Water build up using distilled

[Dhm8484]

I was wondering if there was website or information out there that gives best water profiles for the style of beer.

What I'm saying is say a IPA, add this ??? And ??? This and should get you in ballpark.

I'm on a well and my water is hard and I use a house filter to catch sediment, i have been using just bottled spring water but want to start building water from scratch. Any information will help thanks.

 

[Br3w4u]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/a-brewing-water-chemistry-primer.198460/

 

[Br3w4u]

Have you tried to use Bru’n water? A lot of people use that, I just use a pen and paper and the water book because I never could figure out how to use Bru’n water but hey it’s worth a try if you haven’t.

 

[Dhm8484]

Yea I looked around on it before but never really dove deep into it

 

[myndflyte]

I guess it also depends on how much you want to understand water chemistry. If you just want to make adjustments and not really think about it too much, that water chemistry primer is probably sufficient for you. If you want to take a deeper dive, then I suggest you read up a little bit on water chemistry. I'm an advocate for Bru'n water. The spreadsheet is easy to use once you understand it and there is a great water knowledge section that I recommend you read before trying to use the spreadsheet.

Once you start reading, water chemistry really isn't that overwhelming to understand.

 

[Dhm8484]

What did you mean water chemistry primer?

 

[Dhm8484]

My desktop says I have to buy Microsoft office 10 so it won't open it

 

[myndflyte]

What did you mean water chemistry primer?

This link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/a-brewing-water-chemistry-primer.198460/

 

[cubalz]

^This is what I started using a long time ago and it made all the difference in the world to my beers.

 

[Dhm8484]

Okay that's what I thought you meant, I'll have to read over this

 

[Dhm8484]

So I guess for Ipas and pale ales I would use the baseline for the helles, and plus? If I understand that right

 

[Br3w4u]

So I guess for Ipas and pale ales I would use the baseline for the helles, and plus? If I understand that right

The British profile suggestion would be better for an IPA.

 

[cire]

The British profile suggestion would be better for an IPA.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water.html

Selecting "Burton Pale Ale" for the Target Liquor would get you somewhere close for a starting place.

The notes with that calculator are worth to get a British perspective of water treatment.

 

[Dhm8484]

This link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/a-brewing-water-chemistry-primer.198460/

So this article wants you to start with add g 2 different additions to RO/Distilled water to start and to take baby steps into it?

 

[Br3w4u]

So this article wants you to start with add g 2 different additions to RO/Distilled water to start and to take baby steps into it?

Just start with one tsp gypsum and one calcium chloride per 5 gallons and see how you like it. The beer will turn out fine but it’s just a baseline to start from while you are still learning. I’m not sure off the top of my head but I believe a tsp of gypsum comes to around 4 grams. I might be wrong though. I have the water book and there are charts in there to help you build your water with a breakdown of how much concentration of each mineral you will get it you add so many grams to so much water and then there are charts that show acceptable ranges of minerals for beers depending on the color and bitterness and all that.

 

[mabrungard]

My desktop says I have to buy Microsoft office 10 so it won't open it

If you're made out of money, buying the real thing is nice. But you don't have to do that and can still have a decent platform to run a spreadsheet under. LibreOffice is a free download and it can do almost everything the MS Office does.

 

[Dhm8484]

I actually just downloaded it was looking over spread sheets

 

[Dhm8484]

Like I said I didn't know if something was out there where it states stouts fall between these numbers, pales fall between these etc.

With brunwater I guess you have to make sure you know the lovibond of the grains your entering?

 

[Br3w4u]

Well you would think that information would be easier to find on HBT but unfortunately it isn’t. I would take a picture of the charts in the water book and put it on here but I don’t know if that’s legal. Really though the main reason for knowing your malt colors is to adjust for PH and when you use distilled or RO water your target PH isn’t as hard to hit so it is possible to add a baseline amount of minerals ( 1 tsp gypsum ) just to get to a target PH and then adjust your mineral additions for flavor post fermentation. You can experiment with mash additions or post fermentation additions and just see what you like. You can also get a commercial beer that you are familiar with, pour 3 beers, make a known solution of gypsum in water and calcium chloride in water, then dose each glass with different concentrations just to see the effects. Sorry for the long post and run on sentences. I’m just trying to help.

 

[Dhm8484]

Hey know that's alright it's good information for me

 

[Dhm8484]

So basically you want your mash ph to be in range then everything else you adjust would count towards flavoring

 

[Br3w4u]

So basically you want your mash ph to be in range then everything else you adjust would count towards flavoring

Yep. Sulfate helps to accentuate bitterness while chloride helps maintain a smoother malt profile and balancing the two will help bring....well balance... There are also sulfate to chloride ratios to think about but I wouldn’t dive into that until you understand the basics of what each addition will do on their own and you should experiment with a couple of beers. Make sure to take notes of how much you add to each brew so that you can find what works for you.

 

[mabrungard]

Yep. Sulfate helps to accentuate bitterness while chloride helps maintain a smoother malt profile

While that description isn't totally wrong, I prefer to refer to the effects like this. Sulfate helps dry the beer's finish, which can accentuate the perception of bitterness (if there is any). Chloride helps improve mouth-coating by the beer and that tends to accentuate the perception of malt (if there is any).