Brewie

[HarkinBanks]

My barley crusher is .039” standard which is 1mm. I’ve had good results at that setting. Double crushed a few brews and it gets too mushy so I stick with .039”. It is definitely better than most home brew shops and helped efficiency significantly.

 

[sniperd]

Got it. Thank you. I am looking forward to the next brew. Going to do a Pilsner, so using about 10-12 pounds of grain. Will split it up into 2 bags. Will update on results.

Make sure to dump 4 oz of rice hulls into each bag. I found it great at keeping the mash 'loose'.

 

[Nate R]

I have to hold the Power button for about 6 seconds before a shutdown option appears on screen. After confirming the shutdown the machine performs a power down sequence, presumably to put hardware in a safe or known state before it turns itself off. Maybe it is similar with the original Brewie?

I have not added rice hulls yet, maybe another thing to try.

I did some more experiments today, maybe they help you as well:

1. Volume/overflow risk in boil kettle

Measured: with 5 gallons in the boil kettle there is about a 3 ¾ inch space to the rim
View attachment 591124

Measured: with 6 gallons in the boil kettle there is about a 2 ¼ inch space to the rim
View attachment 591125

Calculated: 7 gallons ¾ inch space to the rim, 6.5 gallons 1 ½ inch space to the rim

I estimate that I got about a 1 inch hot break rise the last time, so 6.5 gallons is the absolute maximum volume I would try. This should also help with eyeballing if the wort volume is correct pre and post boil.

2. Whirlpooling: While the square vessel is obviously not great for getting a circular movement in the liquid, I got a pretty good whirlpool going with my Hangover device. The few “particulates” I added all settled in the middle of the kettle. The next beer will be a hoppy pale ale with 6 oz of hops at flameout, which will be the real test.
View attachment 591126


3. Alternate grain bag to improve stir ability

What do you guys think about this? I know this is kind of a Mickey Mouse solution and not as elegant as a drop in malt pipe with a handle and screened bottom, as suggested here before. But at least it should let you stir the mash much easier. I think I will give this a try at some point.
View attachment 591129

Lid still closes (with some weight)View attachment 591128

Volx- was going back through these posts getting prepped for brew day 2morrow.
I did not notice your Laguniats poster in the background. Very classy!! I need to get mine up.

 

[Nate R]

Had a great brew day yesterday. Decided for one more IPA before I commit to a 6 weeks+ lagering for a Pilsner.
13.5# of grain, split into two bags, on top of each other.
4 oz. Rice Hulls mixed in each bag.
Grind was around .45mm (factory setting) or thereabouts.
Mash at 152F for 60 minutes (Mash-In water at 162)
Sparge at 172 for 45 minutes

I did not flip the bags around. I did poke them down a few times to ensure the flow was going over them.

Pre-boil gravity was 1.0535
Post-boil gravity was 1.0575

Depending on water (see below) I calculate 68%-72% efficiency. Best batch yet.

I added too much water- 4 gallons to mash, and 3.5 gallons to the boil tank. I ended up taking about a half gallon or so out. I am still having a hard time coming up with the right water options when creating the recipe. Seems like it is always too much or too little- I have not hit that "just right" spot yet. I think I will do 3.5 galls Mash and 3.5 to the boil tank next time.

Does anyone have a hard and fast rule of thumb for water for the Brewie? Anybody have any suggestions on a BeerSmith profile to use? I found a few off of the Facebook user's group, but they just don't seem to work for me (probably user error).

Also- Brewie is testing their user-forum. I think if you have asked to test the App they will send you a link to test the user-forum. Not much their yet, but at least it means they are still pumping (albeit probably not much) money & effort into content, user support, etc.

 

[volx]

Another successful brew day yesterday. I tried sniperd's suggestions with the two brew bags with 4 oz of rice hulls in each and the 45 minute sparge. Efficiency came out to be 64.5%. However, I did not rotate the bags and my mill gap was 0.033". I will increase my mill gap a bit next time and once I have my second Brewie bag will also try the bag rotation.
I am starting to really like this thing: I had prepared everything the night before, so at 7 AM I just pushed the brew button and by 12:30 PM, the beer was chilled in my barrel (this one will be a sour). The only things I had to do were related to my chilling system and took 10 minutes. I now clean the grain bags while the boil is going which shortens the cleaning time after the brew a bit. I am down to 35 minutes of cleanup and the majority of this is for the plate chiller/pump/hoses.

Btw, my first Brewie beer is in the keg. It's a Pilsner and probably needs another 1-2 weeks to clarify and flavors to come together, but preliminary QC is favorable. I will report back on it soon.

 

[sniperd]

I'm wondering if a longer sparge than 45 minutes would help even more.. I know when I was doing 15 minutes and no rice it was pretty bad. I just sort of guessed that 45 minutes would .. be .. ok? I think the first time I repeat a recipe I'll make it 1 hour and see if the numbers change. I don't really want to try 30 minutes. I believe there is a way to measure the wort in the sparge to see how the conversion is going but I can't remember what that process is.

I'll give a bigger update once I hit 10 brews but I'm at 5 now. So far...

1) No problems, used one of their pads, all numbers good. Full clean.
2) No brew problems. My recipe, bad efficiency (low OG), no rice, 15 minute sparge. Wort in fermenter and Brewie+ has a continue button on screen, but it's done? Hit continue and it fills the boil chamber and overfills! I hit pause, drain, and cancel. Maybe I hit a weird button? Strange. Quick clean.
3) No problems, my recipe, good numbers. Full clean.
4) No brew problems, clean problem. All done, run a full clean cycle (2.5 hours?) at about 1.5 hours in the screen freezes. Looks like it's doing something but.. uh.. unplug, quick clean, drain, ok.
5) No problems, my recipe, good numbers. Full Clean.

So no actual brew problems. 1 weird overflow after brew (maybe I hit brew again?), and 1 lock up during full clean. I'll report back after my next 5 brews.

 

[HarkinBanks]

What temp are you using for the longer sparge? A mashout to 170 is a key factor in this type of setup.

 

[Nate R]

I have brew # 6 in the fermentor

What temp are you using for the longer sparge? A mashout to 170 is a key factor in this type of setup.

Sorry the newb question, but can you elaborate on that? I sparged at 172. Is 170 better? Is 170 the minimum? Does temperature need to be related/adjusted to time?
Thanks

 

[HarkinBanks]

I have brew # 6 in the fermentor

Sorry the newb question, but can you elaborate on that? I sparged at 172. Is 170 better? Is 170 the minimum? Does temperature need to be related/adjusted to time?
Thanks

170, 172, all the same. I was wondering if your longer sparge was at your final mash temp (150-152 etc) or whether it was at a mashout temp (170-172). The mashout step yields a much better efficiency. We have seen this with BIAB systems, which is essentially what brewie is. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[sniperd]

I sparge at 172 for 45 minutes. I'm suspect 170ish is fine

 

[volx]

I am happy to report that Brewie makes good wort! My first two Brewie beers are on draught, a German Pilsner and an American Pale Ale. Both are great. The Pale Ale is a new recipe but the Pils is one of my house beers that I have made dozens of times before and I can taste no difference between manual and automated wort generation.
On a different note, I had another successful brew day today, brewed an American stout, O.G. 1.064, 61% efficiency, same process as described last time.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Brewed a chocolate stout this weekend with a recipe that I have used before. I am happy to report the brewday was perfect and my B+ performed flawlessly. I achieved 75% efficiency by splitting the grains into two bags, placed side by side, with a 75 min mash at 150 F and a 45 min sparge at 170 F. I didn't really touch the bags, just pushed them down to get them covered at the beginning. I used 5.2 mash lock.

I used 10.25 lbs of grain into 6.1 gallons of total water volume (4.3g mash - 1.8g sparge) but I was too conservative with my water calcs and overshot my OG by quite a bit (1.059 pre boil gravity, plus 8 oz maltodextrin raised to 1.063, 1.073 post boil gravity). I adjusted during chilling with about a gallon of water to bring the OG down from 1.073 to 1.058.

I'm not sure if Kai is still around here, but I use his batch sparge calculator from years ago. It has given me the best results without too much fuss. Here is a link for those who want to try it:

http://braukaiser.com/documents/batch_sparge_simulator.xls

For Brewie, insert your total water volume as "mash water" and the amount of your grains. Your 1st run-off will be your boil volume and the SG should be pretty close, with an expected efficiency. Boil-off option is around 10% with Brewie.

 

[Nate R]

Brewed a chocolate stout this weekend with a recipe that I have used before. I am happy to report the brewday was perfect and my B+ performed flawlessly. I achieved 75% efficiency by splitting the grains into two bags, placed side by side, with a 75 min mash at 150 F and a 45 min sparge at 170 F. I didn't really touch the bags, just pushed them down to get them covered at the beginning. I used 5.2 mash lock.

I used 10.25 lbs of grain into 6.1 gallons of total water volume (4.3g mash - 1.8g sparge) but I was too conservative with my water calcs and overshot my OG by quite a bit (1.059 pre boil gravity, plus 8 oz maltodextrin raised to 1.063, 1.073 post boil gravity). I adjusted during chilling with about a gallon of water to bring the OG down from 1.073 to 1.058.

I'm not sure if Kai is still around here, but I use his batch sparge calculator from years ago. It has given me the best results without too much fuss. Here is a link for those who want to try it:

http://braukaiser.com/documents/batch_sparge_simulator.xls

For Brewie, insert your total water volume as "mash water" and the amount of your grains. Your 1st run-off will be your boil volume and the SG should be pretty close, with an expected efficiency. Boil-off option is around 10% with Brewie.

Harkin- you said the grain bags were side by side. A couple of questions:
side by side flat horizontal? (Not sure how that would work).
Side by side- was one bag in front of the hole on the left in the mash tun? Was the hole in between two bags?

I guess what i am getting at is how exactly did you place the two bags?

Also- what temp did you sparge in at? 150, or did you set the mash-in water at a higher temp?

Thanks.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Harkin- you said the grain bags were side by side. A couple of questions:
side by side flat horizontal? (Not sure how that would work).
Side by side- was one bag in front of the hole on the left in the mash tun? Was the hole in between two bags?

I guess what i am getting at is how exactly did you place the two bags?

Also- what temp did you sparge in at? 150, or did you set the mash-in water at a higher temp?

Thanks.

I put the bags in side by side with one next to the hole in the mash tun and the other to the right of the first bag (if you were looking at Brewie from the front). Then I pushed the grains flat with my hand to spread them around and make sure the corners of the mash tun were filled with grain. I did this the night before so all I had to do when I woke up was to hit start. At mash-in I used a brewing spoon to make sure the grains and bag were submerged so that the mash re-circulation was going over both bags and not diving into the first bag. I highly recommend using as thin of a mash (i.e. max your mash water volume) as you can with this system. We have seen thinner mashes result in better conversion efficiency and more resulting sugars.

For mash temp, I used 150 F. It's just my personal preference, but I always mash in at my mash temp and let my system (formerly a HERMS system, now Brewie and Robobrew) slowly ramp back up to my intended mash temp. It is much easier to ramp up a mash temp than it is to cool off a mash that is overshot. For this brew, the mash was at about 143 F after striking with 150 mash-in water and then I hit 150 in about 10 mins. That is why I increased my mash time to 75 minutes. I knew it would take a few mins to ramp up to 150.

For my sparge, I set it to 170 F and let it sparge for 45 mins.

I try to keep it simple. If I do, I can usually trouble shoot my issues fairly easily.

Hope this helps.

 

[Nate R]

I put the bags in side by side with one next to the hole in the mash tun and the other to the right of the first bag (if you were looking at Brewie from the front). Then I pushed the grains flat with my hand to spread them around and make sure the corners of the mash tun were filled with grain. I did this the night before so all I had to do when I woke up was to hit start. At mash-in I used a brewing spoon to make sure the grains and bag were submerged so that the mash re-circulation was going over both bags and not diving into the first bag. I highly recommend using as thin of a mash (i.e. max your mash water volume) as you can with this system. We have seen thinner mashes result in better conversion efficiency and more resulting sugars.

For mash temp, I used 150 F. It's just my personal preference, but I always mash in at my mash temp and let my system (formerly a HERMS system, now Brewie and Robobrew) slowly ramp back up to my intended mash temp. It is much easier to ramp up a mash temp than it is to cool off a mash that is overshot. For this brew, the mash was at about 143 F after striking with 150 mash-in water and then I hit 150 in about 10 mins. That is why I increased my mash time to 75 minutes. I knew it would take a few mins to ramp up to 150.

For my sparge, I set it to 170 F and let it sparge for 45 mins.

I try to keep it simple. If I do, I can usually trouble shoot my issues fairly easily.

Hope this helps.

Yes this helps a ton!! Thank you. Did you add rice hulls? Seems like 4 ounces per bag has been doing the trick.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Yes this helps a ton!! Thank you. Did you add rice hulls? Seems like 4 ounces per bag has been doing the trick.

Rice?? What are we Budweiser now? Just kidding. I did not add any rice hulls, but I am sure the hulls help separate the grains.

In my case, my grain was very fresh, the crush was great and I used 5.2 mash lock. I suspect these things helped me quite a bit.


PS-My first Brewie beer, Rusty Rex, is on tap now and it is pretty tasty. It is a nice session amber, and remarkably clear.

 

[Nate R]

Rice?? What are we Budweiser now? Just kidding. I did not add any rice hulls, but I am sure the hulls help separate the grains.

In my case, my grain was very fresh, the crush was great and I used 5.2 mash lock. I suspect these things helped me quite a bit.


PS-My first Brewie beer, Rusty Rex, is on tap now and it is pretty tasty. It is a nice session amber, and remarkably clear.

Ha!! Hey you ever done the Budweiser tour? I was lucky enough to do the St. Louis one... the tanks they beechwood age the beer in are massive. That operation is incredible when you consider the size and amount of time the beer sits for. Then they can sell it for 5.99 a six pack and make a profit. Economies of scale i guess but still impressive. I know it's sh**t beer and always gives me a headache when i drink it but i admire the history and size of it all.

 

[BrunDog]

Drop the 5.2 stuff in favor of a legitimate calculator or pH meter. There is no such chemical that can raise the pH if it’s too low and reduce it if it’s too high.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Drop the 5.2 stuff in favor of a legitimate calculator or pH meter. There is no such chemical that can raise the pH if it’s too low and reduce it if it’s too high.

I’m sure you are correct. I have a ph meter and I know my water chemistry. I am friends with my water company and they get a laugh when I call asking whether the data has been updated for my area. For my purposes, the 5.2 mash stabilizer works well and I will continue to use it.

 

[Nate R]

I’m sure you are correct. I have a ph meter and I know my water chemistry. I am friends with my water company and they get a laugh when I call asking whether the data has been updated for my area. For my purposes, the 5.2 mash stabilizer works well and I will continue to use it.

What's the thoughts on using distilled water and adding needed minerals? I used beersmith last time. Have used 5.2 before as well. City water is no good for me, and distilled i can cheaper than bottled/spring water.

 

[HarkinBanks]

What's the thoughts on using distilled water and adding needed minerals? I used beersmith last time. Have used 5.2 before as well. City water is no good for me, and distilled i can cheaper than bottled/spring water.

I would not use distilled water for health reasons, true or myth. When I lived in the city and my water was bad I would buy jugs of Poland spring and build up my water profile with additions. I used Poland spring because I was able to find the parameters online. That was years ago, perhaps you can find RO or spring water cheaper and build from that? Costco, BJs?

 

[Nate R]

I would not use distilled water for health reasons, true or myth. When I lived in the city and my water was bad I would buy jugs of Poland spring and build up my water profile with additions. I used Poland spring because I was able to find the parameters online. That was years ago, perhaps you can find RO or spring water cheaper and build from that? Costco, BJs?

Wow- never even knew there was a controversy! A quick google later... huh.
I have used crysyal gyeser spring water by itself- pretty good results.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Wow- never even knew there was a controversy! A quick google later... huh.
I have used crysyal gyeser spring water by itself- pretty good results.

Yup

https://learn.kegerator.com/types-of-water-for-homebrewing/

Spring is decent for certain beer styles. Needs to be pumped up a bit for others.

 

[Nate R]

Yup

https://learn.kegerator.com/types-of-water-for-homebrewing/

Spring is decent for certain beer styles. Needs to be pumped up a bit for others.

Good article- but imo a huge miss on using distilled water as a base with the ability to add minerals to create many water styles. Want a Checzh pilsner? Distilled water plus minerals (see beersmith or any other number of resources).
I though the biggest complaint for distelled water was prices- but i can get it as low as 0.79 a gallon. Average 0.89. Not bad considering i can create almost any profile i want.

 

[Nate R]

Well it happened... Batch # 7 today, during the Sparge step... I have read it here referred to the "Black Screen of Death"; whatever it is, the machine just turned off, screen went blank. I have verified the circuit did not trip. Outlet has juice. I have tried re-starting the machine- no luck. Just submitted a ticket with Brewie service. We will see what happens with that.

Anyone have any tips? Maybe something I have missed? I would love to save this beer. More importantly- I really DO NOT want to have to drain this thing out/ clean it manually.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Well it happened... Batch # 7 today, during the Sparge step... I have read it here referred to the "Black Screen of Death"; whatever it is, the machine just turned off, screen went blank. I have verified the circuit did not trip. Outlet has juice. I have tried re-starting the machine- no luck. Just submitted a ticket with Brewie service. We will see what happens with that.

Anyone have any tips? Maybe something I have missed? I would love to save this beer. More importantly- I really DO NOT want to have to drain this thing out/ clean it manually.

Ugh.

Original or B+? Either way it sounds like it is dead. Likely an internal fuse blew.

I would do a manual siphon to a 5 gal pot and boil on your stovetop. Sorry to hear about this.

 

[Nate R]

Ugh.

Original or B+? Either way it sounds like it is dead. Likely an internal fuse blew.

I would do a manual siphon to a 5 gal pot and boil on your stovetop. Sorry to hear about this.

Original. Yeah that is what my gut tells me. It just died.
Yeah thought about that- finishing on stove- but i think my best pot is maybe 3 gallons. Plus i am done. I can save the hops and i was going to experiment with dry yeast so no starter to waste.
Oh well.

Here begins my update with Brewie customer service!

 

[HarkinBanks]

Original. Yeah that is what my gut tells me. It just died.
Yeah thought about that- finishing on stove- but i think my best pot is maybe 3 gallons. Plus i am done. I can save the hops and i was going to experiment with dry yeast so no starter to waste.
Oh well.

Here begins my update with Brewie customer service!

Bummer man but not unexpected with the original units. They are junk.

How long have you had the unit?

 

[Nate R]

Bummer man but not unexpected with the original units. They are junk.

How long have you had the unit?

Since June 2018. So six months? This was brew #7.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Since June 2018. So six months? This was brew #7.

Still under warranty for sure so it will be replaced. I would push for a B+ replacement. I think morebeer is the only place that still has a stock of originals. I don’t think brewie has any new original ones left, just refurb original units and the B+.

 

[Nate R]

Well it happened... Batch # 7 today, during the Sparge step... I have read it here referred to the "Black Screen of Death"; whatever it is, the machine just turned off, screen went blank. I have verified the circuit did not trip. Outlet has juice. I have tried re-starting the machine- no luck. Just submitted a ticket with Brewie service. We will see what happens with that.

Anyone have any tips? Maybe something I have missed? I would love to save this beer. More importantly- I really DO NOT want to have to drain this thing out/ clean it manually.

~~~~
Well finally got an email from Brewie Support. (They are in another country/day/time zone, so I guess Tues AM for a Saturday ticket is more than fair). Turns out I get to fix my own machine for them! Note- I am posting this not as a gripe, but for full transparency on the Brewie, including customer service. I guess if they are telling me to open the machine up, it does not void the warranty. Anybody else a little concerned on a $2,000 machine to use a fuse between 15-20 Amp? That is quite a swing! (25%-33%?!?!?) Any suggestions on the fuse? Like, what store to grab it at?

I will admit- I am torn between should I be outraged I have to fix the machine myself vs. wow- is it this simple of a fix vs. heck yeah I get to open the baby up per manufacture's instructions- i.e. it won't void the warranty?!?!?

I will take some pics while I do it- anybody curios for anything in particular? Note- I do not this is unfair to Brewie since they are asking me to fix the machine for them, right? If it was proprietary, they would not want me to open it up.

~~~
Brewie Support, Tuesday 13. November 2018. 14:20
Hello Nathaniel,

If the machine does nothing (no beep, no clicking noises, no light) then I think it is the fuse that got blown. Please remove the bottom plate, and have a look on it. The fuse is located on the high voltage PCB close to the power cord. Let me know how it looks.

Please find attached the documentation about how you can turn the the machine upside down securely.

If it is broken please try to find a
- slow acting
- 15-20 AMP
- ceramic fuse with
- high temp operating range (well above 100C/212F)

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards;
Máté

 

[HarkinBanks]

Ah my good friend Mate! Hah.

Glad to hear it was the fuse, hopefully that is the only problem. I would be psyched if that was the only problem and more than willing to open it up. Nice to see the pumps and the plate chiller in those pics. It is very interesting to see them come up with a few DIY fixes before they spend the $$ on shipping and recall.

I would ask Mate for exact specs and shoot him a few links to Amazon before you go buy anything. The fuses are cheap, but you want to get one they bless first and is the right size. Post up pics of the old one. I would get a 20 amp fuse for sure. The elements are 1850w, plus the pumps, so you need a 20 amp fuse. I would send him this link and see what he says:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D31N5HY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[sniperd]

I'd be just fine with doing it myself. When I needed a new SD card they gave me the option to send it back or send me an SD card. Total waste of time if you had to package it up and ship it back if it's just a fuse, go for it! I agree though, get an Amazon link or something, I'd hate to put the wrong one in.

 

[Nate R]

Yeah. Been thinkin' about it. It would probably cost about a $100 to ship it, plus a pain the a to box up, plus wait times.
If i can get this repaired on my own WITH the blessing of manufacturer and it wont void warranty why not.
Figure i should wire this so the fuse is accessible from the outside right? Then i can save a brew if it happens again. (Or have an access point underneath?) Wish they had built it in already.

Cleaning out 6.5 gallons of wort is a pain in this thing. Having to wait overnight for it to cool sucked too. So much for the promise "it'll be done and clean before you get home honey!!" Lol.

I will take some pics as i go. The ones i have seen look pretty cool. I do admire this machine.

 

[HarkinBanks]

Figure i should wire this so the fuse is accessible from the outside right? Then i can save a brew if it happens again. (Or have an access point underneath?) Wish they had built it in already.

I wouldn't mess with any wiring. It looks like a simple fuse on a block. I wouldn't want it external in the event water/wort would hit it and cause a short.

 

[kh54s10]

I wonder if the B+ has any access to the fuse. What a horrible design. A fuse is likely to fail at some time and no access?? I'm glad I had no interest in this.

 

[Nate R]

I wonder if the B+ has any access to the fuse. What a horrible design. A fuse is likely to fail at some time and no access?? I'm glad I had no interest in this.

Hey- the first Model T had no power windows, no air conditioning, no seat belts (No seat belts!), no safety bags.... I could go on.
BUT- it sure beats the he** out of shoveling horse sh*t!
Point is- they didn't build the perfect Model T on the first try. Gotta give some patience to these new fangled brew machines.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Hey- the first Model T had no power windows, no air conditioning, no seat belts (No seat belts!), no safety bags.... I could go on.
BUT- it sure beats the he** out of shoveling horse sh*t!
Point is- they didn't build the perfect Model T on the first try. Gotta give some patience to these new fangled brew machines.

That's not the reason the brewies getting trashed. Of course a new device a like this needs lots of testing and updates before it works properly. It's the fact that they released it WAY early without fixing obvious fatal flaws and then didn't make it right..... And then did it again. Cheers

 

[BrunDog]

I would not use distilled water for health reasons, true or myth. When I lived in the city and my water was bad I would buy jugs of Poland spring and build up my water profile with additions. I used Poland spring because I was able to find the parameters online. That was years ago, perhaps you can find RO or spring water cheaper and build from that? Costco, BJs?

Distilled water affecting health is very much a myth. Please remember that just because it is on the Internet, it’s not automatically true. Peer reviewed publication of valid scientific research is another thing... which doesn’t currently exist to validate any health detriments or benefits of distilled water. Conceptually, it does make sense that drinking distilled water will pull ions out of your body, but the chemistry isn’t that linear.

With respect to brewing, as noted above, that “article” doesn’t state the rest of the story, such that distilled water is a great base to build upon using appropriate salts and additives.

There is very little difference between distilled (fully pure) and reverse osmosis aka RO (which has some sodium and other ions sneak through the filtration, but nothing significant). These can be used basically interchangeably, and not require salt additions.

All this said, I know it sounds stuffy... you can make good beer lots of ways. Getting it to “great” which is indeed a matter of opinion, takes more science, patience, and tight processes.

 

[Nate R]

Distilled water affecting health is very much a myth. Please remember that just because it is on the Internet, it’s not automatically true. Peer reviewed publication of valid scientific research is another thing... which doesn’t currently exist to validate any health detriments or benefits of distilled water. Conceptually, it does make sense that drinking distilled water will pull ions out of your body, but the chemistry isn’t that linear.

With respect to brewing, as noted above, that “article” doesn’t state the rest of the story, such that distilled water is a great base to build upon using appropriate salts and additives.

There is very little difference between distilled (fully pure) and reverse osmosis aka RO (which has some sodium and other ions sneak through the filtration, but nothing significant). These can be used basically interchangeably, and not require salt additions.

All this said, I know it sounds stuffy... you can make good beer lots of ways. Getting it to “great” which is indeed a matter of opinion, takes more science, patience, and tight processes.

Brun- what would you suggest for brewing H2O? Distilled or Purified/R/O?
I am thinking maybe, being newer to this, I should avoid trying to mess with building my own water, and just get spring water, or purified water?
Is this any general rule of thumb on this?