Using distilled water for partial mash

I got into the habit when I was doing a lot of extract-only brewing of using distilled water. I still use distilled water when I do partial mash batches now as well, but am reading that pH affects the efficiency of the mash. If I'm only doing a partial mash, how much does it matter? Is there any kind of non-chemical additive I can use to raise/control the pH?

brackbrew said:

I got into the habit when I was doing a lot of extract-only brewing of using distilled water. I still use distilled water when I do partial mash batches now as well, but am reading that pH affects the efficiency of the mash. If I'm only doing a partial mash, how much does it matter? Is there any kind of non-chemical additive I can use to raise/control the pH?

Click to expand...

Depends on how "partial" the mash is. If it's just a pound or two of grain, then it's more for flavor than sugar contribution, and it doesn't really matter. If you're relying on the grains for a substantial portion of the fermentable sugars, then distilled water probably won't yeild very good results. If you're not sure about your tap water, you could use bottled spring water instead of distilled, and it would probably be fine.