Mk010101
Well-Known Member
I have some very hard water. I don't know the exact hardness, but it is on the high side. This past weekend, I brewed up the Shakespeare Stout clone from AHS and it required some steep time. I start out with tap water without any filtering and bring it to the correct temp for steeping. I steep for 20 min (instructions said 15) and then sparge with some more water to get the last big of color/flavor out of the grains.
My question is: would the hard water affect the steeping % of flavors/sugars? I wonder, because I have such hard water, if it would be better to steep longer--or better yet, use filtered water for the steeping? Any thoughts on this?
The SG came in quite a bit lower than the kit said, which surprised me, but I think part of it was because I didn't get all the wort into the fermenter. I was trying to keep the hot/cold break from getting into the fermenter and I am sure I left too much good wort behind! Lesson learned for the next batch.
My question is: would the hard water affect the steeping % of flavors/sugars? I wonder, because I have such hard water, if it would be better to steep longer--or better yet, use filtered water for the steeping? Any thoughts on this?
The SG came in quite a bit lower than the kit said, which surprised me, but I think part of it was because I didn't get all the wort into the fermenter. I was trying to keep the hot/cold break from getting into the fermenter and I am sure I left too much good wort behind! Lesson learned for the next batch.