Stauffbier

Recipes 

I'm trying to learn how to understand the roll water plays in brewing. I got my local water report, and it just looks like French to me. Can someone help me understand the whole "water thing" a little more?! I love brewing stouts and porters, but the flavor never seems right. I'm sure it has something to do with water chemistry. Can you please give me some insight as to what I need to do with my water for both stouts (or dark beer in general) and lighter beers considering my water report? Here it is;

Phenol Alkalinity as CaCO3 <1.0
Total Alkalinity as CaCO3 115
Total Hardness as CaCO3 149
Chlorides as Cl 177
Sulfates as SO4 71
Fluorides as F 0.87
Silica as SiO2 32
Nitrates as NO3 1.96
Nitrites as NO2 <0.05
Phosphates as PO4 <0.05
Calcium as Ca 43
Magnesium as Mg 11.3
Sodium as Na 105
Potassium as K 7.3
Iron as Fe <0.020
Manganese as Mn <0.010
pH 7.7

ajdelange

Recipes 

This water isn't the greatest for brewing. One of several possible solutions is to dilute it extensively with low ion water (RO, DI) and then follow the guidelines set out in the Primer in the Stickies area of this topic.

Stauffbier

Recipes 

I've tried RO, spring water, and using an RV carbon filter in various amounts with this water. I brewed a porter on sunday and my ph was 5.9to 6.1 more or less. I don't have anything to control ph other than baking soda. What is ideal water for a porter/stout? Is there a spreadsheet or calculator or something that I can use. Meanwhile, I plan on buying different things for water like; ph 5.2, gypsum, etc.... I just need to learn how to use it all.

ajdelange

Recipes 

It's hard to imagine pH as high as 6.1 in a porter even with alkalinity of 115 unless you dumped in alkali (baking soda, chalk). Beer mashed with pH that high will most certainly have flavor that doesn't seem right. You need pH in the 5.4 - 5.5 region. Acid is required to get to that pH and in dark beers the idea is that it comes from the dark malts but in some cases they don't supply enough and additional acid must be added but that is rare (I had to do it a couple of weeks ago with a stout, however).

There are dozens of spreadsheets and calculators. Most of them will tell you to add alkali to a dark beer. In some cases that is good advice and in others it is bad advice. It depends on how well the particular spreadsheet or calculator models the particular malts you are using and as there is a lot of acid in dark malt a couple of percent error means ± more acid than it does with a base malt which is less acidic. Thus dark beers are the riskiest.

If you make a dark beer following the Primer it will be good if not great. It's recommendations are designed to get the new and bewildered making decent beer while they undertake the process of learning what is involved in managing a mash. To make great beer you need experience. To make very good beer you must monitor mash pH with a good pH meter and adjust as necessary to get it close to 5.5. Strips won't do it.

There is no ideal water for a Porter or Stout. You could probably even brew one with water like yours but you will have an easier time of it if you diluted 5:1 or more with RO first. You certainly don't need to add minerals - you already have more than you need (though if you want lots of hop snap you could add some gypsum). 5.2 does not do what it is supposed to do so don't waste money on that.