Water chemistry help for first all grain

[Hagelslag]

Getting ready to do my first all grain this weekend. I've been reading up on water chemistry, and my head is spinning. I normally brew my extract batches with either filtered tap water (through a brita filter) or bottled water. All my extract brews have turned out good so should I even be concerned?

I'm just looking for some help. Can anyone give me some pointers based on this report? Should I get the Ph5.2 stablizer?
http://www.waterone.org/Adobe Files/2011-AnnualReportFinal.pdf

I'm brewing a bavarian wheat for my first:
5 lbs. Domestic 2-Row barley, 4 lbs. White Wheat, 8 oz. Carapils, 2 oz. of hops

Chemistry was not one of my stronger subjects in school so bare with me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ajdelange]

Getting ready to do my first all grain this weekend. I've been reading up on water chemistry, and my head is spinning.

Quite normal

I normally brew my extract batches with either filtered tap water (through a brita filter) or bottled water. All my extract brews have turned out good so should I even be concerned?

There is one concern with respect to hops harshness - we'll get to that.

I'm just looking for some help. Can anyone give me some pointers based on this report?

There is only one thing (that I spotted) and that's a rather high sulfate level. Not as high as Burton on Trent but pretty high. This would be a problem if you tried to brew using noble hops which people often do in a wheat beer. How much of a problem depends on how you like your hops. People brew ales with sulfate levels of 300 and above (which, as you can see from your report, is above the MCL - defined as the level above which the water is not aesthetically pleasing) and love the beers. If you are one of those then you are going to be fine. If you are not then you will have to deal with the sulfate and the only way to deal with it is to dilute the water with sulfate free water to the extent that the sulfate is where you can tolerate it. You should have some idea as to your preferences on this score from your experiences with extract.

Should I get the Ph5.2 stablizer?

No. That would be a waste of money and add unnecessary sodium to your beer.
http://www.waterone.org/Adobe Files/2011-AnnualReportFinal.pdf

I'm brewing a bavarian wheat for my first:
5 lbs. Domestic 2-Row barley, 4 lbs. White Wheat, 8 oz. Carapils, 2 oz. of hops

Chemistry was not one of my stronger subjects in school so bare with me.

Brewers have made good beer for a long time without understanding chemistry. Eventually they stumbled on the right way to treat their water and/or learned what beers could be made well with the water they had. The goal here is to start you stumbling in the right direction. It will still take a while before you get to your destination.

Have a look at the Primer. It is designed for people in your position. But it is going to tell you to cut your water 4:1 or so to get that sulfate down to around 20 mg/L.

 

[Hagelslag]

Thanks for the feedback ajdelange! Helps a lot!

So to keep things simple I was thinking of using bottled water for the mash and then using brita filtered water for the sparge. Should I even bother with the bottled water?

From your post it seems like the tap water should be good enough for this particular brew (other than the high sulfate level). I don't think I'll worry about the sulfate because I already got enough on my plate. :cross: