# Keg O' Mineral Water



## PostModern (30/1/08)

Hi,
Due to my poor planning, I currently have some keg space and having seen SWMBO buying carbonated San Pellegrino and Perrier and all that stuff, I figured I could make a 20L batch for craploads less than the imported stuff. So I gassed up a keg and put in a teaspoon of calcium carbonate and a ~pinch~ of epsom salts. SWMBO say's it's not bad, but it's not as good as the bought stuff.

So next plan is to boil up the water first, maybe even in the keg, to drive off the oxygen. But I'm looking to make the water something like the San Pellegrino stuff which tastes alright (even I can tell it from my gassed up tap water). All I can find on the net about it amounts to this:



> San Pellegrino is high in mineral content - mostly Calcium, Magnesium, Bicarbonate, Chloride, and Sulphate. The extremely low Nitrate level is perhaps San Pellegrino's greatest virtue.



The bottle itself does not list its mineral content, except "low sodium". Nestle's own site is also useless (just marketing bull$hit). I did see this in relation to calcium concentrations tho:

"CONTREX (486 mg/l) or VITTEL Grande Source (202 mg/l)"

So I think I can put in substantially more salts than I did. Anyone got a "recipe" they use or at least some guidelines so I don't end up poisoning us both? (I've taken to drinking pints of it on my AFDs ) 

I was thinking along the lines of this in 20L

4 teaspoons calcium carbonate, 
2 teaspoons bicabonate of soda, 
1/2 teaspoon calcium sulphate 
1 pinch epsom salts.


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## turto77 (30/1/08)

Sounds good PM,
let us know how it goes. I have just been carbonating straight boiled water for SWMBO and she thinks it is fine, this might be a nice alternative every now and then.


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## Guest Lurker (30/1/08)

We get through a keg or two a month of soda water. There is enough of those salts already in Perth water, and the great improvement in flavour over tap water simply comes from removing the chlorine by leaving the keg open in the sun for an afternoon, and the carbonic bite from getting the water in equilibrium at 300 kPa and fridge temp.


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## PostModern (30/1/08)

Illawarra water is pretty soft (compared to European mineral water anyway). I might just use the current keg as a guinea pig and just add a bit as we go until we hit "the taste" then work it from there on the next keg.


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## Cortez The Killer (30/1/08)

I thought that mineral water bottles had a mineral analysis on them

You should be able to match (or get close to) what's listed on the bottle - in the same manner that people adjust brewing water for different styles

Mineral waters are usually high in bicarbonates

But I'm sure that a trip to a supermarket with yield some typical analysis tables 

I usually force carbonate balgownie water - and everyone seems to enjoy it - i might give the salt adjustment a go for interest sakes

I spent that last month in italy and must have had at least 20 types/brands of mineral water - the shops there had whole sections dedicated to it

Cheers


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## drsmurto (30/1/08)

Bore water has a higher mineral content than tap water........ and my next door neighbour has a bore. Hmmmmm. I might just have to get a sample and test it.


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## PostModern (30/1/08)

San Pellegrino that Mrs PoMo is picking up lately has no analysis at all. The Aussie branded stuff that does is pretty much tap water. I can taste the difference between tap and mineral, even when the tap stuff is carbonated, and the calcium is good for bone density and other shite (the mother-in-law has osteo, and the Mrs hates milk, so some Ca in the water should be a bonus... pardon the pun).


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## drsmurto (30/1/08)

Is there anything google cant do? - Link

Seems very high in sulphate as well as bicarbonate, not that far off burton on trent levels.....


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## PostModern (30/1/08)

Thanks Dr S

1109 TDS 
7.7 ph factor 
0.38 Bromine 
208 Calcium 
74.3 Chlorides 
0.52 Fluordine 
135.5 Bicarbonate 
0.2 Lithium 
55.9 Magnesium 
0.45 Nitrate 
2.7 Potassium 
9 Silica 
43.6 Sodium 
2.7 Stroncium 
549.2 Sulphates 
1292 Conductivity

I'll have a play with ProMash water adjustment and see what I can come up with.
Mucho gracias.


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## RobB (30/1/08)

PostModern said:


> Thanks Dr S
> 
> 1109 TDS
> 7.7 ph factor
> ...



That's weird. I have a bottle of San Pellegrino in front of me and the analysis is slightly different to the above. Perhaps there are different sources and it's bottled under license? Or maybe there are seasonal variations and each batch is labelled accordingly.

Anyway, my bottle reads:

960 TDS 
??? ph factor 
??? Bromine 
181 Calcium 
57.5 Chlorides 
0.5 Fluordine 
239 Bicarbonate - big difference here	
??? Lithium 
53.5 Magnesium 
2.2 Nitrate 
2.5 Potassium 
7.5 Silica 
36.1 Sodium 
3.2 Strontium 
459 Sulphates 
???? Conductivity


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## tangent (30/1/08)

I'd be interested to hear about the resulting keg PoMo.


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## PostModern (31/1/08)

Malty Cultural said:


> That's weird. I have a bottle of San Pellegrino in front of me and the analysis is slightly different to the above. Perhaps there are different sources and it's bottled under license? Or maybe there are seasonal variations and each batch is labelled accordingly.



The bottles we got recently had no analysis on them. Strange.



tangent said:


> I'd be interested to hear about the resulting keg PoMo.



Played about with bicarb in a glass last night. 1/2 a tsp in a pint was nice... hm. I might have to review my salting upward.


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## PostModern (31/1/08)

Malty Cultural said:


> That's weird. I have a bottle of San Pellegrino in front of me and the analysis is slightly different to the above. Perhaps there are different sources and it's bottled under license? Or maybe there are seasonal variations and each batch is labelled accordingly.



The bottles we got recently had no analysis on them. Strange. Maybe now that Nestle own them, they just bottle any old water and carbonate it. Realistically, carbonation level is all that many people notice in their mineral waters.



tangent said:


> I'd be interested to hear about the resulting keg PoMo.



Played about with bicarb in a glass last night. 1/2 a tsp in a pint was nice... hm. I might have to review my salting upward.


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## RobB (31/1/08)

PostModern said:


> The bottles we got recently had no analysis on them. Strange.



This was a pretty big bottle, maybe 1 or 1.5 litres. I suspect that the smaller bottles would have the analysis on the carton instead.


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## PostModern (31/1/08)

I think ours were 750ml or 1L.
*shrug*


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## brettprevans (19/6/08)

PoMo. Whats the final recipe? Now that im moving to kegs Ive got the missus onside with the line "I can have keg of mineral water for you if let me keg".

We just need a tonic water recipe and we're laughing.


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## SJW (19/6/08)

I just filled a keg with Newcastle tap water and set the reg to 300kpa and it is great. Nice soft water in Newcastle.


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## LethalCorpse (25/7/08)

citymorgue2 said:


> PoMo. Whats the final recipe? Now that im moving to kegs Ive got the missus onside with the line "I can have keg of mineral water for you if let me keg".


 me too. Pays to find the right pitch.

I'd be disinclined to add too much calcium, because I hate the taste of evian and similar, which are from limestone caves and taste like they took an empty milk bottle and filled it with water without rinsing in between. I'd be more interested in the magnesium, sodium and potassium sulphates.


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## PostModern (25/7/08)

After all that poking about, I never made another keg of it. I got too much beer happening to have a spare spot in the fridge for water. Come Summer, I'll get back into it.


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## brettprevans (31/12/08)

bumpy bumpy PoMo. you made a keg yet? Im wanting to put a keg down on the weekend for the missus and little ones


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## drsmurto (1/6/10)

Finally got around to doing this myself.

Used the profile Maltycultural posted which is also listed in Wikipedia - Link

I tested my rainwater a few years ago so i assumed it hadn't changed from the <0.1ppm of any of the relevant minerals so used beersmith to work out what to add.

Added the salts, force carbed the keg, put it in the fridge and walked away for 2 days. Partner (who is mad for San Pellegrino) gave it the thumbs up although did suggest it could do with more sparkle. It will increase in carb over the next week or so but all in all, a very successful experiment.


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## brettprevans (1/6/10)

Reminds me that I should have reported back by now.

I used the same recipe again the other week and she's drinking beautifully. Carbonation is key. I running a one way valve on on of the beer lines so I could carbonate it up to about 160kpa. she's about right now. It take ages to carb up though. esp to those pressures.

I didnt bother worrying about the water profile, just ran tap water through a filter and went on my merry way.


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## barneyb (1/6/10)

Make your own sparking mineral water? Kegging sounds more and more tempting every day. If only I had space for another fridge. Hmm....


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## boss brew (3/6/10)

I like to make a version with some citrus added to it. In 20l of charcoal filtered water, I put in about 50 -70g of bicarbonate of soda, and about 325ml of fresh lemon, lime or grapefruit juice. Just adds a little flavor...I then set it at about 240 kpa. Hope I got the conversions right.


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## bullsneck (26/6/11)

Anyone continued to create a San Pellegrino type mineral water?


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## brettprevans (26/6/11)

bullsneck said:


> Anyone continued to create a San Pellegrino type mineral water?


Yup. Using the recipe in this thread (fourstar's). Great stuff.


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## bullsneck (26/6/11)

I've looked through the thread a couple of times now I can seem to find a recipe from fourstar, let alone a post. Could you please steer me in the right direction?


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## brettprevans (26/6/11)

Thought I was this thread. Quick search works wonders

For melbourne water, add the following salts to a keg full of water force carbonate* and enjoyl 

San pellagrino
Gypsum - 7g
Epsom Salt - 10g
Calcium Chloride - 2g
Baking Soda - 3g
Chalk - 3g

* Note: when you add CO2, this will drop the pH and cause the salts to dissolve (chalk stays cloudy at 7pH until it drops). after 3 days the salts should have fully disolved, atleast thats what ive noticed. after 1 day it was still a little gritty with salts(but not cloudy) but after that it came good.

Edit: this is fourstar's recipe, but I've made it a few times now and its great.


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## kahlerisms (5/1/14)

I've made this a couple of times now. I find it takes a long time for the salty character to go - maybe three or four weeks? After that it's awesome. Just blew a keg of it so I'll be making this again today.


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## ajmuzza (6/1/14)

Anyone got a recipe for sydney water?


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## TonkaTuff (14/5/15)

Bump. Anyone got a recipe for Sydney at all please?


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## barls (14/5/15)

i use water and co2


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## Midnight Brew (12/9/15)

Just made up a party keg of mineral water. Rise to boil, throw salts in, boil for 5 minutes and keg. When it cools down I'll force carb and enjoy.

Melbourne water to:
Ca 170
Mg 53.9
Na 22
SO4 449
Cl 166
HCO3 51


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