water problem - help needed

[400d]

I just got my tap water profile, and I feel very excited finally knowing the exact numbers. It looks like this:

Ca...........51
Mg...........21
Na............2
Cl.............3
SO4..........9
HCO3........244
CaCO3......200
ph 7.75

By now I mostly brewed pale ales, and I would appreciate your help to adjust that water for that style.

Is dilution with distilled water really needed here? Is there a way to avoid it somehow? I know that this water is highly alkaline, but still... maybe there is a chance to brew with it just like that?

How would you adjust this water to brew some pale, hoppy beer?

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I just got my tap water profile, and I feel very excited finally knowing the exact numbers. It looks like this:

Ca...........51
Mg...........21
Na............2
Cl.............3
SO4..........9
HCO3........244
CaCO3......200
ph 7.75

By now I mostly brewed pale ales, and I would appreciate your help to adjust that water for that style.

Is dilution with distilled water really needed here? Is there a way to avoid it somehow? I know that this water is highly alkaline, but still... maybe there is a chance to brew with it just like that?

How would you adjust this water to brew some pale, hoppy beer?

Thanks!

Your profile is very similar to mine! It makes wonderful stouts, but not so great ambers and pale ales while a kolsch sucks. I dilute mine, as it's easier. But if you want to brew with your water, you could boil it in advance to get the carbonates to precipitate out and then rack off of the precipitate.

 

[400d]

could you please tell me what exactly do you do to make your water suitable for pale, hoppy beers?

thanks

 

[400d]

oh, now I see that this is posted in the wrong place... don't know how it happened...

 

[mabrungard]

Your main problem is the bicarbonate concentration and the resulting alkalinity. All the other ions are in good or acceptable range. Only the Mg is a little higher than I would prefer, but it is still acceptable.

Acidification is ideally suited for controlling your brewing water alkalinity. Given that your chloride and sulfate levels are quite low, you have the option of using either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. But these acids are typically pretty hazardous to use unless they are diluted significantly. Phosphoric is another good acid for alkalinity control and it is relatively flavorless. Lactic acid is also a good candidate for alkalinity control, excepting that it may create flavor impacts when dosed at higher rates.

Bru'n Water has very handy acidification calculators that will make adjusting this water easy.