Thoughts on water sample and brewing a stout

[Turfgrass]

The town water has been okay for brewing some styles of beer, but I'm not sure about using it for a sweet milk stout. I took a screen shot of a Bru' N Water spreadsheet that uses 100% distilled. You can see that my town water would be starting with higher sodium and choline levels from the lab results below. Just thinking now that I could also combine the mash water with town and distilled to make it more manageable. Either way, what are your thoughts for brewing a stout with or without my town water? Trying to get a ph around 5.4 is more difficult and I'm not sure if the Ca and bicarbonate levels are far to excessive. Thank you.

Ward's- water report in ppm
ph 7.7
Na 57
Ca 40
K 2
Mg 5
tot hard CaCO3 121
N 1.9
S 4
Cl 87
Carbonate <1.0
Bicarb, HCO3 107
Tot Alk, CaCO3 88

 

[cire]

There is nothing in your water too high for making a wide range of stouts. The recipe will play a significant part in determining mash pH, as might liquor to grain ratio, but would pH truly spoil a well brewed stout if it was between pH 5.2 and 5.6?

 

[thehaze]

Your water is fine for brewing stouts. In fact, you should not even treat the water, unless in need to lower or raise pH using baking soda.

I brewed plenty of dark beers, that had a mash pH between 5 and 5.5. None came out bad. Those with a high pH, actually came too smooth for my linking. Anything under 5.6 will get you beer.

 

[mabrungard]

As already mentioned, there is nothing in that water profile that isn’t suited for brewing a stout. The sodium content would have to be much higher in order to be a problem.

 

[Turfgrass]

Your water is fine for brewing stouts. In fact, you should not even treat the water, unless in need to lower or raise pH using baking soda.

I brewed plenty of dark beers, that had a mash pH between 5 and 5.5. None came out bad. Those with a high pH, actually came too smooth for my linking. Anything under 5.6 will get you beer.

Yeah its the ph during mash that has me wondering. I use a 1.5 grist ratio and a grain bill of maris otter, english pale and carafe 111. Below is a screenshot without anything but 50% distilled to bring down sodium. Ph 4.3

 

[Turfgrass]

Sounds like i don't have to do a thing for the sparge water. straight tap water.

 

[cire]

Sounds like i don't have to do a thing for the sparge water. straight tap water.

Maybe not for the first part of your sparge, but depending how long and how far you sparge it is possible that, as the sugars are removed, the pH of your runnings might rise to a level that would extract elements to the detriment of your beer. In that case you should reduce alkalinity to keep pH within bounds.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'd love to see the recipe.

 

[ajdelange]

Don't be entirely cavalier WRT pH. Yes, it is unlikely that the beer will be bad with mash pH anywhere in the range 5.2 to 5.6 but it is also entirely possible that it might be better at one pH than another. This is something you will need to experiment with in order to get an answer.

 

[cire]

Don't be entirely cavalier WRT pH. Yes, it is unlikely that the beer will be bad with mash pH anywhere in the range 5.2 to 5.6 but it is also entirely possible that it might be better at one pH than another. This is something you will need to experiment with in order to get an answer.

When I'm in the pub tonight and savouring a few pints from various breweries to examine their qualties, maybe my aim should be to determine by how much and in which direction a change in pH would improve them. Of the many hundreds, possibly thousands plus beers I've had the pleasure to drink, that had yet to pass through my mind, although I've spotted some that had been out by more than a little.