Do you have to boil the rainwater first or is the kettle boiling OK ?
Try the tap, Pumpy. Sydney water is very soft. Look here for all the details. Should be fine for Pilsner. You can add a little calcium chloride to bring down the pH if needed. (The extra calcium is helpful for the mash.)
I'd go with tank water. If not, bottled water with analysis that approximates pilsner waters would be fine - a tad expensive though. If you find a tank water source, make sure that it doesn't have too much organic matter or other particulates feeding into it (ie the place I last lived at had overhanging trees with koalas :unsure: ).
Stu , Now that is the last place that I would have looked in the tap :unsure:
Pumpy :blink:
Yep. Whodathunkit. :lol:
Hubby, no real need for tank water. If you have it, that's fine. If not, then Sydney (and Melbourne) water is really soft and suitable for pilsners. It's not so different from Pilsen water for brewing purposes anyway (not that matching water to other cities' water profile is a good idea exactly IMO). Sure it's a bit harder, but that's probably not such a bad thing. The low calcium levels in the Pilsen water is one major reason they have to do such a long mash procedure.
Name: Pilsen, Czech
PH: 8.0
Calcium: 7.0
Magnesium: 2.0
Sodium: 2.0
Sulfate: 5.0
Chloride: 5.0
Bicarbonate: 15.0
Notes: Very soft water aids pale color and clean bitterness of Pilsner style.
Name: Sydney Water (Prospect)
PH: 8.2
Calcium: 13.0
Magnesium: 5.2
Sodium: 13.0
Sulfate: 9.0
Chloride: 27.0
Bicarbonate: 45.0
Notes:
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