Feeling accomplished (with photo)!!

I just bottled up a batch of what might be my best batch to date!
I had to take a photo to commemorate this day!

I'm a major stout fan. I've brewed about 5 all grain stouts before this one. They alll seemed to have a bit of a tannic bitterness to them. Some were worse than others, but none were real bad. It was still very drinkable and 2 were quite enjoyable. Yet, I still noticed a bitterness that other peoples homebrews didn't seem to have. Since all of my light beers come out great I started to suspect that my dark beers were lacking due to a sparge pH issue. As a result I started reading up about water chemistry. After a few experiments I decided to treat my water for the batch in this photo. It is an Imperial Stout fermented with WLP004. When I bottled it today I took a taste of the hydro sample, and WOW! This beer has an amazing roasted malt taste without any tannic bitterness at all. I was also shocked that even though it's at 8.3% ABV it wasn't very "hot".. I could see this being drinkable in as little as 6 weeks after bottle conditioning. I'll still age it, though. I still have a lot to learn about water chemistry, but I have a feeling I'm finally on to something!

Awesome job! It's always a great feeling to see measurable results from a process modification. I have a batch going now that was made with tap water that was allowed to sit overnight for chlorine evaporation. I want to see if that is what gave my porter a plastic off-flavor. I haven't delved into pH levels yet, but that is definitely in the near future for me.

awesome man! what did you use to meaasure your ph? juts normal test strips?

NineMilBill said:

Awesome job! It's always a great feeling to see measurable results from a process modification. I have a batch going now that was made with tap water that was allowed to sit overnight for chlorine evaporation. I want to see if that is what gave my porter a plastic off-flavor. I haven't delved into pH levels yet, but that is definitely in the near future for me.

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I've done the same thing by leaving my water sit over night. Now I use a RV carbon water filter and a couple Campden tablets for good measure. Plus depending on the style, I now dilute with RO or use pure RO and treat it.

J311gonzo said:

awesome man! what did you use to meaasure your ph? juts normal test strips?

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I did indeed just use strips in spite of the fact they aren't real accurate. I also used EZ water calc to build my water profile which predicts pH levels. So, I'm going more on that prediction than I am on a pH reading. A pH meter is on my short list..

That's great! wish I could, I can't wait to brew my own beer. Ants in my pants.

DewGun316 said:

That's great! wish I could, I can't wait to brew my own beer. Ants in my pants.

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What's holding you back?