Water additions for dummies

[gotbags-10]

Was at great fermentations this weekend and they had this water additions sheet. What do you guys think? Would this cover pretty much everything I need to add. Obviously there can still be tweaking depending on certain recipes but does this get me in the ballpark?
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1425988676.191975.jpg

 

[JayDubWill]

Yes, it will get you in the ball park, but you will be swinging in the dark, unless you have a water report that shows you what your current levels are. Your city water report might have that information, most wont, but you can send your water in to be tested at places like ward labs. While your at it pick up a demo copy of Bru'n water and check it out. I use the pro version for every beer and they turn out pretty darn good.

 

[gotbags-10]

These are all additions to RO water sorry should've mentioned

 

[bobbrews]

It would be nice if they showed the final affected levels of Ca, S04, Cl, Na, Mg, Bicarbonate, etc. for each style.

 

[ducati]

I'll add kudos to Great Fermentations. They have been very helpful to me. Wish they were closer.

My experience is using RO water does makes the process more simple, and a certain amount of confidence that, at a minimum, you're not too far off. To the original question, in my experience yes, that chart should get you close for the style you want.

I've used Bru'n Water spreadsheet, and recently purchased a copy of the "Water" book by Palmer/Kaminski. Although not necessary, I want to understand as much as possible, plus I prefer to use diluted tap water, and that does add a level of complication. These are both great water resources.

Hope this rambling helps.

 

[JonM]

It won't do much for getting mash pH right. For the paler beers you will most likely need to add acid and for the darker beers you may have to take steps to reduce the acidity, depending on the amount of dark grains, Lovibond, etc. in each recipe.

The sheet is a helpful guide, but it won't cover everything you need.

 

[gotbags-10]

The ph was my concern as well. I know people use lactic acid and baking soda to adjust. Anyone have an easy chart for adjusting ph?

 

[JonM]

Bru'n Water or some of the other software programs and then using a calibrated pH meter to measure it is really the way to go. There really isn't a one-size-fits-all chart to calculate mash pH.

Mash pH depends on a lot of things - mash thickness, Lovibond of all the grains, minerals in the mash, etc. You really have to add them all into the software, plug in the Lovibond ratings, plug in the amounts of the minerals, and let the software do the math.

 

[gotbags-10]

Gotcha

 

[gotbags-10]

Any way to determine the ppm values of those additions so that I can add them to a ph calculator

 

[JayDubWill]

Any way to determine the ppm values of those additions so that I can add them to a ph calculator

I don't have it in front of me but I think if you punch the salt additions into Bru'N water (or EZ Water) with your mash and sparge volumes and choose 100% RO dilution it will give you the ppm.

 

[ajdelange]

1) Magnesium is generally considered flavor negative. There are some beers that rely on it for part of their characteristic flavor profiles but they are pretty rare. As malt contains lots and lots of it you don't need to add it to the water.
2)Most beers require some acid in the form of acid added from a bottle (phosphoric or lactic for the most part in the US), from sauermalz or sauergut (traditional in continental brewing), dark malt or a combination
3)One seldom needs alkali in his prepared water and you certainly would not want any in emulating the beers of London, Burton or Dublin. In those cases where alkalinity is required (inordinate amount of high kilned malt) you do not want to use calcium carbonate. Sodium bicarbonate or lime water (Kalkwaßer) are better choices.
4)The beers of Pilsen are made with a very low sulfate water. Less is better with Noble hops. You would not want to add calcium or magnesium sulfate to water for an Urquell like Pilsner.

The sheet more or less follows the Primer but it won't lead you down any of these erroneous paths so you might want to have a look at that.