Water Adjustments...Is it working for you?

Thank you -TH- and Bobby M for the spreadsheet and videos! I would not have tried water adjustments without them.

I am anxiously awaiting my beers to be ready to sample since I have been making adjustments.

It seems like quite a few people have picked up on this lately and I would like to hear the results.

I've been tweaking my water for about a year now and I'll say the difference has been night and day. Getting the calcium up has meant nice clear beers and now I can make beer bitter when it's supposed to be.

jkarp said:

I've been tweaking my water for about a year now and I'll say the difference has been night and day. Getting the calcium up has meant nice clear beers and now I can make beer bitter when it's supposed to be.

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Thanks. That is good to know. My base profile suggested amber color and "very bitter" per the spreadsheet (my ambers were always my best beers). My pales were never quite right. I have a wheat and ESB still in the fermentors that I cannot wait to try. Will probably try a porter tomorrow so I can judge the effects on the other end of the spectrum.

anyone else?

Since adjusting my water my beers have turned out better than I ever thought they could be. I should mention however that I made some process changes around the same time so I might not be able to attribute 100% of the improvement to the water adjustments. Regardless, my beer has been awesome lately (IMHO of course).

Before adjusting my water, my lighter beer had a harsh bite to them. they're much cleaner now. I attribute this to the water adjustments.

-TH- said:

Since adjusting my water my beers have turned out better than I ever thought they could be. I should mention however that I made some process changes around the same time so I might not be able to attribute 100% of the improvement to the water adjustments. Regardless, my beer has been awesome lately (IMHO of course).

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Wow, from the man himself! I love the spreadsheet! And I am a man of spreadsheets (got a great golf one if you are intersted). You made it so simple...great job!

I hope I get the same results. Everything has been "good" and quite drinkable to this point but just a little off with some beers. Can't wait to try the experiments!

I have about a month before my first water adjusted beers are ready to drink. I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out. My water is fairly neutral (10-14 SRM, Balanced) so I am not sure how noticeable the changes are going to be, but I am excited none the less.

I too must thank -TH-, the spreadsheet makes water adjustment easy and accessible.

Hugh_Jass said:

Before adjusting my water, my lighter beer had a harsh bite to them. they're much cleaner now. I attribute this to the water adjustments.

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That has been my problem. Hope this fixes it.

yup. night and day. you don't have total control until you control your water. think about how much water is in your beer and try to tell me it's not important.

many thanks to Bobby_M and -TH-.

I have water that's high pH yet fairly low alkalinity -- good for beers 5-9 SRM going by the sheet. Before I learned about water adjustments, my porters and stouts turned out very astringent, almost acrid, and lacked any kind of malt flavor. Now, adding some calcium carbonate to the mash and CaCl to the boil, it's like night and day.

I also have noticed improvements in my IPA's from using calcium sulfate in mash and/or boil when necessary.

Hugh_Jass said:

Before adjusting my water, my lighter beer had a harsh bite to them. they're much cleaner now. I attribute this to the water adjustments.

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Me too! My first kolsch was about two years ago, and it was very harsh and a bit astringent. I had an inkling before that about my water, and knew that my darker beers were great. I heard John Palmer talk about residual alkalinity at the NHC in June 2008, and that's what got my mind able to start to grasp water chemisty. I'm a long way from an expert, but with Palmer's book and -th's spreadsheet, I'm finding a vast inprovement in my lighter colored beers.

You've had my lightest colored IPA, and I believe you've had my oatmeal stout. The stout uses my tap water, and the IPA is about 50% RO water and tap water with salts added to get me into a good area for the calcium, sulfate, and chloride. I think you've liked those beers! I know that my IPAs and APAs are much better, and I'm going to be tackling more lighter beers this spring. I know that my Vienna lager is about 75% RO water, and the water adjustments make a huge difference in that beer as well.

My "fizzy yellow beer" for summer was also fantastic, using spreadsheets and adjusting the water.

When you think about it, beer is only four ingredients. If you're going to buy the best grains, hops, and yeast, you might as well work on the water, too!