Desert Brewer
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- Joined
- 11/2/08
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Gday, as i get further entrenched into the all consuming hobby that is homebrewing, i find myself wanting to know more about processes that i hadnt given any thought to when i was doing kit & kilo brews. Here we go..
A few weeks back i brewed (DME, Grains and Hops - full wort boil, no chill) a couple of batches of American Pale and English Bitter to recipies that were on Beersmith - all went well ,good OG & FG, colour , but through the fermentation process there was always a pretty strong bitterness in the aftertaste - i thought they were both pretty bitter beer styles - things will mellow with bottle conditioning, they have to a degree but still pretty bitter. This got me reading.
My main reference has been J Palmer - how to brew, through which i think i have determined that the high bitterness issue is to do with the high Bicarbonate (HCO3 -1) in our water supply, the water analysis was provided by our local water authority via their annual report, free online. All the water filtering will not remove these ions - unless you use reverse osmosis.
Based on the information in Palmers book our water has higher bicarbonate levels than any of the water mentioned in his book, ours are at 273 ppm or mg/l, although our overall waterhardness is 224 ppm or mg/l mesured as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) which is not as high as some of the water samples that Palmer presents.
My issue is the high bi carbonate levels as they add excessive bitterness / astringent flavours. Everything i have read suggests that messing around with water is very difficult and if you can, avoid it. My question;
1) To reduce the high levels of Bicaronates and other ions, is it as simple as diluting the water supply with a purer source of water eg 3 parts rainwater filtered to .005 micron to 1 part filtered tap water or will this have some other reaction in the water - hard to tell without an analysis of the rainwater, i know, but any suggestions welcomed.
2) Is messing around with and most likley reducing the bittering hop addittion a better solution.
I realise there are issues of pH around this, that is another bridge that i need to cross.
I am no scientist, i am just attemping to make the best beer i can with what i have and thaty my situation allows, i would prefer not to add brewing salts etc. having said that i have just bought a pH meter!
Any advice, hints, tips are well recieved.
Cheers.
DB
A few weeks back i brewed (DME, Grains and Hops - full wort boil, no chill) a couple of batches of American Pale and English Bitter to recipies that were on Beersmith - all went well ,good OG & FG, colour , but through the fermentation process there was always a pretty strong bitterness in the aftertaste - i thought they were both pretty bitter beer styles - things will mellow with bottle conditioning, they have to a degree but still pretty bitter. This got me reading.
My main reference has been J Palmer - how to brew, through which i think i have determined that the high bitterness issue is to do with the high Bicarbonate (HCO3 -1) in our water supply, the water analysis was provided by our local water authority via their annual report, free online. All the water filtering will not remove these ions - unless you use reverse osmosis.
Based on the information in Palmers book our water has higher bicarbonate levels than any of the water mentioned in his book, ours are at 273 ppm or mg/l, although our overall waterhardness is 224 ppm or mg/l mesured as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) which is not as high as some of the water samples that Palmer presents.
My issue is the high bi carbonate levels as they add excessive bitterness / astringent flavours. Everything i have read suggests that messing around with water is very difficult and if you can, avoid it. My question;
1) To reduce the high levels of Bicaronates and other ions, is it as simple as diluting the water supply with a purer source of water eg 3 parts rainwater filtered to .005 micron to 1 part filtered tap water or will this have some other reaction in the water - hard to tell without an analysis of the rainwater, i know, but any suggestions welcomed.
2) Is messing around with and most likley reducing the bittering hop addittion a better solution.
I realise there are issues of pH around this, that is another bridge that i need to cross.
I am no scientist, i am just attemping to make the best beer i can with what i have and thaty my situation allows, i would prefer not to add brewing salts etc. having said that i have just bought a pH meter!
Any advice, hints, tips are well recieved.
Cheers.
DB