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

[strange-steve]

It's not a beer I've ever had but it looks like an amber colour in pictures on Google? So yeah 50ppm or a bit less would do :thumb:

 

[JFB]

For a lager you want to keep the mineral content low so don't bother with gypsum or calcium chloride, just use campden tablet and lower the alkalinity to about 20ppm by adding approximately 0.35ml/L of CRS to both the mash and sparge water.

would that include a Californian common using MJ Californian yeast?
I'm just in the middle of brewing and added .2g/l of gypsum. Ive 100ppm calcium

 

[strange-steve]

would that include a Californian common using MJ Californian yeast?
I'm just in the middle of brewing and added .2g/l of gypsum. Ive 100ppm calcium

I don't think so, it's a bit more full flavoured than a boho pils, though I'd probably have gone for calcium chloride rather than gypsum to accentuate the malt.

 

[JFB]

I don't think so, it's a bit more full flavoured than a boho pils, though I'd probably have gone for calcium chloride rather than gypsum to accentuate the malt.

After I treated the water I did think maybe I should of gone 50 50 gypsum and cc. The recipe has 100g of northern brewer in it and the description did talk a lot on the hop aroma.
On a plus side I had a good old 5.2 ph in the mash so alkalinity seems good:thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Will be doing a Lager this weekend with WLP830 and Lager malt,melanoidin and RO water. Am i right in thinking add 0.2g gypsum per litre or should is be using CC? Thanks.

 

[strange-steve]

Will be doing a Lager this weekend with WLP830 and Lager malt,melanoidin and RO water. Am i right in thinking add 0.2g gypsum per litre or should is be using CC? Thanks.

It depends really on what you want from the beer. If you want a nice crisp, dry finish then go with gypsum, or if you want a rich, rounded malt flavour go for CaCl2. Or if you want something balanced go for a combo. Yeah around 50ppm or so calcium is fine for a continental style lager :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

It depends really on what you want from the beer. If you want a nice crisp, dry finish then go with gypsum, or if you want a rich, rounded malt flavour go for CaCl2. Or if you want something balanced go for a combo. Yeah around 50ppm or so calcium is fine for a continental style lager :thumb:

Did that recipe and the sample pre fermentation is very promising. Next time i will try the CaCl2. If i want to bring out more maltiness do you think adding 25% Munich would help or is a bit of melanoidin enough? Will be trying out a mixture for the 3rd go. On a side note is Boheminan pilsner malt worth the extra money and would i notice the difference with this water treatment.
I had a sample of an Jaipur type clone i did with your guide and was super hoppy. Very cool thread. :thumb:

 

[strange-steve]

In a pilsner I wouldn't bother with munich malt personally, the melanoidin should give some you some decoction-like flavours that you want in a pils, however if you want to try it to see what it turns out like then it might be an interesting comparison.

Do you mean the Weyermann malt? They have two different ones, a floor malted bohemian pilsner malt and a normal bohemian pilsner malt. The floor malted stuff is good if you want to do a stepped mash because it is less modified than most malts though I haven't actually used it myself. For my belgian beers I often use the normal bohemian pilsner malt but tbh I don't know how different it is from the cheaper lager malt.

 

[Honk]

Great sticky this, though I'm not sure how many times I had to read through the first post to get my head round it. It was a lot but now that I have I'm interested in learning more any recommended web sites or books?
KH test kit arrived today and water tested, I shall be modifying and retesting my water on Friday before attempting an Exmoor gold clone.

 

[strange-steve]

Great sticky this, though I'm not sure how many times I had to read through the first post to get my head round it. It was a lot but now that I have I'm interested in learning more any recommended web sites or books?
KH test kit arrived today and water tested, I shall be modifying and retesting my water on Friday before attempting an Exmoor gold clone.

A really good resource for more in depth water treatment info is the Brun Water Knowledge page here. Good luck with your brew :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Planning on doing a stout using US05. 5% cold steeped roast barley and 5% roast barley in the mash. Question is would i adjust the alkalinity and calcium for a brown beer instead of dark? Thanks Steve, i am adjusting all my water now.

 

[strange-steve]

Planning on doing a stout using US05. 5% cold steeped roast barley and 5% roast barley in the mash. Question is would i adjust the alkalinity and calcium for a brown beer instead of dark? Thanks Steve, i am adjusting all my water now.

Yeah that sounds about right to me :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Yeah that sounds about right to me :thumb:

Thanks Steve, i forgot to ask is it worth adding any acid malt? A bit unsure as to if it adds any flavour or just lowers the PH.

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks Steve, i forgot to ask is it worth adding any acid malt? A bit unsure as to if it adds any flavour or just lowers the PH.

It depends really on what style you're going for. If it's a sweet stout or oatmeal stout then no I'd leave it out, but if you want something with more of a tangy acidic bite like Guinness then acid malt might be worth considering. I think Guinness used to be made with a partial sour mash to give it that tangy flavour, though not sure if they still do that or just add lactic acid nowadays. I think @Gerryjo uses acid malt in his stout recipe, he might be able to help.

 

[Gerryjo]

It depends really on what style you're going for. If it's a sweet stout or oatmeal stout then no I'd leave it out, but if you want something with more of a tangy acidic bite like Guinness then acid malt might be worth considering. I think Guinness used to be made with a partial sour mash to give it that tangy flavour, though not sure if they still do that or just add lactic acid nowadays. I think @Gerryjo uses acid malt in his stout recipe, he might be able to help.

No haven't used acid malt only roasted barley 500g and 1 kg of wheat.I have ordered some chocolate Malt and I'll add some rolled oats as although the stout is nice it is lacking a slight mouth feel to it.
As regards to the PH I don't check mine as it's around a PH 6 as it soft water and nice to drink👍🍺

 

[strange-steve]

No haven't used acid malt only roasted barley 500g and 1 kg of wheat.I have ordered some chocolate Malt and I'll add some rolled oats as although the stout is nice it is lacking a slight mouth feel to it.
As regards to the PH I don't check mine as it's around a PH 6 as it soft water and nice to drink👍🍺

Apologies it was actually @GlentoranMark who mentioned acid malt in his Guinness clone, I knew it was a local boy

 

[Gerryjo]

Apologies it was actually @GlentoranMark who mentioned acid malt in his Guinness clone, I knew it was a local boy

No worries as I would guess it makes for a tasty stout.

 

[chuffer]

Apologies if this has already been addressed but does the addition of campden tablet affect the water chemistry in terms of alkalinity? Should I be doing a Salifert test before or after adding the campden tablet?

 

[strange-steve]

Apologies if this has already been addressed but does the addition of campden tablet affect the water chemistry in terms of alkalinity? Should I be doing a Salifert test before or after adding the campden tablet?

Nah it shouldn't have any noticeable effect. It does add a small amount of sodium, sulphate and chloride but not enough to concern yourself with.

 

[DoctorMick]

So, water treatment for a black IPA...do I treat it as a dark or as a pale?