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

[clarkeuk]

Great write up strange -Steve thanks for taking the time to do so this will help me no end in the very near future
Are the kh and ca test kits you use of the fish keeping /aquarium kind
Thanks again

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[strange-steve]

So i am using Reverse Osmosis water i should have zero alkilinity am i right? I presume it should be fairly easy to adjust neutral water but still finding it hard. I have gypsum and epsom salts but so far all i have managed is to add 1g per 10l of gypsum for all my beers. Any help steering me in the right direction is much appreciated. :hat:

Correct, for RO water you can assume zero alkalinity (it's not quite but close enough for us).

When using RO you can skip step 1, chlorine removal, because that's already done.

For pale beers you can skip step 2 also, but you will need to increase alkalinity for darker beers using sodium bicarbonate.

Step 3 is definitely required if using RO, just use the little table at the bottom to add about 100ppm of calcium. For a hoppy beer you'd want about 0.45g/l of gypsum, for a balanced beer use 0.2g/l each of gypsum and calcium chloride, and for a malty beer use 0.25g/l calcium chloride and 0.1g/l gypsum.

 

[strange-steve]

Are the kh and ca test kits you use of the fish keeping /aquarium kind
Thanks again

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The very same :thumb:

 

[clarkeuk]

The very same :thumb:

[emoji106]

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[BeerCat]

Correct, for RO water you can assume zero alkalinity (it's not quite but close enough for us).

When using RO you can skip step 1, chlorine removal, because that's already done.

For pale beers you can skip step 2 also, but you will need to increase alkalinity for darker beers using sodium bicarbonate.

Step 3 is definitely required if using RO, just use the little table at the bottom to add about 100ppm of calcium. For a hoppy beer you'd want about 0.45g/l of gypsum, for a balanced beer use 0.2g/l each of gypsum and calcium chloride, and for a malty beer use 0.25g/l calcium chloride and 0.1g/l gypsum.

Thanks Steve, i think thats just about sinking in. I cannot wait to put this into practice next brew. I had read that calcium chloride is an alternative to gypsum and i wrongly presumed was the same. Headache inducing stuff lol. Few more questions if you dont mind.
Is this the stuff i need? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sodium-Ca...hash=item46151a5759:m:mO__OKi8tM6Qm1wBPKC12Aw
And what is the difference in effect between the above and epsom salts? I can remember my grandad having a spoon in water.

 

[strange-steve]

No the stuff in your link is sodium carbonate which isn't the same as sodium bicarbonate. The stuff you want is baking soda/bicarbonate of soda which you can get in the baking section of tesco.
Epsom salts is magnesium sulphate which isn't really required for brewing, even with RO water, because the mash adds more than enough magnesium to the wort.

 

[Toredan]

Fab post Steve, will use this for sure as water chemistry is something I've never really bothered with before. Thanks!

 

[BeerCat]

Excellent Steve, very much appreciated! Without your help i dread to think how much longer it would of taken to get a grip on. Awesome information. :)

 

[strange-steve]

Fab post Steve, will use this for sure as water chemistry is something I've never really bothered with before. Thanks!

I think it's something everyone should consider, it's simple to do, adds hardly any time to your brew day, but can have a big impact. Water chemistry is one of the few variables which consistently makes a noticeable difference in the Brulosophy experiments.

 

[strange-steve]

Could one of the mods ( @Chippy_Tea ) possibly make a small edit to the OP, just to reflect current trend? There is a paragraph under point 3 which says:

So put simply, use gypsum for hoppy beers like IPAs and use calcium chloride for rich, malty beers like mild and Scotch ale. If brewing a more balanced beer like an English bitter, use a combination. Add enough to bring your calcium up to around 100ppm or more using the following information

I'd like if possible to change it to the following:

So put simply, use gypsum for hoppy beers like IPAs and use calcium chloride for rich, malty beers like mild and Scotch ale. If brewing a more balanced beer like an English bitter, use a combination. One notable exception to this is the New England IPA, which despite being extremely hoppy, tends to use chloride rich water rather than sulphate, so calcium chloride should be used rather than gypsum. This adds to the full bodied, juiciness common to the style.

Add enough to bring your calcium up to around 100ppm or more using the following information:

 

[dad_of_jon]

nice guide steve, good water = good beer :thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Could one of the mods ( @Chippy_Tea ) possibly make a small edit to the OP, just to reflect current trend? There is a paragraph under point 3 which says:

Done.


.........

 

[BeerCat]

Am i right in thinking a Wheat Beer would be considered pale? Or similar water profile to lager? If that is correct i think i should be adding 0.2g of gypsum per litre and skipping the alkilinity step? Thanks

 

[strange-steve]

Am i right in thinking a Wheat Beer would be considered pale? Or similar water profile to lager? If that is correct i think i should be adding 0.2g of gypsum per litre and skipping the alkilinity step? Thanks

Yeah it's pale, however unless you are doing a hoppy American wheat or hopfenweisse then I would accentuate the malt by using calcium chloride rather than gypsum :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Excellent thanks. Copied that down into my notes. Great thread. :hat:

 

[BeerCat]

My Punk IPA clone seems very hoppy. Glad i have started adjusting my water. Also done a Jaipur IPA clone which seems very promisng.
Was up late last night and used baking powder instead of Bicorbonate of Soda and the water curdled. Realised afterwards was not a good idea just in case anyone else tries it.
Anyone sitting on the fence about water adjustments should just have a go. Read the thread again and get stuck in. Cheers again Steve.

 

[strange-steve]

My Punk IPA clone seems very hoppy. Glad i have started adjusting my water. Also done a Jaipur IPA clone which seems very promisng.
Was up late last night and used baking powder instead of Bicorbonate of Soda and the water curdled. Realised afterwards was not a good idea just in case anyone else tries it.
Anyone sitting on the fence about water adjustments should just have a go. Read the thread again and get stuck in. Cheers again Steve.

:lol:
Did you use the water with baking powder in it for your brew?
I think baking powder is a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, I'm not sure exactly what effect it'll have. The reaction will leave some sort of salt but not sure in what quantity or if it'll be noticeable.

 

[BeerCat]

No luckily i realised and ditched it. :mrgreen:

 

[JapanBrew]

Thanks Steve. I've never got into water stuff but after reading this, I'm heading over to the aquarium shop to see what they have. I got a brew going on today and thought about giving it a try.
I really like the examples. I'm the kind of guy who needs to see it in use to understand it. Great job Steve.

 

[shepp]

Most informative guide I have read, many thanks.