Re: [SPHBC] Water Help!

I would add a couple of things to Rick's usual top-notch advice. I'm no expert - a google search like "delange water site:hbd.org" will give you comprehensive info. First off, your calcium levels are a little low. I think most authors recommend 50 ppm as a minimum - 100 is a good mid range. I would add a little CaCl to your mash - Pro Mash and John Palmer's book have pretty good calculators. I wouldn't be scared of lactic acid for the flavor it imparts. I've been using it for years with no noticeable flavor effects. I only need to use 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon per mash in pale beers (5-10 gal. batch) and my water has high alkalinity. I also wouldn't try to adjust all of you brewing water, because your malt is going to contribute some acid when you mash in. It's more reliable/economical to add acid to your mash (only if necessary) to lower your mash pH in the 5.2-5.5 range. As Rick said, add it SLOWLY - I used to use 1/8 tsp increments. Other things that can affect your yield: Temperature - have you calibrated your thermometers lately? Mash mixing - mix that sucker good, don't worry about losing temperature or compensate with a slightly higher mash-in temp Sparge speed - I've found slower is better Past performance does not guarantee future results. YMMV. Have fun "Rick Oftel" <mnbrewing@earthlink.net>@thebarn.com on 03/24/2005 12:40:23 AM Please respond to "Rick Oftel" &lt;mnbrewing(a)earthlink.net&gt; Sent by: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com To: "St. Paul Homebrewers Club - Public Mailing List" &lt;Sphbc(a)sphbc.org&gt;, &lt;mba(a)thebarn.com&gt; cc: Subject: Re: [SPHBC] Water Help! Joe, Blane water is high in temporary hardness which is great for making stouts and poor for making light lagers. I have similar water and use one of two techniques to modify the hardness when necessary. Everything goes through a carbon BLOCK filter. Don't use cheap activated charcoal filters because they pass some of the chlorine you want to remove. Carbon filters do nothing for mineral content which is also something you need to consider when making lighter beers. The easiest way to modify hardness is with an acid treatment. You add acid to change the pH and break down the ionic bond of the dissolved limestone (calcium carbonate) into calcium and carbon dioxide. I prefer phosphoric acid because it has a very neutral taste. Lactic has a characteristic flavor. Usage (don't remember the molar concentration) with my water (135 grains hardness) is approximately 1 cc per gallon or 1 TBLS per 15 gallon tank. After adding acid, check pH with a good quality litmus (the German plastic style works great). Be careful the first time you add acid because for the longest time, pH seems to stay the same. All of a sudden, when the buffering capacity is gone, the pH plummets with only a few cc's being added. The slower way to remove acid is with an RO (reverse osmosis) system. You pull out all minerals but the expense is the wasted water (concentrate) that is usually dumped. For light light pilsners, try using 60-70 % RO water and the remainder just filtered. It's a starting point. RO also filters out many other contaminates. If you will be pumping your hot liquor with a centrifugal pump, be careful - pH modification create gaseous CO2 that separates in the pump and causes cavitation. The best way is to recirculate back into the HLT for a few minutes until the cloudy bubbles stop boiling off the water. At this point, you can connect the pump up to any restriction because there isn't any carbonate left to eliminate. You will see a bunch of white slime at the bottom of your HLT or other kettles used for boiling. Hope this helps. Rick Oftel MHBA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe R. Brockman" &lt;jbrockman(a)brockmanbrew.com&gt; To: &lt;sphbc(a)sphbc.org&gt; Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 04:02 PM Subject: [SPHBC] Water Help! Hey I have been having troubles with my all grain and I am guessing a big part of it is the water as I have had good all grain batches from every other place I have brewed. Here is the info I got from the city: pH - 7.18 pH Saturation - 7.93 Langlier Index - 0.75 Specific Conductance - 330 Alkalinity (mg/L) - 173 Total Dissolved Solids (mg/L) - 179 (Rest are as mg/L) Flouride - 1.42 Chloride - 1.11 Sulfate - 1.20 Ammonia - .279 Nitrate-Nitrite <.1 Aluminum <.3 Calcium - 43.1 Iron - .338 Magnesium - 12.3 Manganese - .0897 Potassium - <2.5 Sodium - 4.57 Zinc - <.02 Total Hardness - 158 I live in Blaine. Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks, Joe Brockman www.brockmanbrew.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.