Confused about water.

[eezybrewer]

I am hoping to start all grain brewing but after reading many discussions on water in the forums I am beginning to think I may be best off sticking to kits. So many people saying add this and that and don't do this or that.

Our water supply is Very Soft according to the water quality report I found on the internet. Don't ask me to put this info into any program etc due to it all being a foreign language to me and I am not that PC savvy.

All I want to know is will it be OK to brew all grain beers or should I consider bottled water?

 

[stesmi]

Yeah, if you read about water chemistry in any "How to Brew" book it'll really confuse the hell out if you. Here in Glasgow we have soft water, but I brew all styles and all taste as they should. Some say stick to the traditional brews that historically come from your area, I.e bitters in London, stouts in Dublin and dark, low bittered ales in Edinburgh. If you can be bothered, you can get a water chemistry profile from your water supplier and adjust it with distilled water and additives. There are various tools to help you adjust your water to match your beer style, I.e replicate Pilsen water for your favourite lager. But why bother? If it's good enough to drink then use it, That what I say. :mrgreen:

A Beersmith read on water:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/08/24/brewing-water-hard-or-soft/

 

[Kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

Just use your tap water mate it will be fine. If anything buy some campden tablets, break one in half and crush it between two teaspoons add it to your water, stir and leave it to dissolve. Then add it as and how you please.

 

[rodabod]

As a big coffee drinker, I'm very familiar with the effects of different waters on extracting solids. It's also very obvious with tea.

Soft is better than hard, as your water will be able to dissolve and extract all of the different types of chemicals with more ease.

There's an argument against going too soft, but I've never experienced a problem with this personally.

 

[MtirKiesh]

Hi eezybrewer, when I started all grain about 8 month ago I was too confused about the whole water thing, I did lots of research on the web and on forums but it just seemed to confuse me even more as some sites/people would say one thing then others would be different:-?. I ended up stumbling across a company called Murphy home brew, who provide a water analysis of your water and give you recommendations on how to adjust the water and with what. I won't match a specific water profile just put in you in the right ball part depending on what style of beer you are brewing e.g ale, stout or larger.
Here's the link http://www.murphyhomebrew.com/laboratory-services/water-analysis/prod_104.html
Hope it helps:

 

[eezybrewer]

Thank you to all for your replies. A few things to think about in them including getting a water analysis done. Thank you for the link MtirKiesh.

 

[clibit]

I've made beer with no water treatment whatsoever and it's been brilliant. I don't usually bother even with campden, unless there's a clear chlorine smell, I've found (by forgetting to do it) that it works out ok with my tap water.

I use very soft Manchester tap water. I do add gypsum to my pale ales, around 3 grams in a 10 litre batch. And in dark beers I add about 5 grams of calcium chloride for 10 litres. That's all I do.

 

[eezybrewer]

Thank you Clibit. Gypsum and calcium chloride added to my next shopping list.

 

[Mark1964]

Don't add anything till you put the water report figures into the forums water treatment calculator. Adding chemicals isn't required to some waters and to some beer styles. Put your water report figures in the call on here you will see what you need to add. You may have to nag the water company for some more info though as I'm sure they don't give a figure for magnesium

 

[Cwrw666]

I bet your water isn't as soft as ours - it comes straight out of a peat bog on the mountainside behind our house. Apparently it's on the limit for acidity in drinking water but compared to the crud that comes out of the taps in the villages round here it's lovely. Slight downside is it's ability to dissolve copper pipes and brass fittings, but you can't have everything. Oh, and it's full of sheep s**t so it all has to be boiled for homebrewing!
I make stout and bitter and both are fine. In fact I prefer my homebrew to most commercial beers...

 

[clibit]

Really selling your ale there, cwrw666! :wink:

I spent a couple of days in a microbrewery in Manchester which brewed with mains water and did not de-chlorinate it. They only added gypsum. The brewer was previously at Moorhouses brewery. When I asked about treatment he just said "this is Manchester water, from the Lake District!"

I don't believe water treatment is a high priority, until you're further down the line at least. A lot of people add a teaspoon of gypsum to bitters/ pale ales though, and a lot of people use campden tablets.

 

[Cwrw666]

Really selling your ale there, cwrw666! :wink:

I like a beer with plenty of body! :lol: