I originally posted this in techniques, but decided to move it here. I'll start by saying that I'm a partial mash (BIAB) brewer, and I'm considering adjusting my brewing water for an upcoming batch to replicate the water in Yorkshire, UK:
Water Profile
Yorkshire, England
Calcium (Ca)= 105.0
Magnesium (Mg)= 17.0
Sodium (Na)= 23.0
Sulfate (SO4)= 66.0
Chloride (C1)= 30.0
Bicarbonate (HC03)= 153.0
PH= 8.33
I've been reading and searching the internet this afternoon and i have some thought and questions. First and foremost, does anyone with some experience doing this think that water profile looks right? It's the only one i could find for Yorkshire.
Secondly, i believe my choices for creating this water would be to either use distilled water and add mineral salts to the desired ppm. Or, to compare my local tap water and add what's needed to make that like the water I'm looking for. My concern here is if i have too much, say, sodium in my tap water, can i easily remove or lower mineral levels? I can't see a way that i can. Is distilled water OK to use for brewing IF i add the mineral salts I'd need to achieve the desired profile?
Also, I noticed the PH of the water is 8.33. Quite high. My tap water is 7.8 and i cut it with RO water to brew because I understand you need a low pH to mash. Is 8.33 to high a pH to mash? I'll be using a half lb of dark malts (light chocolate and roasted barley), I understand that will help lower the pH a little. But will it still be too high?
I know that's a laundry list, and I'd really appreciate some input/advice. My wife whipped up an amazing northern english brown (extract with grains), we're down to our last few bottles and we'd like to brew it again as a partial mash and think it'd be great to replicate that water to make it truly authentic.
Water Profile
Yorkshire, England
Calcium (Ca)= 105.0
Magnesium (Mg)= 17.0
Sodium (Na)= 23.0
Sulfate (SO4)= 66.0
Chloride (C1)= 30.0
Bicarbonate (HC03)= 153.0
PH= 8.33
I've been reading and searching the internet this afternoon and i have some thought and questions. First and foremost, does anyone with some experience doing this think that water profile looks right? It's the only one i could find for Yorkshire.
Secondly, i believe my choices for creating this water would be to either use distilled water and add mineral salts to the desired ppm. Or, to compare my local tap water and add what's needed to make that like the water I'm looking for. My concern here is if i have too much, say, sodium in my tap water, can i easily remove or lower mineral levels? I can't see a way that i can. Is distilled water OK to use for brewing IF i add the mineral salts I'd need to achieve the desired profile?
Also, I noticed the PH of the water is 8.33. Quite high. My tap water is 7.8 and i cut it with RO water to brew because I understand you need a low pH to mash. Is 8.33 to high a pH to mash? I'll be using a half lb of dark malts (light chocolate and roasted barley), I understand that will help lower the pH a little. But will it still be too high?
I know that's a laundry list, and I'd really appreciate some input/advice. My wife whipped up an amazing northern english brown (extract with grains), we're down to our last few bottles and we'd like to brew it again as a partial mash and think it'd be great to replicate that water to make it truly authentic.