Rain Water
- Thread starter Ross
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Big Dog Brewing
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Hi Ross
If you dont live right on the coast, and the tank is lined (or at least isnt leaching concrete into the water) then I would expect the short answer is there is bugger all in your water in terms of major ions (being sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, carbonate, bicarbonate). You will probably have some minor organic compounds from leaves and the odd dead possum, and maybe some coliforms if the possum crapped in there before he died. The cheapest test would be to measure the electric conductivity which would give a good idea of how many ions in total are in the water. Not sure if swimming pool shops do that or not.
So, the chances are the water is defficient in the ions you want for AG brewing and if it was me I would be adding salts, working out the amount by assuming the tank water concentrations are zero. And personally I would do all my water additions to the brew pre-boil, no top up after, just to get rid of any coliforms.
But I'm sure some tank brewers will have better advice from experience.
If you dont live right on the coast, and the tank is lined (or at least isnt leaching concrete into the water) then I would expect the short answer is there is bugger all in your water in terms of major ions (being sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, carbonate, bicarbonate). You will probably have some minor organic compounds from leaves and the odd dead possum, and maybe some coliforms if the possum crapped in there before he died. The cheapest test would be to measure the electric conductivity which would give a good idea of how many ions in total are in the water. Not sure if swimming pool shops do that or not.
So, the chances are the water is defficient in the ions you want for AG brewing and if it was me I would be adding salts, working out the amount by assuming the tank water concentrations are zero. And personally I would do all my water additions to the brew pre-boil, no top up after, just to get rid of any coliforms.
But I'm sure some tank brewers will have better advice from experience.
Gulf Brewery
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Ross
I use rain water for a lot of my beers as Adelaide water ain't the best. I just add some Calcium Chloride for the lighter styles like pils and add gypsum for the darker beers where I need to bring out the bitterness more like Pale Ales.
If you use Promash(tm) or one of those other brewing programs
, use 0 for all of the values of salts in your water and just add salts as you need to get your the water profile you want. Aim for at least 50ppm of Calcium to keep the yeasties happy. Remember, close enough is good enough with your calculations.
Cheers
Pedro
I use rain water for a lot of my beers as Adelaide water ain't the best. I just add some Calcium Chloride for the lighter styles like pils and add gypsum for the darker beers where I need to bring out the bitterness more like Pale Ales.
If you use Promash(tm) or one of those other brewing programs
, use 0 for all of the values of salts in your water and just add salts as you need to get your the water profile you want. Aim for at least 50ppm of Calcium to keep the yeasties happy. Remember, close enough is good enough with your calculations. Cheers
Pedro
Batz
Batz Brewery...Hand crafted beers from the 'Batcav
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Thanks Ross
A interesting thread and one I will be watching closely as I will be a tank water brewer in the near future.
I am sure POL could add something to this , I believe she also uses tank water.
Not going to filter it Ross? :lol:
Batz
A interesting thread and one I will be watching closely as I will be a tank water brewer in the near future.
I am sure POL could add something to this , I believe she also uses tank water.
Not going to filter it Ross? :lol:
Batz
J
Jovial_Monk
Guest
Not sure how representative this is but the rainwater from my corrugated iron tank has a pH of 8.
Jovial Monk
Jovial Monk
Tim
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& how much bat/pidgeon poop it collects.....
Well this is pretty much what super-phosphate is!
In general rain collected in urban areas will be slightly acidic (pH <7) due to acid rain caused by industrial pollution.
CO2 is released into the atmosphere by combustion engined vehicles and industry where it reacts with water in the atmosphere to form carbonic acid (HCO3) at the cloud level. Then the rain is slightly acidic.
I suppose that carbonate ions are present in the rain and over time the pH may increase due to other factors (i cant think of any off the top of my head, but possible H2 being released?) leaving carbonate as the predominate ion in solution. Carbonate being the conjugate base will increase the pH of the water.
dicko
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Hahaha big d,
I just checked the PH of the water in my tank and it is 7.9.
Dropped it to 5.5 by adding 4mls of pure phosphoric acid ( not the cleaning stuff) in 41 litres.
I am planning a pilsner tomorrow if the WL 800 starter kicks in.
Cheers
I just checked the PH of the water in my tank and it is 7.9.
Dropped it to 5.5 by adding 4mls of pure phosphoric acid ( not the cleaning stuff) in 41 litres.
I am planning a pilsner tomorrow if the WL 800 starter kicks in.
Cheers
big d
Hopaholic
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actually dicko im with you and batz on this one .it is a very interseting topic as i too will be relying on rainwater only when i move down south.ive written down pedros info and will visit my chemist mate at work tonight to see if they stock calcium chloride.scored some lab grade gypsum last night.
never have bothered much with water profiles but i reckon i may as well start taking an interest in it now so im better prepared down the track.
cheers
big d
never have bothered much with water profiles but i reckon i may as well start taking an interest in it now so im better prepared down the track.
cheers
big d
dicko
Boston Bay Brewery
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Big d,
Chiller and Pedro have given me a good insight into water adjustments.
I use the ordinary supply for English/ Aussie ales but I am now using rain water for most other styles and adjusting it to suit as per Chillers instructions.
Just getting used to it all at the moment.
Cheers
Chiller and Pedro have given me a good insight into water adjustments.
I use the ordinary supply for English/ Aussie ales but I am now using rain water for most other styles and adjusting it to suit as per Chillers instructions.
Just getting used to it all at the moment.
Cheers
pint of lager
brewing on the verandah
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My tank water is pH 6.2.
I suspect that this is related to the fact that my local soil is acidic, therefore any dust floating around will affect the pH. Also, becaue of the minimal amounts of dissolved minerals, the solution is almost unbuffered. Our water catchment has a first flush diverter to divert the first rinse of rainwater from the tanks.
I use promash, assume that all minerals are 0, then back off the resulting mineralization by 10%.
For any kit brewer using rainwater, do not worry about mineral additions, as most of the needed addtions are done at mashing. Your wort is dehydrated and needs no extra minerals added to it. Remember to boil all your brew water and use within a day or two of boiling. Then airate well as the boiling removes dissolved O2.
I suspect that this is related to the fact that my local soil is acidic, therefore any dust floating around will affect the pH. Also, becaue of the minimal amounts of dissolved minerals, the solution is almost unbuffered. Our water catchment has a first flush diverter to divert the first rinse of rainwater from the tanks.
I use promash, assume that all minerals are 0, then back off the resulting mineralization by 10%.
For any kit brewer using rainwater, do not worry about mineral additions, as most of the needed addtions are done at mashing. Your wort is dehydrated and needs no extra minerals added to it. Remember to boil all your brew water and use within a day or two of boiling. Then airate well as the boiling removes dissolved O2.
