Do I need to adjust my water?

[Johnsbrewery]

Hello everyone, I know this is a noob question (I am getting there slowly)
Would I need to adjust this water profile of bottled water to suit ipa, pale ales etc
Included pic
thank you for your time

 

[Johnsbrewery]

Sorry I should mention i only brew extract beer at the moment.

 

[terrym]

Is that kits.

 

[Johnsbrewery]

Is that kits.

Kits yes

 

[terrym]

In my opinion there is no need to use anything other than tap water for brewing kits, unless your tap water tastes or smells a bit odd, which might carry forward into your beer. And even then if it is chloramine based (think TCP), pretreating your water with a campden tab might be sufficient.
But in this case I would just use the water you have bought as is, trying to change the water chemistry will achieve very little (again in my opinion).

 

[Johnsbrewery]

In my opinion there is no need to use anything other than tap water for brewing kits, unless your tap water tastes or smells a bit odd, which might carry forward into your beer. And even then if it is chloramine based (think TCP), pretreating your water with a campden tab might be sufficient.
But in this case I would just use the water you have bought as is, trying to change the water chemistry will achieve very little (again in my opinion).

Thank you for reply. I was thinking of using tap water, so I will do that next time. As the ph is 7.4 once I’ve mixed it up with the extract check and adjust the ph with some acid to achieve 5.6 ish?

 

[terrym]

Thank you for reply. I was thinking of using tap water, so I will do that next time. As the ph is 7.4 once I’ve mixed it up with the extract check and adjust the ph with some acid to achieve 5.6 ish?

Why?
Kits are basically ready to go.
As I understand it any water chemistry adjustments to make wort to make malt extract suitable for the kit contents are all done in the factory.
So you don't need to do anything to the brewing water.
But if you want to significantly improve a basic beer kit think malt instread of dextrose, extra hops (dry hop or hop tea ) if not supplied with the kit, grain steeps, or a minimash.

 

[Drunkula]

I've adjusted water chemistry for kits and it made a big difference. Upping the chloride level took Geordie kits that were pretty naff into fair-doooo territory.

If you're just starting then just brew and start doing the research. If you've already brewed the beer and got some gypsum and calcium chloride you can even do experiments on a pint by pint basis by sprinkling or snapping a bit in - get somebody to blind test you and see if one tastes rounder or dryer.

If you can get a water report that's great, and get Bru N Water from here (scary at first, still scary 2 years later!) Download Bru'n Water but don't be scared. Seriously I needed to take a rest and scream into 10 year olds faces on Call of Duty that their mother was a whore to get me through it. They were sat next to me, she was in the other room. It's a thing.

 

[terrym]

So there you go.
How to instantly and noticeably improve a kit
Extra Hops or steeping grains on one hand, or gypsum and calcium chloride experiments on the other.
The choice is yours.

 

[Johnsbrewery]

So there you go.
How to instantly and noticeably improve a kit
Extra Hops or steeping grains on one hand, or gypsum and calcium chloride experiments on the other.
The choice is yours.

Thanks, on steeping grain, I did a batch with steeped grain, but it turned out slightly weird chemically metally taste to it. Once the grain has steeped should I have boiled it for an amount of time? I have done about 7 kits and that one was the only one that’s turned out a bit weird. Temps are pretty stable and pretty good sanitation with good healthy yeast.

 

[terrym]

Thanks, on steeping grain, I did a batch with steeped grain, but it turned out slightly weird chemically metally taste to it. Once the grain has steeped should I have boiled it for an amount of time? I have done about 7 kits and that one was the only one that’s turned out a bit weird. Temps are pretty stable and pretty good sanitation with good healthy yeast.

If you boiled the grain along with the liquid before separation you are likely to have released tannins from the grain husks, which may have accounted for the odd taste. I think it fair to say that the advice is you don't boil grain.
What I do for grain steep is to add about 400ml water of water at 75*C for every 100g grain in a bowl or pan, cover with a towel for 30mins, sieve off the liquid, sparge the grains with more water in the same ratio at about 65-70*C, discard the grain, and then slowly boil the liquid for about 15 minutes to sterilise, then add that to the wort.