Sparging with RO Water

[Nil]

Hello All,

I made extra research and found that some don't recommend to add salts to the sparging water. I was under the impression that in order to have control over the beer flavor, one must treat both mash and sparging water with the same salt profile for the purpose of consistency.

This made sense to me since if I only treat the mashing water with the applicable salt and then sparge with untreated water, then the salt content of the final wort would be diluted and be 50% below the desired level. This would have an extra impact if one is trying the brew a beer relative to a specific style.

However, I recalled that I went some time ago to a brewery and the Head Brewer claimed that they 100% RO water for sparging. They only adjust its pH to 7 as needed. So, sparging water with no salt and a target pH = 7.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Nil

 

[mabrungard]

There is no need to treat RO water prior to sparging. It's alkalinity is low enough that no acidification is needed. The only consideration for treatment comes with the overall concentrations of flavor ions such as Mg, Na, SO4, and Cl in the final wort. You can always add those salts directly to the kettle instead of the sparging water.

 

[Nil]

So... the water profiles published are for the final wort and not the water. If this is the case, then I can fairly assume that almost all ions/anions in the mash are consumed during the process.

Also, your advice suggests that the only factor to be considered in mashing water is alkalinity, depending on the style of beer. Meaning, if I am making a pilsner, I can use untreated RO water for mashing an add the salts during boiling, assuming that I get the right pH.

Thanks, Nil

 

[Yooper]

So... the water profiles published are for the final wort and not the water. If this is the case, then I can fairly assume that almost all ions/anions in the mash are consumed during the process.

Also, your advice suggests that the only factor to be considered in mashing water is alkalinity, depending on the style of beer. Meaning, if I am making a pilsner, I can use untreated RO water for mashing an add the salts during boiling, assuming that I get the right pH.

Thanks, Nil

No, the ions are not consumed during brewing- the reason they are added is for flavor enhancement- like you'd add salt to food. Chloride enhances "roundness" or fullness of the flavor, while sulfate enhances dryness. You can use them to "tweak" the flavor to your desired result. That's often done in the mash, but the salts can be added to the boil kettle also.

You asked about sparging with RO water, and that's perfect and doesn't need treatment. It won't hurt to add them, but it's not necessary.

Mashing a pilsner with 100% RO water is fine as well, but for many of us we like to bring the calcium up to 40-50 ppm as a minimum for other beer styles. It helps with yeast flocculation as well as the prevention of beerstone, so calcium is a useful addition.

 

[Nil]

Yeast flocculation occurs during fermentation, meaning that calcium is not needed in the mash. Beer stone occurs mainly in kegs (assumed, never observed). Ergo, the calcium can be added straight to the boil via CaCl2/CaSO4 or as Yeast Nutrient. If Yeast nutrient would provide the calcium needed, then I can significantly reduce the amount of CaCl2/CaSO4 used. The downside if that I don't know the exact composition of the yeast nutrient, so wont have absolute control.

Thanks, Nil

 

[Nil]

BTW, Yooper, love your "Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006". That is really cool.

Take care.