Adelaide Hills water profile/brewing

[a1149913]

Hey guys, just wondering if there are any brewers in the adelaide hills that can give me some information on the water profile.

I'm not sure if i should start looking into playing around with the pH and calcium levels or if our water is relatively ok as is.

Thanks, Jacob

 

[dicko]

Here is some info on all the reservoirs in Adelaide. The link to the excell file in the first post will give you the info that you are after.

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/38951-water-profiles-for-reservoirs-in-adelaide/

 

[elcarter]

I found some beer smith water profile info a while back and modified it a little with the info for last years water report for Hope valley reservoir.

I live Enfield way.

I've been told Adelaide waters good enough as is for dark beers - Belgium's ect.


Hope it helps.

View attachment Adealide.bsmx

 

[a1149913]

Thanks guys. I guess the next question is, what should it be?

 

[elcarter]

Depends on the beer your brewing, most recipes will state the water they started with. Then you attempt to replicate that with additives.

P ersonally I'm not too fussed about changing Adelaide water, there's far more area's in my brewing process that I think deserve more attention at the moment. But that's me.

You can leave your brew water in a open container over night the day before brew day to reduce the chlorine levels if you want. Cheap and easy.

 

[dicko]

Have a read of this topic on the HBT forum.
It will give you a good insight into brewing water specifications.



http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

Also google EZ Water Calculator...this is a spreadsheet that allows you to easily adjust RO water or clean rain water to suit your recipe requirements.I would give you the link but I can't get it to paste on this forum.

I tend to ignore the water profile stated for the "area" that the style of beer originally came from as the brewing water may be different due to adjustments or just simply changes in supply over time.

I have also found that AJ DeLange publishes some very good texts on water for brewing and if you google his name you may find some very good information.

 

[mabrungard]

Unless you are going to use a large portion of RO or distilled water in your brewing, the recommendations of the Primer that dicko points out may not be very useful. It appears that Adelaide has a bit of ionic content in it based on the 5 yr spreadsheet that was linked. It should be a decent brewing water for most ales, but neutralizing that water's alkalinity will be necessary in most cases. I agree that the mention that Adelaide water is suited for dark beers since the alkalinity would work in those beers.

If you are intending to rely more on your tap water, I suggest that you visit the Bru'n Water website and its Water Knowledge page. That will highlight why you need to make changes and how to do it.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Imo if you're brewing something malt forward a little calcium chloride helps with perception of malt flavor

 

[dicko]

The EZ water spreadsheet and calculator allows the user to input his own water supply profile and then adjust the salt / acid / acidulated malt additions within the spreadsheet, so once you know your town water specifications it is a reasonably simple matter to make adjustments as necessary.
Most water supplies in SA have residual hardness and to use that water in some styles the water could be boiled and let settle and then rack the clean water off the sediment to be used for some styles of beer. The boiling will also drive off any chlorine that may be present which is a good thing.
Read as much on brewing water and water for different beer styles as you can as there is a wealth of information out there and it will improve your beer.

 

[a1149913]

Thanks guys, all good stuff here! I'm not so worried about adjusting the water for different flavor profiles, but more just checking that the water wasn't completely terrible. The main thing i was worried about was enzyme efficiency due to the pH of the mash using this water. I'll get some strips and see what it comes out as.

Thanks all for your input.

J