
Is there anything in it that suggests I need to treat it? I haven't so far.
Typical value
Hardness level moderately hard
Hardness Clarkes 7.7 ° Clarke
Hardness 44 mg Ca/l
Aluminium < 5.22 µg Al/l
Calcium 35.0 mg Ca/l
Residual chlorine - total 0.40 mg/l
Residual chlorine - free < 0.25 mg/l
Coliform bacteria 0 number/100ml
Colour < 1.07 mg/l Pt/Co scale
Conductivity 339 uS/cm at 20oC
Copper 0.0154 mg Cu/l
E.coli 0 number/100ml
Iron 42.8 µg Fe/l
Lead < 0.439 µg Pb/l
Magnesium 5.26 mg Mg/l
Manganese 3.02 µg Mn/l
Nitrate 10.6 mg NO3/l
Sodium 24.9 mg Na/l
Water profile.
-
moorsd
I use Brupaks CRS (using the same info as the link that Daab posted) and for a standard brew use DLS as well. All you need worry about for this is your total water hardness expressed as CaCo3
However if I am cloning a particular brew or style I use the water profiler on ProMash and add the appropriate amounts of gypsum and Epsom salts, etc etc to get as near as I can to the target water profile.
A lot of people don't worry too much about water treatment, if you are getting good results or you're fortunate enough to live in an ideal area for brewing then there isn't really much need!
I find it really does make a massive difference to the final product, especially if you are trying to clone a particular brand...after all beer is 95% water!!
However if I am cloning a particular brew or style I use the water profiler on ProMash and add the appropriate amounts of gypsum and Epsom salts, etc etc to get as near as I can to the target water profile.
A lot of people don't worry too much about water treatment, if you are getting good results or you're fortunate enough to live in an ideal area for brewing then there isn't really much need!
I find it really does make a massive difference to the final product, especially if you are trying to clone a particular brand...after all beer is 95% water!!
-
Road Runner
-
mysterio
Burton water is only ideal if you're making a Burton-style ale, pretty useless for a Pilsner or something that requires soft water.
Most brewing water is fine orfy, unless you're having a problem (tannins, astringency) that you can definately attribute to mash ph. This is probably only going to be a problem if you're water is very soft or very hard. If you are worried about that, buy some ph strips and test your mash to see if it's in the recommended range (lots of info on Palmers' How To Brew).
Most brewing water is fine orfy, unless you're having a problem (tannins, astringency) that you can definately attribute to mash ph. This is probably only going to be a problem if you're water is very soft or very hard. If you are worried about that, buy some ph strips and test your mash to see if it's in the recommended range (lots of info on Palmers' How To Brew).
This may be fine for Wheeler's water supply but i'm not sure i'd recommend that unless you know exactly what the ions in those salts (Ca, SO4, Cl, Na, Mg) are adding to your own water supply and what effect they'll have.A basic treatment would be to add 12g of Gypsum, 3g of table salt and 2g of epsom salts.
-
mysterio
)-
moorsd
Boiling will remove temporary hardness in the form of calcium carbonate (this is the sediment left over after boiling, which is basically lime scale!) My water starts off quite hard (270mg/l CaCo3) but after boiling/using CRS, it ends up quite soft. It won't remove other compounds that make up your water chemistry!
Some water such as Burton water has more permanent hardness
It will remain hard even if you boil!
In most cases just removing temporary hardness will make hard water much more suitable for brewing as high levels of carbonates can impart a harsh bitterness
But it really depends on your water chemistry as to how effective boiling will be..and what style you are brewing!
Basically if you have soft water then there is no need to boil and you may have to actually add carbonates for some styles such as IPA, for Stout and Lager soft water is ideal and treatment isn't probably needed!
You have to be very carefull altering your water for brewing as you really need to know what chemistry you have in the first place in order to know what and how much to treat it with!
Dave lines Big book of brewing explains water chemistry and how to alter it for different styles of beer quite well
Some water such as Burton water has more permanent hardness
It will remain hard even if you boil!In most cases just removing temporary hardness will make hard water much more suitable for brewing as high levels of carbonates can impart a harsh bitterness
But it really depends on your water chemistry as to how effective boiling will be..and what style you are brewing!Basically if you have soft water then there is no need to boil and you may have to actually add carbonates for some styles such as IPA, for Stout and Lager soft water is ideal and treatment isn't probably needed!
You have to be very carefull altering your water for brewing as you really need to know what chemistry you have in the first place in order to know what and how much to treat it with!
Dave lines Big book of brewing explains water chemistry and how to alter it for different styles of beer quite well