water - a dirty secret?

[Pickaxe]

Curious as to why water is not discussed more. 38 topics on this forum, compared to hundreds for most others.

Don't get me wrong, there is great information around about water chem, water adds etc, but it doesnt seem to rate highly in the overall discussion.

Is water too hard? Or is it that the benefits of water chem aren't worth the perceived benefit?

?

 

[manticle]

Too hard for most.

 

[bum]

Curious as to why water is not discussed more. 38 topics on this forum

I haven't checked but is it 38 threads in the pointless water forum or 38 water threads in total? (I'm pretty sure I already know the answer.)

People always use the wrong forum and there's little evidence of anyone going back and ensuring historical threads (or current threads) are in the right place.

There's lots of water discussion about the place.

Forbidden acronym.

 

[Pickaxe]

So I'm finding.

 

[Northside Novice]

I have used the old wives tale of, if the water out of your tap tastes good to you then it will taste good in your beer.
obviously if you are capable and anal enough, you can replicate any water profile in the world, to hopefully replicate any beer/style in the world accurately. I think most of us are happy enough with the tap water considering most of us are in capital cities with fairly drinkable water from the tap.
I aspire to becoming a water chemist with my brewing one day .

by other forums , they probably have a lot more members so I would guese that the water queries might be population percentage type of thing? or we are just Australian and couldn't give too much of a phuck ?


edit, agree with bum, there are water topics/post/queries quite often on ahb . someone has started an aus wide water profile data base somewhere on here too .

 

[Pickaxe]

Funny the information to bullshit ratio is off the charts to information in the 'water' sub forum. Might focus on water chem for a while... Hehehe

 

[Pickaxe]

I'm a bit in for a penny in for a pound, so if going ag means learning a bit of water chem too, and my beer improves then im keen.

Just thought water might rate higher, but it seems we spend more time worrying about hop adds, but if your water won't hold your hops why bother?

 

[Pickaxe]

Be keen to see the nation water profile, any links?

 

[bum]

If you're just starting out in AG, NN's comment about water being good enough to drink being good enough to brew with is fine. Nail down your process then play with water chemistry. You can totally make great beer without ever resorting to the black arts. Nerd-out over it later on.

 

[Pickaxe]

I'm nerding.

Shame the wiki is still down.

 

[bum]

Someone from Melbourne Brewers (sorry (to the author), but I cannot recall who it was) posted a link to a pretty good document they made for water treatment for beginners. Not super simplified but not confusing. I'm sure someone knows what I'm talking about and can furnish a link.

[EDIT: for what it is worth (maybe not a lot, I'm not at the nerd-out stage yet), I tend to follow TB's advice in this thread with my brewing: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/66452-is-there-an-error-in-brewing-water-calculators/]

 

[Feldon]

Someone from Melbourne Brewers (sorry (to the author), but I cannot recall who it was) posted a link to a pretty good document they made for water treatment for beginners. Not super simplified but not confusing. I'm sure someone knows what I'm talking about and can furnish a link.

[EDIT: for what it is worth (maybe not a lot, I'm not at the nerd-out stage yet), I tend to follow TB's advice in this thread with my brewing: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/66452-is-there-an-error-in-brewing-water-calculators/]

Might be this doc?

View attachment Key Concepts in Water Treatment - Melbourne Brewers Club.pdf

 

[bum]

That's the one. Thanks. I forgot how Melbourne-centric is it is though. Should still be a good overview for you, Pickaxe. You've probably seen a lot of it here already but I felt like it gathered a lot of information in a pretty straight-forward way when I first read it.

 

[anthonyUK]

This article is a fairly good intro - http://www.brewersfriend.com/2013/04/12/brewing-water-treatment-in-600-words/

 

[slcmorro]

I got your pun, Manticle.

 

[Bizier]

The thing about exceptionally excellent beers, commercial or homebrewed, is that the water is perfect for what they are aiming to achieve and it is very noticeable if you are familiar with tasting for water.
The thing with merely acceptable commercial and homebrewed beer is that there are usually things which should be fixed as a priority before the water.

I am in Perth and often find myself in arguments over the merit of the local water supply. I see no positive attributes with our water here for brewing, drinking or even using as process water because it destroys machinery, I can't even hose stuff without it leaving a noticeable film.

It is good that you are thinking about your water as part of the process. Remember: calcium, calcium, calcium!

 

[QldKev]

Curious as to why water is not discussed more. 38 topics on this forum, compared to hundreds for most others.

Don't get me wrong, there is great information around about water chem, water adds etc, but it doesnt seem to rate highly in the overall discussion.

Is water too hard? Or is it that the benefits of water chem aren't worth the perceived benefit?

?

We've got a soft water supply here

 

[slash22000]

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge

This was where I started with water chemistry. That and Google.

 

[Tex083]

Dont know if you have beersmith or not but in Beersmith 2 you can make a water profile and use it in your beer recipe.
Once added to the recipe it will ask if you want the "salts" added to the recipe, click YES and BAM its done.
I use RODI water to brew with even when living in Melbourne because chlorine is bad for beer and I make RODI water for my salt water aquarium anyway.

Using a combo of Palmer's How to Brew and other online things I have entered 3 main types of beers I berw:
Pale - Ca 50, Mg10, Na 50 SO4 50 Ch 0 HCO3 50 (PPM)
Amber - Ca 50, Mg10, Na 50 SO4 50 Ch 0 HCO3 125 (PPM)
Dark - Ca 50, Mg10, Na 50 SO4 50 Ch 0 HCO3 200 (PPM)
So in my amber ale I added 0.39g Gypsum, 0.60g Calcium Chloride and 0.57g Calcium Carbonate, on brew day got a bit drunk and forgot to check mash pH but on the last mash it was 5.4 (temp corrected) so im happy with the way beersmith does all the work form me.

 

[Greg.L]

One important thing with water is the concept of "terroir". Many people on ahb are trying to copy a style, of course you will need to make your water suitable for that style. Another approach is to make your own individual beer style, within the broad categories of ale, lager, porter etc. Your own water can have an important contribution to making your beer absolutely unique. This is more applicable for people who live in the country.