Adelaide West End Brewery Fountain

[jimmyfozzers]

Don't laugh, but I've done my last couple of BIABs using water from the West End brewery fountain.

I was reading up on water chemistry, had a quick look at the Adelaide water report, and convinced myself that Adelaide water was crap for brewing even after coming through the Pura-tap (water seems to be very hard).

Am I wasting my time and money doing this ($2 for about 16 litres)? Ayone else in Adelaide use tap water for all-grain? Or anyone else use the fountain?

 

[Sam England]

I'm probably not as fussy with my water chemistry as I should be, but I've had no real issues using Adelaide water. I tend to make all of my darker beers with straight tap water and then blend in rain water for the lighter styles. I should really get more of a system, but all of my AG brews are a heap better than my old K&K days and I haven't found the need to go further yet. I know Coopers use bore water, RO it and then add salts back to get their correct profile. Not sure what West End's fountain gives, but then I haven't been trying to clone West End Draught either!!

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I live in the Barossa so can't say whether our water is the same or not. Only an hours drive to the CBD from here. What I will say is that I have used the tap water here in the Barossa for quite a few years now. The only thing I do to it prior to use is run it through a carbon filter.
BYB

 

[jimmyfozzers]

Yeah I should probably get a few more AG brews under my belt before worrying too much about water.

From the sign at the fountain it says it's direct from the aquifer (like Coopers). I suspect they also RO it - question is, does the fountain water also get the RO treatment?

 

[peas_and_corn]

West End RO their water. The stuff from their fountain would have high levels of minerals and I would not recommend it.

What exactly do you not like about Adelaide's water profile? My only issue is the high level of sulphates compared to chlorides, though that helps with the hoppy beers.

 

[jimmyfozzers]

West End RO their water. The stuff from their fountain would have high levels of minerals and I would not recommend it.

What exactly do you not like about Adelaide's water profile? My only issue is the high level of sulphates compared to chlorides, though that helps with the hoppy beers.

Thanks. I won't be doing that again then!

Well I read this paper on Melbourne's water supply http://www.brewerschoice.net.au/html/articles.html#watertreatment and tried to find relevant info on Adelaide's water. All I could find was a simple water quality report which seemed to indicate very hard water. I then stumbled on a tropical fish forum which suggested using the West End water for its low *something* content. And a light bulb went off in my head. It has now been extinguished

Anyway, I've since found the AWQC website and will be reading up on the water properly this evening. Thanks for all input - I will be using the Pura-tap from now on.

 

[drsmurto]

Nothing wrong with Adelaide tap water. The water up in the Barossa will be similar although from a different reservoir.

The long held view that Adelaide tap water is crap is due to the high levels of chloramine/chlorine which is what causes the smell. IMelbourne tap water is very soft so in comparison Adelaide tap water is harder but not hard in the grand scheme of things. If it was bad you would see large build up of scale in your kettle from the very first use.

I personally use rainwater and have done so for a few years now but have brewed with tap water for a number of years prior. Most Adelaide AG brewers use tap water.

 

[jimmyfozzers]

Thanks Doc - that saves me a trip to the fountain and $2 a brew!

Are there any common water additions that Adelaide brewers recommend, or does it vary brew-to-brew?

 

[peas_and_corn]

Adelaide water isn't very hard, it's more medium hardness. The crap about Adelaide water started decades ago, back when the tap water had silt in it (jokes about being able to top fertilise your lawn with the tap water and so forth).

Personally I like to throw a bit of Calcium Chloride into the mash- the chloride to sulphate ratio is IMO a bit too heavy towards the sulphates and this rectifies it a little. It helps bring the malt forwards a bit more, especially when using UK style malts. It depends on the style though, if I want something that's really hoppy I just leave it alone.

 

[Ironsides]

man it tastes bad though. I am a former resident of the Barossa. We were on tank water, so whenever whenever we drank mains it was notably salty. This was particularly unpleasant in summer from warm jerry cans with the army reserve.

I guess the only disadvantage for brewing is that you can add salts but not necessarily remove them.