Extract Brewing & Water Chemistry

Hey everyone,

Still perfecting the extract side of things before I step into the all grain world. Next up is brewing lagers. I've put together a chest freezer with an STC1000. And I've read about pitch rates, and temp control and Dihcytal rests. One things left to understand and I can't find much info online about it.

Water Profile


My next batch will be an Oktoberfest beer on Sunday. What kind of things should I be looking to accomplish with my water? I'm assuming things are a bit different than if I were doing an all grain batch.

What should I focus on for this extract lager, and other extract lagers in the future?

Am I basically at the mercy of these extracts and the water profile that was used to create them? Can I do things with my 5 gallons of distilled water to improve the character? Do I even need to use distilled water or is the water profile west of Chicago satisfactory for the style.

beardown2489 said:

Am I basically at the mercy of these extracts and the water profile that was used to create them?

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Knowledgeable folks mashed it for you. Don't think of it as "being at the mercy" but as being set up for success.

beardown2489 said:

Can I do things with my 5 gallons of distilled water to improve the character?

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Instead of water profile focus on your fermentation temperatures, pitching rate, sanitation.

Look into http://brulosophy.com/tag/fast-lager/ for a fermentation option. It's not his method but is described nicely. It works well.

beardown2489 said:

Do I even need to use distilled water or is the water profile west of Chicago satisfactory for the style.

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As I recall with the city water coming from the lake it's really soft and is fine. If worried use distilled or RO water.

I'd guess you would be fine using your tap water. That's what I would do. The water profile would matter more doing all grain. More character could come from stepping grains or partial mash. Some munich would be good. Maybe even use a bit of Special B.