worry wort Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 hmmm... I've been making coopers since '84, and up until 2009 always on town water. never a problem. Since moving bush in '09, im on tank water, which is crystal clear, and lovely. Never had a problem with my homebrews on tank water, but I recently changed from the dark ale back to real ale. I've made 3 brews of the RA, but found it to be more bitter than I can ever remember. Discussing this with another long term coopers brewer (converted him in '85!) about this and he said he noticed it too when he came up here so changed to either lager or draught. Raised the issue at the LHBS store, some 50k away, one of the regulars there said it had to do with the way RA was made dating back several years, they include some counter for the impurities of town water which, when used with non-fluorinated water can make the beer bitter. I have never heard this but that does not mean its not so. It sounded feasible only because I agree the RA is more bitter, but I have not noticed it with the Dark Ale. Anyone in a position to shed light on this? I need to point out the following....I have no degree in any form of science so cannot answer any questions which require an in-depth knowledge of water; Water is to keep fish and plants alive, mix with cordial and make beer out of; I have no understanding of a lot of the ingredients listed on a coopers can, I just know when combined with water, I like them. thanks WW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 The real ale kit is more bitter anyway so it might just be that. I've never heard of them adding stuff to counter different things in town water and surely if it's in the real ale kit it would be in all of them? I made it once with town water and a box of BE1, not the greatest recipe ever, but I did notice it was quite bitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worry wort Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 yes, exactly what I thought re the across the board additions, and RA was the original coopers in a can at Sydney and has always been their bitter which, I always enjoyed. Maybe all the toxins we're using up here is affecting our taste buds lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Hi Worry Wort. I was getting some "tannin" taste when I was using my tank (rain) water in my Pale Ales. I checked pH of water and it was high 5's compared to my town water low to mid 5's. What does that mean? No idea! Suffice to say, I have now gone town water only, for convenience mainly, doing 34L mashes. I tested a mash one time at 5.2pH, a good number I'm led to believe. No more tannic tastes but that could be due to my bigger mashes, evolved hop schedules and no-chill cubing. This probably does not help you a lot. Just my 2 bobs worth. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Water pH won't affect it. Mine's 7 (distilled water) or high 7s when I use town water. Never had tannin like flavours. It is possible that your town water contains some carbonates which make it more difficult to drop the mash pH. Maybe it was dropping too far with the rainwater. By the way it's very acidic town water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worry wort Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 so WH, it was only in one particular brew? same as me and the real ale, not sure if its actual or imagined, so I just keep drinking my way through it lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 7 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: ....By the way it's very acidic town water Well, it comes out of the Ovens River at Wangaratta. Since about 1965 I have swum in it, pissed in it, fished in it and now I make beer out of it, and I'm still alive, I think. I'm not going to get into a discussion about ph until I learn more and chuck my swabs and get a gauge. The tannin I spoke about was like wine taste, when you get a dryness inside the cheeks of you mouth - I may be confusing astringency which I also know nothing about. I'm drinking nice AG grog, though, right now. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Could be astringency. That can come from a few different places. Not saying the water is bad by the way, just unusually low pH for town water. Also drinking nice AG grog, just tapped my Centennial English ale. Slightly sweet so I'll have to up the bitterness a bit next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.