Brewing with distilled water

[Jbrew]

Hi all,
So in my quest to start producing better homebrew, I've started some process changes such as using co2 transfers from carboy to keg to further reduce the chance of oxidation, I've added a thermostat to my chest freezer to control ferment temps, and I'm taking the time to make starters mor regularly.
The last thing I'm left with is my brewing water.
I have not tested my water yet, and i have not tested my mash pH before. I do believe though, that my mash pH has been consistently high as my efficiency is wildly inconsistent and usually painfully low.

Ive been toying with the idea of using distilled water (I dont have access to RO water)
I spent some time reading about water profiles in how to brew. Ive also read about some of water in towns near me that have been posted here, and it appears that the water seems to vary a bit between towns and providers. I also found that my town pulls water from about 5 different spots.
In any case I downloaded the EZ calc water spreadsheet. I enter 100% distilled water and my starting volume of 7.5 gallons.
I am planning to try the epic pale ale clone from the can you brew it pod cast.
I then took a guess and entered numbers for calcium chloride, gypsum, and epsom salt.
I played with the numbers till i got to a level that i thought fit some other pale ale profiles i found.
With 5 grams each of calcium chloride, gypsum, and epsom salt I come up with a water profile as follows:
Mash pH: 5.46
Ca: 88
Mg: 16
Na: 0
Cl: 85
SO4: 167
Making a Cl/SO4 ratio of .51

Does this sound ok?
Is that all there is too it?
Is there a level of error that can occur with this calculator? Am I risking myself more problems here experimenting with something that I dont have enough knowledge or experience about? I was under the impression that changing your water chemistry required quite a bit more experience.
Thank you all for any advice.

 

[Tim Schmidt]

I brewed my first 2 batches with my well water they were horrid. my next batch used distilled water and salt additions. I have done quite a few brews using walmarts r.o. water at 39 cents a gallon if you use your own containers. i now have an under sink r.o. unit and the brews are turning out outstanding. your salt additions look maybe a gram heavy across the board but would make good beer. a good ph meter helps quite a bit. i allways check my ph at about 20 min. into the mash and do any corrections then. i have found the ezwater calc. to be a very good tool on mash ph and i use either baking soda to go up and 88 percent lactic acid to go down. The ph depends on the grain bill for the style of beer you are brewing.

 

[Big Monk]

Hi all,
So in my quest to start producing better homebrew, I've started some process changes such as using co2 transfers from carboy to keg to further reduce the chance of oxidation, I've added a thermostat to my chest freezer to control ferment temps, and I'm taking the time to make starters mor regularly.
The last thing I'm left with is my brewing water.
I have not tested my water yet, and i have not tested my mash pH before. I do believe though, that my mash pH has been consistently high as my efficiency is wildly inconsistent and usually painfully low.

Ive been toying with the idea of using distilled water (I dont have access to RO water)
I spent some time reading about water profiles in how to brew. Ive also read about some of water in towns near me that have been posted here, and it appears that the water seems to vary a bit between towns and providers. I also found that my town pulls water from about 5 different spots.
In any case I downloaded the EZ calc water spreadsheet. I enter 100% distilled water and my starting volume of 7.5 gallons.
I am planning to try the epic pale ale clone from the can you brew it pod cast.
I then took a guess and entered numbers for calcium chloride, gypsum, and epsom salt.
I played with the numbers till i got to a level that i thought fit some other pale ale profiles i found.
With 5 grams each of calcium chloride, gypsum, and epsom salt I come up with a water profile as follows:
Mash pH: 5.46
Ca: 88
Mg: 16
Na: 0
Cl: 85
SO4: 167
Making a Cl/SO4 ratio of .51

Does this sound ok?
Is that all there is too it?
Is there a level of error that can occur with this calculator? Am I risking myself more problems here experimenting with something that I dont have enough knowledge or experience about? I was under the impression that changing your water chemistry required quite a bit more experience.
Thank you all for any advice.

When it comes to building a profile from Distilled/RO, nearly every calculator is going to be pretty close except for predictions using Calcium Chloride. You’ll find a lot more variation in actual pH estimations but as far as mineral concentrations, the equations are universal across every program.

It’s really that simple. Determine grain bill, calculate mineral concentrations, determine whether to add acids or bases, and you’re done.

The technical is a little more involved if you are determined to understand all the mechanics but the actual preparation and estimation can be as simp,e as you’d like it to be.

 

[Druman07]

I understand (primarily from the experienced contributors on this forum) that water adjustments are the final tweaking that will get your beer to the next level, but temperature control is much much more significant in making good tasting beer. My experience has proved that point, since I starting using fermentation temperature control, the taste of my beer is much cleaner, and i am learning about adjusting temps to coax different flavors out of the fermentation. That being said, i couldn't resist playing with water adjustments, so i purchased a cheap PH meter, and the typical salts and acid needed to adjust water, and use the EZwater calculator to adjust RO water, and I have been doing modest water adjustments and monitoring the PH impact on my mashes. I kinda think the final PPM measurements have a loose tolerance, and that small deviations are not going to ruin a batch a beer unless you are pushing the envelope with your salt/ acid additions vs recommended PPM levels. I do find the PH calculator to be an inconsistent estimate, and using my simple instrument, I can see if the mash PH is close to the calculated value, and if not I note the deviation, and make adjustments for the next time around. That is my simple take on water adjustments, but I know the topic is much much more complicated then this, as you would see if you search water adjustments here.