Water chemistry for idiots

[Fido97]

Can anyone suggest some suitable reading on this subject. I realise that you could spend years studying this subject but is there a summary for the home brewer - I want to understand the basics rather than blindly adding CRS/DLS without really understanding what I am trying to achieve. I have done the basics - got an alkalinity reading with my Salifert test kit and a water report from my local water supplier. I think my water PH is about 8 but I believe for most beer styles one would want to get it down to about 6-6.5 reducing to about 5.2 once grain added. Is this right? Why would you want to do this and does it really make any significant difference treating the water? A chap I know told me that PH and alkalinity are 2 entirely different things - is he right? Where do salts fit in? So on and so forth. I could just use a downloadable spreadsheet that someone else has done which tells me what adjustments to make but I would rather try to understand the basics of what is going. Think the term is idiots guide! Thanks in advance for any pointers.

[WallyBrew]

Click on the extras tab at the top.
Then select water treatment and work your way through the various sections.
When finished come back and ask questions.

And the pH of your water is irrelevant.

[BenB]

pH and alkalinity are related. pH is the acidity of the thing being assessed currently whereas alkalinity is a measure of the buffering potential of the liquid (IE the degree to which the water resists a change in pH). Malts are acidic so the mash tends to have a lower pH. You want it to be 5ish as the enzymes work best when their pH is in that range. 5.2 is a good place to be but it depends on how you measure pH as pH meters and strips both get effected by temperature... pH of your water is pretty irrelevant as the main thing you care about is the pH of the mash and that's more driven by alkalinity.

Salts are used as a way of adjusting pH and also as a way of affecting the taste profile of the beer. Different salts bring out different flavours.

To begin with I'd strongly recommend CRS / DLS or even just going down the boiling / bit of Gypsum approach. That's complicated enough to begin with. I was going to go for a full salt addition from brew #1 and it got so complicated I ended up spending all my time reading books and websites on water treatment and none brewing! The day I decided to take the easy route CRS/DLS was a good day!

[WallyBrew]

pH is the acidity of the thing being assessed currently

WRONG

pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration. Should it be less than 7 it is regarded as acid and if it is greater than 7 it is regarded as alkaline.

[BenB]

pH is the acidity of the thing being assessed currently

WRONG

pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration. Should it be less than 7 it is regarded as acid and if it is greater than 7 it is regarded as alkaline.

True, although in practice it's a measure of the acidity or basicity of the solution. Which for 99% of the brewing process is acidity Getting into negative logs of hydrogen concentrations is perhaps going to muddy the water. But you are correct, if it were just a marker of acidity the neutral point wouldn't be 7 I guess...

[Matt12398]

I'd recommend NOT going down the DLS route because it's a fixed blend of liquor salts and completely disregards your base liqour profile and grist.

Water treatment is complicated but not incomprehensible.

[Jim]

Yes, there is no 'one size fits all' water treatment.

Suitable treatment depends on what your water is like in the first place.

[Charles1968]

Can anyone suggest some suitable reading on this subject. I realise that you could spend years studying this subject but is there a summary for the home brewer - I want to understand the basics rather than blindly adding CRS/DLS without really understanding what I am trying to achieve.

I found this helpful:
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge

It's a long read and you won't understand it all, but it's the best explanation I've read. Not really for idiots, but that's the nature of chemistry unfortunately.

Also, even more helpful would be registering on the Brewersfriend website, putting in a beer recipe (any will do) and then setting up water chemistry. Input what you know about your own water and choose a target water profile that suits the beer. Then play around with additions of gypsum and acid (CRS) and watch what happens to your mash pH. You ideally want the mash pH under 5.5 or near, but without overdoing salt/acid additions and raising ion levels too high. It's impossible to match the target styke exactly AND get mash pH down, but you'll get into the right ball park. Once you've played with this, you'll properly understand what you're doing.

The main aim is getting mash pH down to near 5.5 or under. It makes better beer: brighter tasting, more rounded, smoother bitterness rather than harsh bitterness, and less haze.

A secondary aim is getting a balance of sulphate and chloride that suits the beer style. Hoppy ales tend to benefit from a bit more sulphate; maltier beers benefit from more chloride.

[Fido97]

I get the feeling that once I have done some background reading etc I am bound to have more questions! In the meantime thanks for your input. The comment that the water PH is irrelevant is quite interesting as a starting point! Cheers

[Eric]

I get the feeling that once I have done some background reading etc I am bound to have more questions! In the meantime thanks for your input. The comment that the water PH is irrelevant is quite interesting as a starting point! Cheers

Indeed you will have more questions, the subject is daunting.

As far as the chemistry is concerned, some changes are easily done while others can't without a great deal of time and expense.
Then there is the subjective side, taste. What then if the author of the text doesn't enjoy the styles you prefer and would choose beer from a pump you avoid and how would you know any limit was not just an opinion?

Yes, a pH value of your water as supplied is of interest only in what it might do to the pipework and equipment, it is no measure of its influence in brewing.

Yes, there is no 'one size fits all' water treatment.

Suitable treatment depends on what your water is like in the first place.

This could be your starting point for a more gentle introduction.

Find what quantities of major ions your water contains and what effect they have in brewing. Then learn how they might be adjusted to what influence. Start with (bi)carbonates which cause alkalinity that can by amount either make or wreck a beer, then calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulphates and chlorides. There are others too, but in most UK waters they are not sufficiently significant to initially warrant more than cursory examination.

Where water is not an almost daily gift from above it might travel by river many hundreds of miles and be recycled time and again at sewage plants on route. While I admire the efforts of those brewers who overcome such problems, I fear their written experiences might be the cause for many good brewers with good water to opt for bottled water or RO water from the local aquarium shop rather than grasping the nettle.

There are many here who quickly advanced from where you are now, good luck. Have you had your water analysed?

Water treatment is but one small, but integral, part of the greater process we call brewing.

[Mr. Dripping]

I think the main thing is to get a grip on the alkalinity and look at the typical levels found in particular beer styles.
If you get the alkalinity right for the grist that is being used, then the mash pH will be good and you will get a good beer.....then it becomes a matter of adjusting the flavour ions to get the beer balanced to how you prefer.
Generally speaking; the darker the beer (more roast/crystal malt), the more alkalinity is required to hit the right mash pH. Pale beers are best brewed with low alkalinity water.

The following ranges of alkalinity are often cited:
Bitters/Lagers/Pale Ale - alkalinity 30-50
Porters/Mild - alkalinity 100
Stout - alkalinity 150

I personally don't think this is bad starting point......without getting too technical and complex, these parameters will generally work.
Measure the alkalinity at the start of every brew. Make your acid addition and test again to ensure the alkalinity has been reduced appropriately. Make beer

Your water company should be able to provide you with a report showing the average concentrations of the important brewing ions. But it is also worth getting your water professionally analysed IMO.
In my experience the water company info has been sufficiently close to independent testing for it to make no real difference. The exception to this being the alkalinity; this is why I would advocate testing for each brew.

The Bru'n'Water spreadsheet has also been a big help to me.

[Fido97]

Having started to read up it seems the crucial area to focus on is alkalinity. On analysis my water shows 150 mg/l alkalinity. Accordingly for all beer styles the advise seems to be to reduce the alkalinity - for stout down to about 100 and pale beers more significantly to about 25.
I completely get the idea that ph is not the crucial indicator – its alkalinity. However to reduce alkalinity the advise is to either boil (which I do not want to do as it will muck up my brewing gear) or add some acid. So my questions are on the subject of acid addition-
1. Rather than add CRS (expensive/mystery ingredients) could I add some other acid such as Lactic Acid or Phosphoric Acid? If so what amounts would be required to reduce alkalinity. I see there is a very good explanation of how much CRS is needed but is there a similar guide for adding alternative acids?
2. The confusing thing for me is still the relationship between ph and alkalinity. I get the point that the 2 are different measurements entirely. However if the PH is high does that not mean the alkalinity is also high? So if you are adding acid to reduce alkalinity, are you not also reducing the ph? So in my case to reduce my alkalinity from 150 to say 25 for a pale beer if I add say a suitable quantity of Lactic Acid this would serve to reduce the alkalinity but could you not also aim to reduce the ph from 8 to about 6 pre mash and then the mash itself will take it down to the ideal 5-5.2 ph range? PH is far quicker/easier to measure.
Not got onto salts yet!
Cheers,

[Aleman]

Rather than add CRS (expensive/mystery ingredients) could I add some other acid such as Lactic Acid or Phosphoric Acid?

Phosphoric is preferred over lactic as it is more flavour neutral. As I said in my PM hydrochloric and sulphuric are probably the better acids to use, CRS is a blend of hydrochloric and sulphuric.

If so what amounts would be required to reduce alkalinity. I see there is a very good explanation of how much CRS is needed but is there a similar guide for adding alternative acids?

It depends on what the alkalinity of the water is at the time, and the strength of the acids, plus are they mono, bi or triprotic . . and phosphoric is considered monoprotic in water treatment.

The confusing thing for me is still the relationship between ph and alkalinity.

There isn't one pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration alkalinity is a measure of the 'carbonates'

If the PH is high does that not mean the alkalinity is also high?

No, the high pH could be the result of another ion in addition to carbonates.

PH is far quicker/easier to measure.

Not by a lot really. If you want to use pH to 'measure' the alkalinity you can do so by titrating the water with a known 'standard' strength of acid to a pH of 4.5 (the bicarbonate end point) and then calculate the amount of bicarbonate removed. The Salifert Total Alkalinity Test Kit is a much simpler quick method to achieve the same thing.
Not got onto salts yet!
Cheers,[/quote]

[BenB]

One thing that I found interesting was my waters calcium levels. I got a salifert calcium kit just out of interest. My alkalinity is fairly stable at 215/220 but my calcium test came out at 107.5 . Certainly higher than the alkalinity * 0.4 brupaks mention.

[Eric]

One thing that I found interesting was my waters calcium levels. I got a salifert calcium kit just out of interest. My alkalinity is fairly stable at 215/220 but my calcium test came out at 107.5 . Certainly higher than the alkalinity * 0.4 brupaks mention.

If all the calcium in that water forms only alkalinity and isn't present in any other form AND no alkalinity exists in that water formed of any other element (such as magnesium) then, and only then will, alkalinity * 0.4 give the water's calcium content. Some of that 107.5mg/l calcium will be in salt form that won't provide alkalinity, very likely calcium sulphate.