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Almost all municipal water systems treat their water with a chlorine-based compound. Those compounds WILL create chlorophenols (bandaid) in your beer. Adding the campden is such a simple step that it is foolish not to do it. 1 tablet in 35 liters is the typical dose and you don't really have to...

Momentary contact with copper is OK for beer, but not long contact. If you are willing to waste that volume of beer in the pipe, I guess it could be OK.

It does not need to be that complicated. However, water contains six ions that have a lot of influence on the taste and perceptions of beer. The first thing to do is to find out what is in YOUR water and compare that with recommended ranges for those ions. As long as your water is on the low...

CRS does have the 'advantage' of adding both chloride and sulfate, but it can also be a disadvantage too. It adds similar concentrations of each of those ions to the brewing liquor and that can be a bad thing if you want to boost only one or the other. High sulfate or high chloride are OK, but...

Phosphoric acid tends to be the most flavor-neutral acid for use in beer. However, using acids like hydrochloric or sulfuric or CRS can add flavors that may be desirable in the finished beer. So, a combination of lactic and any of these acids may be desirable to avoid bringing any of these acids...

The lactate ion certainly has a flavor! It is a smooth, twang in the flavor. Think of sour cream and its flavor. That is the acid and the lactate ion imparted by lactic acid. In the case of sour cream, it is lactic bacteria that produce the lactic acid. If your water has high alkalinity, then...

Yes, you can make fine beer when starting with RO water. But it can still be very important to make adjustments to that water for brewing use. There is a decent summary of things to consider about brewing with RO water on the Bru'n Water Facebook page...

Murphy and Son, they are a brewery services firm in UK.

The first step in deciphering what you should be doing with your water is to get a competent water test. I understand that Murphy's will get that done for you. With that test result in hand, then you can start intelligently planning treatment. To get a better handle on why and what you need...

There is a time and temperature relationship to killing heat-sensitive organisms. The higher the temp, the shorter the time needed. I don't remember the exact relationship, but if your wort was over 65C, it should be fine. I just attended a presentation by Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing at the...

I have 2 Aubers. One is rock solid and the other is imprecise. It cannot report a consistent temp reading. At first, I thought it was the fault of the thermocouple and wiring. However, I switched the PIDs to each other's wiring and the dodginess stayed with the PID. So I now have that PID...

Tough love, but true words, Aleman. In a couple of paragraphs, it provides great basic advice. Brewers that heed it, will do well. When you've mastered those facets, you might consider finer points. For now, understanding what is in your water is the first step. The second step is performing...

That report gives chlorine. That is a disinfectant, not the chloride ion. It looks like the report doesn't provide that information.

How high is the calcium in your tap water? Be aware that yeast flocculation with some strains can be premature when the calcium content is high. For most ale strains, around 50 ppm calcium is enough for adequate flocculation. Lager strains need even less calcium. Hopefully you are also...

Using straight RO or distilled water is OK for brewing, even all-grain. However, that beer may be more bland and flavorless than you prefer. Those ions can add flavor. With respect to calcium in brewing. Barley and wheat contain substantial calcium, magnesium, and potassium content and that is...

Fermentation does generate some heat. However given the large surface area of many fermentation vessels, there isn't a huge temperature differential between the beer and the surrounding air. So it's not surprising that you see little difference. With that said, I prefer to keep the temperature...

Your original approach has a lot of merit for brewing malt focused lagers. Having a low calcium content is fairly important and adding gypsum or calcium chloride can be detrimental to flavor. Just adding the lactic acid via liquid addition or acid malt is fine. If the grist is very pale, then it...

It depends on your tap water. The most important thing is the water alkalinity. That will have the most profound effect on the beer quality and taste. In general, the alkalinity should be low for most brewing use. The water company may have some information on the water parameters. These are...

You definitely need to dechlorinate, even when brewing with extract. The chlorine compounds will react with the components in the extract and still create chlorophenols. Heck, I've had a beer served in a glass with just a hint of chlorine-based sanitizer and immediately noted chlorophenols. It...

Its not really that bad of a water for brewing. The alkalinity is a bit high, but all the other ions are at modest levels. Neutralizing the alkalinity in the sparging water is a must. Not acidifying the sparging water will cause problems. However, if you are aiming for a Burton water from...