Is Demineralised Water Also Deoxygenated?

[Bribie G]

I'm going to drop part of a batch of Yorkshire Summer Ale from around 4.3% down to about 3.5% as an ordinary bitter in a comp. I'm pretty sure it can handle it, being quite malty and hoppy in its 'full strength' version. Also it's an experiment in its own right quite apart from the comp.

Now I'm thinking of using demineralised water or distilled water from the supermarket and wonder if anyone knows whether this stuff is oxygenated or not? I could just boil town water and let it cool but I'm looking for absolutely neutral diluent here.

 

[OzMick]

It has air above the water in the bottle, and would have bumped all around in transport, so will be oxygenated to some degree. Probably best to boil the water regardless of where you get it, or maybe you could maybe experiment with a bottle of soda water? Deaerated liquor used at a brewery is essentially soda water, as the CO2 is used to scrub all the other gas out of solution.

Edit: me spell good.

 

[Bribie G]

Brilliant idea about the Soda Water - I'll check to see if there's anything else added (sometimes theres a bit of sodium and calcium) - off to ALDI shortly. :icon_cheers:

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I've diluted with soda water for the de-oxygenation reason ... be careful about getting ones that are flavour neutral and have no mineral additions. Buy a bottle of that brand, let it go flat and drink some at room temp. If it tastes neutral and not minerally, you are good to go with the fizzy stuff.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Why do you want to make beer with demineralised water?

 

[buttersd70]

mebbe cos even though he was raised a geordie, and then bastardised by the welsh, hes a tyke at heart. :lol: ......

Yorkshire (particularly west yorkshire) water is absolutely soft as a bairns wotsit. Contrary to what certain software claims....

18-24 ppm ca, low 30's sulphates....etc. Bribie knows....

sligtly OT, michael, can you pls forward to me the email that the dutchie dude at hebdon bridge sent you about the water....cos I accidently deleted it. I have the specs, but I want to confirm a fact from the original before I start spouting it as gospel....

 

[Bribie G]

mebbe cos even though he was raised a geordie, and then bastardised by the welsh, hes a tyke at heart. :lol: ......

Yorkshire (particularly west yorkshire) water is absolutely soft as a bairns wotsit. Contrary to what certain software claims....

18-24 ppm ca, low 30's sulphates....etc. Bribie knows....

sligtly OT, michael, can you pls forward to me the email that the dutchie dude at hebdon bridge sent you about the water....cos I accidently deleted it. I have the specs, but I want to confirm a fact from the original before I start spouting it as gospel....

I'll try and dig it out. The reason for the demineralised water, as stated in my OP is to drop a beer from around 4.4% ABV to around 3.8% so it can go into a comp as an ordinary, as opposed to a best bitter. I've actually done it with ALDI carbonated spring water which contains virtually no sodium or calcium which would be the stuff you can taste I guess.
Watered it a couple of nights ago and regassed some bottles with my new gassing doovy, and it's turned out tasting very much like the mild I did but lager coloured and a bit more background bitterness (it's a modern Summer Ale).

 

[buttersd70]

Ahhh, glad you posted this....I had the breakdown saved, but had lost the original PM.....this is the line concerning me

We use water from the mains (although we have a well on site).

my vague memory thought that's what wilm had said, but I couldn't remember for certain.....I was discussing this email with smurto the other week, and it came up in the landlord thread.....I didn't want to mis-quote the guy, so left it alone....

btw, I did some checking the other day....everything west of Mt Pellon Rd in Halifax (ie, near Websters, up to the east side of the waterworks) has basically the same configuration, including Hebdon Bridge (where Wilm is), up to Keighley (where magic is made)...most of it falls under Roils Head supply. Theres only a couple of ppm difference between the three.

I was also thinking....for those brewers in the region that do use wells...given the clarity of the water due to the sandstone and millsotone stratas in the west riding, I would think that YW does sfa to the water...so logic would make me assume that there is sfa difference between whats coming up from the water table, and what is available on the mains...particularly west of the coal seams....can't say for certain, cos I'm no geologist, but that is the way it seems to my poor unedumacated brain. :lol:

edit: OT: btw, if you ever get back there, on the eastern half of Pellon Lane, which runs off Mt Pellon Rd, just imediately across from Pellon Baptist Church, theres a chippie that is the absolute best, anywhere....just ignore the bloke spitting into the fat, he's just testing the temperature..... ^_^ ....we moved from mt pellon rd over to hipperholme, and I used to annoy me mam to drive me over to pellon lane for fish sandwiches.

 

[Bribie G]

It's probably been turned into a Pakistani Balti curry place now, or an adult shop.