Beginners Guide to Water Treatment (plus links to more advanced water treatment in post #1)

[strange-steve]

@MalvernDan
I've just redone the Salifert kits how-to and asked the mods to update so hopefully that'll help you out with that.

If your alkalinity is as you say then your acid calculation is spot on (however from your footnote I'm not sure it is).

As for the salt additions, English styles can generally take a bit more mineralisation than others so I'd be inclined to add a little more, maybe 0.1g/L each of gypsum and calcium chloride. If you wanted to tailor it specifically to your own taste then as an option you could use one salt or the other. So if you like a dry, crisp finish then use 0.2g/l gypsum only. Or if you prefer a fuller bodied beer use 0.2g/l calcium chloride only.

 

[MalvernDan]

@MalvernDan
I've just redone the Salifert kits how-to and asked the mods to update so hopefully that'll help you out with that.

If your alkalinity is as you say then your acid calculation is spot on (however from your footnote I'm not sure it is).

As for the salt additions, English styles can generally take a bit more mineralisation than others so I'd be inclined to add a little more, maybe 0.1g/L each of gypsum and calcium chloride. If you wanted to tailor it specifically to your own taste then as an option you could use one salt or the other. So if you like a dry, crisp finish then use 0.2g/l gypsum only. Or if you prefer a fuller bodied beer use 0.2g/l calcium chloride only.

Thanks Steve for updating the Salifert kits how with the photos that has helped a lot and now I know for sure I messed up reading the thin syringes but I won't next time :thumb:

Also thanks again for the info on English styles, think I would prefer a fuller bodied beer so would lean towards the Calcium Chloride additions.

Really appreciate your work on both threads Steve it has given be great help as I start the water treatment journey. :thumb:

Cheers

Dan

 

[private4587]

Hi Steve hope you don't mind me picking up on your experience, I am about to brew a clone of TT Landlord taken from Graham Wheelers book. On my water i have carried out the Alkalinty and Calcium tests and the results are
Alkalinty 47.44ppm and Calcium 45ppm.
According to TT web site Landlord is listed as a classic pale ale with a complex citrus and hoppy aroma. From my results i worked that i need .05ml/l of Lactic Acid and .24g/l of Gypsum. Does this sound about right to you. I yet to get my head around the second part of your water treatment i.e ratio.
Many Thanks

 

[strange-steve]

That's some good water you've got there. Yes your numbers look about right, maybe round the gypsum up to 0.3g/L since it's an English beer.

Re. the ratio, don't worry too much about it. Some water experts say it's nonsense anyway :lol:

 

[BeerCat]

Where can i buy bicorbonate of soda from? Just got back from Sainsbury's and their stuff has a raising agent in it. The stuff i had in the cupboard was the pure stuff but i cant find it anywhere. Already been to Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl.

 

[strange-steve]

I think the Sainsburys stuff is pure, bicarbonate of soda is a raising agent itself because it releases CO2 when it comes into contact with an acid. Sodium bicarbonate, bicarbonate of soda, baking soda, sodium hydrogen carbonate, are all the same thing.

 

[BeerCat]

I think the Sainsburys stuff is pure, bicarbonate of soda is a raising agent itself because it releases CO2 when it comes into contact with an acid. Sodium bicarbonate, bicarbonate of soda, baking soda, sodium hydrogen carbonate, are all the same thing.

Thanks Steve for clearing that up. On the box it says " Our Ingredients Raising Agent : Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate"
I presumed it meant an added raising agent but obviously thats what the stuff is. Shows how little i know of chemistry.

 

[MartinHaworth]

Thanks for this, a very helpful guide.

I will be getting a SAlifert kit etc, but in the meantime can anyone suggest a low alkalinity cheap minteral water for a pale ale?

Thanks

Martin

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks for this, a very helpful guide.

I will be getting a SAlifert kit etc, but in the meantime can anyone suggest a low alkalinity cheap minteral water for a pale ale?

Thanks

Martin

Tesco Ashbeck is a good start and can be used as is, although it would benefit from a little calcium boost. I think it's about £1.10 for 5L.

 

[MartinHaworth]

Thank you:)

 

[bobukbrewer]

Water treatment really confuses me. My local water report is hardness as Ca 113 ppm, Ca 95 ppm, chloride 70 ppm, Mg 11 ppm, nitrate 16 ppm, K 9 ppm, sulphate 116 ppm.

I brew pale bitters around 3.8% using 100 % pale malt and usually cascade or citra hops. How much CRS should I add, and do I need to add gypsum ? many thanks.

 

[private4587]

Hi Steve hope you don't mind me picking up on your experience, I am about to brew a Imperial Pilsner from Greg Hugh's book. On my water i have carried out the Alkalinty and Calcium tests and the results are
Alkalinty 47.44ppm and Calcium 45ppm.
Could you suggest what treatment i would need to add to my water. Also as a second question i am getting a RO kit similar to your own from Santa. Is there some sort of table of styles for additives to add for water profiles
Many Thanks
Peter

 

[strange-steve]

@private4587
Your tap water is actually a pretty decent starting point for a pilsner, all you really need to do is get the alkalinity below about 20ppm. You could add 0.05ml/L lactic acid, 0.2ml/L CRS or even 2g/L acid malt would do the job.

Re your second question, there is a really good thread here from Homebrew Talk which is specifically for people who use RO water. The method is a little untraditional, but I've been using it for a while now with no complaints, and the guy who wrote it really knows what he's talking about. Have a read, see what you think.

 

[strange-steve]

@bobukbrewer
Sorry I missed your post. It's hard to give specific advice until you know what the alkalinity of your tap water is. Unfortunately most water companies don't give you that information, but you can measure it yourself with a Salifert KH test kit. Once you have that figure you will be able to make alkalinity adjustments.

 

[bobukbrewer]

is total hardness 113 ppm as Calcium

 

[strange-steve]

is total hardness 113 ppm as Calcium

Not the same thing, alkalinity is measured in ppm as CaCO3.

 

[bobukbrewer]

Converting Carbonate Alkalinity from mg/L as CaCO3 to mg/L as CO3
2-
CaCO3 has a molecular weight of 100 g/mol
The CO3
2- anion has a molecular weight of 60 g/mol
Therefore, each milligram of CaCO3 contains 60/100 = 0.6 mg of CO3
2-
The conversion is as follows:
Carbonate Alkalinity as CO3
2- (mg/L) = 0.6 *Carbonate Alkalinity as CaCO3 (mg/L)

so it is 68 ppm

 

[private4587]

@private4587
Your tap water is actually a pretty decent starting point for a pilsner, all you really need to do is get the alkalinity below about 20ppm. You could add 0.05ml/L lactic acid, 0.2ml/L CRS or even 2g/L acid malt would do the job.

Re your second question, there is a really good thread here from Homebrew Talk which is specifically for people who use RO water. The method is a little untraditional, but I've been using it for a while now with no complaints, and the guy who wrote it really knows what he's talking about. Have a read, see what you think.

Phew Steve that article is really heavy for my old brain, when you have your water from your RO what figures do you place in whatever software you use for your water profiles?

 

[strange-steve]

Converting Carbonate Alkalinity from mg/L as CaCO3 to mg/L as CO3
2-
CaCO3 has a molecular weight of 100 g/mol
The CO3
2- anion has a molecular weight of 60 g/mol
Therefore, each milligram of CaCO3 contains 60/100 = 0.6 mg of CO3
2-
The conversion is as follows:
Carbonate Alkalinity as CO3
2- (mg/L) = 0.6 *Carbonate Alkalinity as CaCO3 (mg/L)

Yes this is correct, but how did you get from that to 68ppm? From the information you've given there is no way to work out the alkalinity as CaCO3. The method you describe above will convert from alkalinity as carbonate, but you haven't given that figure.

 

[strange-steve]

Phew Steve that article is really heavy for my old brain, when you have your water from your RO what figures do you place in whatever software you use for your water profiles?

I rarely use software anymore, only for an unusual brew if I want to check the mash pH estimate. I use the method in the link but I understand it could be a little heavy on first reading so I'll try to paraphrase and simplify some of the main points:

The following recommendations are for RO water, or water with low alkalinity, ie. less than 35ppm. This guide also uses acid malt in place of liquid acid additions.

Use this as a baseline for all beers:
Use 0.25g/L calcium chloride and add 2% acid malt to your grist.

Then deviate from the baseline as follows...

For soft water beers (pilsner, helles etc.):
Use half the calcium chloride and increase acid malt to 3%

For beers using roasted malt (stout, porter etc.):
Skip the acid malt.

For British styles (bitter, pale ale etc.):
Add 0.25g/L gypsum to the baseline.

For mineraly styles (IPA, Burton ale etc.):
Double the calcium chloride to 0.5g/L and add 0.5g/L gypsum

Just a few caveats to this, firstly I didn't come up with this method, it is from Homebrew Talk (see link above) written by AJ Delange. Secondly, he brews mostly German style beers which may well have influenced this method, and this is definitely more of an American approach to treatment than is common in the UK. Third, he is quite clear in his post that this should not be taken as the be all and end all of water treatment, but rather should be used as a starting point for you to do your own experimentation.

A good pH meter should be used to check your mash pH and importantly, the level of mineralisation used should be based on your own personal taste, just like seasoning food. So you may find with a bit of trial and error that you prefer a bit more sulphate, which is fine! But using this method as is should give you a decent beer if nothing else