I pulled this water report of my Seattle city water and have a few questions:
Seattle, WA
Calcium(Ca): 17.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 1.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 4.0 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 2.0 ppm
Bicarbonate(HCO3): 18.0 ppm
PH: 7.8 PH
Notes
Seattle. Relatively soft water with low mineral content.
My questions are:
1. I understand I need to adjust some aspects of my water to better accommodate dark beers and better utilize hops. Will I need to adjust these things with brewing salts such as gypsum as well as use a ph stabalizer like five star 5.2?
2. Is stabalizer 5.2 a cure-all for various waters to brew most beers, meaning I can ignore manipulating the soft water with salts and simply use this?
3. If I have a 5.2 ph for my mash, can I now make dark beers even though my initial water report shows soft water.
Right now, the ph of the mash versus the different minerals is a blurry concept to me. I need to know if the minerals provide the proper ph for the mash or if they are two separate aspects to the process.
Seattle, WA
Calcium(Ca): 17.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 1.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 4.0 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 2.0 ppm
Bicarbonate(HCO3): 18.0 ppm
PH: 7.8 PH
Notes
Seattle. Relatively soft water with low mineral content.
My questions are:
1. I understand I need to adjust some aspects of my water to better accommodate dark beers and better utilize hops. Will I need to adjust these things with brewing salts such as gypsum as well as use a ph stabalizer like five star 5.2?
2. Is stabalizer 5.2 a cure-all for various waters to brew most beers, meaning I can ignore manipulating the soft water with salts and simply use this?
3. If I have a 5.2 ph for my mash, can I now make dark beers even though my initial water report shows soft water.
Right now, the ph of the mash versus the different minerals is a blurry concept to me. I need to know if the minerals provide the proper ph for the mash or if they are two separate aspects to the process.