Brewing Master » Brewing Liquor » Water Analysis
Water Analysis
Question:
For dark malt brews, you may have to add a touch of calcium carbonate (check the mash ph with test strips) since our water has very little buffering capability and the dark grains might drop the ph of the mash below optimum range.
I too am blessed with very soft water and I used to add Calcium Carbonate to the water and then I realised that it is insoluable in water. Thats why the White Cliffs of Dover are still there after millions of years. The Chalk just sits on the bottom of the boiler and laughs at you. If you do need to _Raise_ the pH of the mash adding the chalk to the mash is a much better bet as it becomes more soluable under acid conditions. I normally find that adding gypsum is all I need to do to brew my ales. That may change when I do the Imperial Stout and I think that I will be using Chalk again! — ‘ol heitir me(eth) manunum en me(eth) Assum bjor’ ‘Ale it is called among men and among Gods beer’ ( Old Norse from the Alvismal c950 ) Wassail Tony Barnsley
Response:
For dark malt brews, you may have to add a touch of calcium carbonate (check the mash ph with test strips) since our water has very little buffering capability and the dark grains might drop the ph of the mash below optimum range. I too am blessed with very soft water and I used to add Calcium Carbonate to the water and then I realised that it is insoluable in water. Thats why the White Cliffs of Dover are still there after millions of years. The Chalk just sits on the bottom of the boiler and laughs at you. If you do need to _Raise_ the pH of the mash adding the chalk to the mash is a much better bet as it becomes more soluable under acid conditions.
Good point, Tony. I should have been more specific about this in my post. By all means – the calcium carbonate should be added to the mash only and in small increments with the ph being tested after each addition has been thoroughly mixed in. A little goes a long ways when adding chalk. Brian Travis
Response:
Can any Atlanta area brewers help me with my water analysis. The Gwinnett Co water dept gave me the following Ca 2ppm Na 5-10 ppm SO4 < 2 ppm Copper < 3 ug/l Iron < 3 ug/l Lead < 2 ug/l pH 7.4-7.7 Hardness 15 ppm ?? Alkalinity 15-20 ppm ??
Hardness for your water is equal to CO3 plus HCO3 (they interchange in solution, actually). Don’t worry about Mg or Cl, just don’t add any Mg salts and it’s pretty damned hard to get too much chloride in water. Your calcium is pretty low, though. — To respond via email, switch the elements of my domain. http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/bjm10/ "If there is no human nature outside social construction, no needs or capacities other than those constructed by a particular discourse, then there is no basis for social criticism and no reason for protest or rebellion" –The Nation, June 9, 1997.
Response:
Can any Atlanta area brewers help me with my water analysis. The Gwinnett Co water dept gave me the following Ca 2ppm Na 5-10 ppm SO4 < 2 ppm Copper < 3 ug/l Iron < 3 ug/l Lead < 2 ug/l pH 7.4-7.7 Hardness 15 ppm ?? Alkalinity 15-20 ppm ??
As a fellow Gwinnett County homebrewer may I suggest looking at Phil Schlect’s article on the covert hops webpage on brewing waters of famous brewing cities ? (don’t have the exact url, but the home page is at www.coverthops.com). When I did, I was impressed with the similarities between Atlanta’s water and the water of Pilsn, Chechoslovakia. Our water is just about perfect for a bohemian pilsner or for that matter any pilsner style. I add gypsum and calcium chloride for pale ales at the rate of 1 tsp of each per 5 gallons of brew water (both mash and sparge water). For dark malt brews, you may have to add a touch of calcium carbonate (check the mash ph with test strips) since our water has very little buffering capability and the dark grains might drop the ph of the mash below optimum range. Regards, Brian Travis Brian Travis
Response:
Further to my theme on water treatment: I know sod all about chemistry, so most discussions on water treatment, chemical equations, etc, are severely challenging to me. Can anyone help me – in layman’s terms – figure out what I need to do to perform my own water analysis? I’m just interested in determining the main constituents from a brewing perspective – Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, hardness, etc. Is it feasible for me to do myself? Cheers, Martin
Response:
It’s very easy to do yourself. First, you’ll need to get a water quality report for your house. Call the Customer Service number on your water bill and ask them to send you a copy of the most recent water report. Some Counties even have it on line. Post the information here and well walk you through it. Burp, -Dan
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Further to my theme on water treatment: I know sod all about chemistry, so most discussions on water treatment, chemical equations, etc, are severely challenging to me. Can anyone help me – in layman’s terms – figure out what I need to do to perform my own water analysis? I’m just interested in determining the main constituents from a brewing perspective – Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, hardness, etc. Is it feasible for me to do myself? Cheers, Martin
Response:
There are many simple "cookbook" approaches on the ‘net-remember water analysis is for all-grain brewing
Response:
Ok, this now demands the full explanation!! Sure, I have the water company’s analysis sheet which details the minreal composition of the stuff as it gets squirted into the distribution network. I know from this (and from looking at the fur in our kettle) that we have a lot of temporary hardness in our water. I know that temporary hardness – calcium bicarbonate – is a no-no for the mash tun. I therefore boil the brewing liquor for 1/2 hr prior to cooling and mashing. This precipitates the CaCO3 & I then filter the "softer" water from the CaCO3 residue. Having now thus altered the mineral content of the brewing liquor, I’d like to be able to determine it’s post-boiling minerals & salts content. Perhaps I should have explained this before! Cheers, Martin
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s very easy to do yourself. First, you’ll need to get a water quality report for your house. Call the Customer Service number on your water bill and ask them to send you a copy of the most recent water report. Some Counties even have it on line. Post the information here and well walk you through it. Burp, -Dan Further to my theme on water treatment: I know sod all about chemistry, so most discussions on water treatment, chemical equations, etc, are severely challenging to me. Can anyone help me – in layman’s terms – figure out what I need to do to perform my own water analysis? I’m just interested in determining the main constituents from a brewing perspective – Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, hardness, etc. Is it feasible for me to do myself? Cheers, Martin
Response:
Thanks! – I’d got BreWater 2.0. Didn’t realise there was a newer version.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Having now thus altered the mineral content of the brewing liquor, I’d like to be able to determine it’s post-boiling minerals & salts content. If you’re using a Windows operating system, you should download Brewater 3.0 and let it do the work for you. It’s got an option for calculating hardness after boiling. There’s a link for downloading it here: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/
Response:
Having now thus altered the mineral content of the brewing liquor, I’d like to be able to determine it’s post-boiling minerals & salts content.
If you’re using a Windows operating system, you should download Brewater 3.0 and let it do the work for you. It’s got an option for calculating hardness after boiling. There’s a link for downloading it here: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/
Response:
There are many simple "cookbook" approaches on the ‘net-remember water analysis is for all-grain brewing
That’s precisely why I’m placing so much importance on it. However, it’s not just grain brewing for which water treatment is important. Yeast does not like chlorine. I’m also not sure what impact calcium carbonate has on yeast. Cheers, Martin