Water chemistry and extract brewing

[goodsuds]

I'm wondering if I could use a pH stabilizer in my all extract batches even though I'm not doing a mash. If I were to add it to my water before boiling would that help avoid the mineral count from getting so high from what is already in the water combined with the mineral content in the extract?

Since I first starting brewing last year I have had water issues; first due to chloramine making my beer taste plasticy (which I fixed by using campden) and then a lingering bitterness that was caused by how hard my water is combined with the minerals in the extract. The only way I was able to avoid the latter was to use distilled water, which can be expensive. My beer turns out great with no off flavors, but at about $1.50/gal for distilled water that can get expensive for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I'm wondering if I could use a pH stabilizer in my all extract batches even though I'm not doing a mash. If I were to add it to my water before boiling would that help avoid the mineral count from getting so high from what is already in the water combined with the mineral content in the extract?

Since I first starting brewing last year I have had water issues; first due to chloramine making my beer taste plasticy (which I fixed by using campden) and then a lingering bitterness that was caused by how hard my water is combined with the minerals in the extract. The only way I was able to avoid the latter was to use distilled water, which can be expensive. My beer turns out great with no off flavors, but at about $1.50/gal for distilled water that can get expensive for a 5 gallon batch.

Then maybe try diluting your tap water with distilled. Adding stabilizer to reduce mineral content is counter-intuitive, and unless 5.2 precipitates out the minerals in your beer (which I'm guessing it won't but hey, I don't actually know what's in the stuff, so that's just speculation on my part), that's not what's going to happen.

 

[eric19312]

Shop for less expensive water. You don't need distiller, any spring water should work just fine and take care of the chlorine issue at same time.

 

[goodsuds]

I wasn't really sure how 5.2 works. I thought maybe the minerals would precipitate out by doing some kind of ion exchange.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I wasn't really sure how 5.2 works. I thought maybe the minerals would precipitate out by doing some kind of ion exchange.

Well, the way brewing salts like gypsum and calcium chloride work is the calcium (or magnesium to lesser extent) reacts with phosphates from the grain, and these precipitate out.

I don't know what's in 5.2, but the only way it would do what you're hoping for is if it includes anions which form insoluble compounds with either Ca or Mg. But the malt should already be doing that. Therefore, I'm guessing that's NOT how 5.2 works (or if it is how its supposed to work, its not doing much since malt already provides plenty of phosphates), and therefore it won't do what you're hoping for.

 

[fatnoah]

You could buy a Brita filter and just filter your own water. They use ion exchange resins so your water hardness issue should be taken care of along with the chloramine issue.

 

[goodsuds]

I thought about getting a water filter that attaches to the tap but from what I've read they don't remove chloramine. I guess I could filter it and put it in my bottling bucket and throw a crushed campden tablet in it.

 

[unionrdr]

I shopped around for local spring water I could bottle myself. Found Cherry Knoll & Artisain Springs,both for 10c per gallon. Store bought spring water was 79c per gallon.

 

[fatnoah]

My understanding is that charcoal filters definitely remove chloramine, just not quite as much as campden tabs. This is according to Palmer in How To Brew. When I was doing all extract I used Brita filtered water and never had any issues.