Diving into Water

Are there any good websites you would recommend for learning water better?

Something that is not like reading a chemistry book…hahaha…I thought Palmer’s book was a little intimidating.

Absolutely…read this…Water Knowledge - Bru'n Water

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Yep. I was going to say just download brunwater and read the water knowledge tab.

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Great, I will check it out.

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I would add, that to my knowledge:

  1. You could only treat mash water if you were only concerned with managing mash pH. But for the flavor contributions (depending on style) you need to also treat sparge water too.

  2. Brunwater is a great resource. You can use it to enhance your understanding as far as you want to push it. You can also just use to plug 'n chug to get the same optimized results. Just depends how far you want to dive into it.

  3. When I first started manipulating my water profile, I bought a pH meter and messed around with it for three batches. I quickly learned that the Brunwater estimates were so close that measuring my pH was not necessary. So I have not used the meter in 5+ years. Though, it does help that I use R.O. water from my own home, so I know what my starting point is more than other, more variable, water sources.

  4. Better water = better efficiency, better flavor, better beer, and a better brewing hobby!

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How did you get RO water at your home? I have RO coming out of my refrigerator, but it would take FOREVER to get enough water to brew with…plus the amount of waste water is pretty insane.

we got a home RO system. The standard under-the-sink system is (I think) 2.5 gal. I convinced the boss we should get the 9 gal system that pumps up from the basement. Of course, she has used the extra expense for that against me, many times over…

Anyway, I can drain the capacity of the tank (more like 7.5 gal in all practicality) and then let it fill back up over about 4 hours or so and drain it again, and I am basically good to go for a 10 gal batch.

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Don’t try to conquer water over night… I still need to read… The one last piece of the puzzle I have yet to focus on is the ml/l… isn’t that how its referred too? milli liter to the liter…
I bought a meter a long time ago, used it for a few brews. I couldn’t get my thinking about how it needs to work… Put it away…Then, after reading more, out came the meter… I still use it today. My well water’s pH DOES change… so I need to keep an eye on it.
Read all you can, then start very simply. You’ll catch on Sneezles61

Thanks bro…

Cheers!

Ur boss seems nicer than mine :slight_smile:

so another question came to mind. I cut my water with 5 gallons of RO and it brought my RA down to 34 ppm. I am making a witt. So I would like to get the RA to -30ish. How do I go about continuing to lower my RA without jacking up my pH?

So you could lower residual alkalinity by, again, a little more dilution with RO… I will assume your tap water has a lower pH than the RO water? Trying to nail a specific RA and pH will require some water additions… RO water helps to give you a clean palate to start building up to water profile… Some sort of acid will be your friend… I have Lactic (think of sweet tarts). and Phosphoric acids… There is lactose out there too… I’ve come to settle on the 2 I mention.
With your Wit, you’ll lean on acid a bit more to reach 5.2-5.6 pH. My pale/blondes I need to get to 5.8 pH and my mash ends up 5.2… That took some time to figure that one… My well water does seem to change alot during the summer… Now it has stabilized… Hope some of this helps. Sneezles61

That’s plenty close enough. As Martin has often pointed out, it’s all ballpark.

Just kegged, carbed, and enjoyed my Belgium Witt… first beer I have made with RO and built up my water… #gamechanger!

Thanks for all of your input!

Cheers

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I’ve stopped tinkering with my water. I’m lucky in that my muni-water is excellent.

for every style? My water is excellent as long as I stay to mid color beers. As good quality as the water is, I still treat it for light (pils, tripel) or dark (porter, stout) beers

Maybe a bit here or there. After tweaking every batch I’m enjoying a hands off period for a while.

Drinking with a straw too? :grin: Sneezles61

Beer hat actually

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@IsacCornish Would love to hear your process.

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