Hard Water.

[jeg3]

Yep, really excited!

Just about got the recipe sorted now so just finalising what to do with my mega hard water. :lol:

My next bit of study is water. I've got the yeast and the temperature sorted, now need to sort my super hard water out as well.

It's been a while since your post and I wondered whether you'd sorted your water out?

To be fair it makes good bitters and pale ales, but I don't do any measuring at the moment, haven't got a clue what the mash ph is for instance

 

[MyQul]

My next bit of study is water. I've got the yeast and the temperature sorted, now need to sort my super hard water out as well.

It's been a while since your post and I wondered whether you'd sorted your water out?

To be fair it makes good bitters and pale ales, but I don't do any measuring at the moment, haven't got a clue what the mash ph is for instance

I'm very far from an expert on water but from what I understand hard water is actually good for brewing it's high alkalinity thats the problem. You need to strip this out using some sort of acid (I use AMS/CRS)

 

[TartanSpecial]

Get yourself a salifert alkalinity testing kit (aquarium shops sell them). Follow the instructions and you'll find out the alkalinity of your water (ppm alkalinity as CaCO3). Then treat the water you are going to use for the mash and sparge with acid solution (AMS/CRS) from homebrew shops (per MyQul post) either using the treatment table that normally comes with the AMS or use the Brupaks water treatment bit of their website , and you should see a massive efficiency improvement in your mash. I'm in Epsom and have alkalinity at 280ppm and have to treat my brewing liquor at 1.4ml AMS/CRS per litre liquor (water). This has dramatically improved my mash efficiency.

 

[Gunge]

Our water is that hard they had to put a restraining order on it. But seriously... I got the Salifert kit, can't remember the numbers but 16ml per 23 litres does the trick. How much gypsum and / or calcium chloride I then add depends on whether I want hoppy or malty....

 

[MyQul]

As Tartan say get a salifert alkalinity test kit. However you'll need this guide.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water_salifert.htm to be able to interpret your results to give you a usuable figure

 

[jeg3]

So got myself a salifert kit yesterday and will embark on water treatment now. It's the last piece of the puzzle.

Also need to get a stock of CRS and salts and 0.1g scales.

Thanks for all the help :)

 

[mabrungard]

As mentioned above, alkalinity is usually the real culprit in less than stellar beer. Hardness is rarely the problem. Most brewers add salts like gypsum and calcium chloride (which harden the water) as improvements for their water.

The alkalinity test kit is a great way to assess how your water might perform in brewing. However, there is also a need to know the other major ions present in your water since they can affect how your beer turns out. If your water supplier can't tell you what's in your water, it may be worthwhile to send a sample off to Murphy's or another testing lab.