Sydney Water Analysis

[Rubes]

Sorry if this has been asked previously - I did search for it but couldn't find anything.

From Sydney Water Analysis you can view the water profile. In trying to understand what type of water Sydney has I had a look at Palmer's online book and it seemed that Sydney would be closest in profile to somewhere like Pilsen? Having said that there is no listing for bicarbonates or sulphates so I don't know the full story. This would suggest that dark beers might be an issue without the addition of salts but that light lagers etc would be perfect?

I assume that the water profile really only matters for AG or large partial mashes?

Anyone with more experience able to confirm/correct this?

 

[Doc]

I've entered the water info for Prospect into Promash and compared it to the water profile for Pilsen.
Looks like there is some difference between the two but from the list of water profiles that come with Promash it seems to still be the closest apart from Marion County CA.
My first couple of AG brews I was messing around adding salts and stuff but ever since I haven't worried about it. I seem to be able to make both light and dark beers with the water supply as it is.
However I too would like to know what to add to further suppliment my brews and add additional authenticity to them.

Beers,
Doc

 

[jayse]

I just had a look.
rubes the sulphate is given. for the carbonate you work that out from the alkalinty or total hardness in the top part.

for cascade i get this
ca 10
mg 2.3
na 5.5
so4 2
cl 13
HCO3 21.9

anyway most of the others are similiar.
looking at that you can pretty well add anything you like to match another water supply.
the main thing you'll want to add is calcium. in the form of either gypsum or chalk(or both).

And yes water is only really important in brewing ie mashing your own grains.
Extract beers have all ready been brewed correctly all you need do is ferment.
So at the cost of starting a war extract brewers are not brewers but fermentation assistants.

jayse

 

[Wreck]

I was starting to look into this not long ago too.

Is mg/L the same as ppm? I wouldn't have thought it was that straight forward.

And as a partial masher, am I a brewer or a fermentation assistant , and should I worry about water in my mash?

Wreck.

 

[jayse]

ppm is the exact same thing.

yes i'll call you a brewer mate but don't worry about the water too much.
for the mash the most important is the Ca which should be a little higher than that. This does'nt even seem to matter as doc has not had any probs with the mash so i won't bother.

jayse

 

[Rubes]

You have to brew your own AG beer? You were lucky! In ma day we used to have to get up two hours before going to bed, plant our own hops, sow the barley.......

Old Python joke.

Missed the sulphates. Must be the old eyes. Jayse dow do you work out the carbonates exactly? Never was good with numbers.

 

[jayse]

To get HCO3 From alkalinty as CAC03
Is divid by 50 and times by 61.

oh yeah i do have hops growing.

jayse

 

[big d]

 

[SJW]

JAYSE, Is it hard to grow your own hops? And what type do u grow? it sound like a great idea to me.

 

[Rubes]

Found this in a post on the Promash discussion board. WaterCalcSolver (Excel Spreadsheet)

Don't have Excel at home so can't test it but it sounds useful for anyone interested in calculating the salts to add.