Imperial Stout; Sparge Water Chemistry

[pdm1982]

Hello,

I'm planning on making a massive stout (1.135 OG) and I'm a bit confused on the water chemistry when it comes to sparging. Since my water here is no good for brewing, I've been building up distilled water for my brews. A typical amount of sparge water for me is usually around 5 gal but this batch will likely need closer to 10 gal. Bru'n Water recommends not using baking soda or pickling lime in the sparge water so my bicarbonate is zero. Is this an issue? I'm also uncertain what impact that amount of sparge water will have on the pH of the beer or how to account for it. Would I just be better off building the mash water from distilled and just using store bought spring water for the sparge? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[mabrungard]

Its unlikely that spring water has the low alkalinity that sparging water should have. In addition, unless the manufacturer supplies the water quality information for that spring water, you will be flying blind. That's not a good thing.

Ft Wayne city water is lime-softened and is likely suitable for brewing. You should be able to find out what the typical water quality is by checking with City Utilities. If that water is more mineralized than you would prefer, I suggest that buying RO water from a retail outlet might be more economical than distilled. You'll need a TDS meter if using RO water, since you will need to check that the water has low mineralization.

 

[pdm1982]

Hi Martin,

I'm actually in Ossian, south of Fort Wayne. When I used to work in Fort Wayne I'd bottle water from there and bring it home. But now I work from home so that's out. Maybe I can ask around and find someone willing to let me take 14-15 gal home.

I splurged on a pH meter but I've yet to buy a TDS meter. I'm not sure where to get RO water beyond installing a filter at my house.

Assuming I were to stick with the distilled water build, would matching the approximate values of the strike water for the sparge water (except for bicarbonate) be a solid approach for a long 10 gal sparge?

Sparge water target chemistry would look something like this:
Ca = 50
Mg = 10
Na = 33
SO4 = 57
Cl = 44
HCO3 = 0

Here's my home's water values from Ward labs:
Ca = 146
Mg = 61
Na = 69
SO4 = 594
Cl = 10
HCO3 = 171

 

[pdm1982]

I didn't realize the kiosks at the grocery store were RO. I just ordered a TDS-3 meter and I'll plan to switch to RO water in the future.

 

[mabrungard]

OOF! that is some tough water for brewing. RO should be a good alternative.