Otto Von Blotto Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I just had a look at a water report for Brisbane's water, albeit 3 years old. It says the pH is 7.4 - 8.1. According to John Palmer, the optimum mash pH is 5.2 - 5.6 (or something around that). Is this something I should be concerned about, and should I be doing anything to change the pH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelD16 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Has anyone tried brewing with bore water? i'm going to be moving out bush soon and have the choice between tank and bore, i imagine bore water being cleaner than tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien E1 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Do you add any Calcium? Melbourne water is Calcium deficient. [ninja] No, but then I don't brew many Burton style ales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 doesnt matter, calcium should be added. Minimum 50ppm Particular to Melbourne, have a read of the doc linked HERE [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Has anyone tried brewing with bore water? i'm going to be moving out bush soon and have the choice between tank and bore' date=' i imagine bore water being cleaner than tank.[/quote'] Are you doing full boils? Id assume you will probably want to filter either way, maybe RO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Is this something I should be concerned about' date=' and should I be doing anything to change the pH? [/quote'] Yes, but really only if you are mashing (and then depending on if it's a light or dark beer), I never worried about it for Kits/extract, but do add a yeast nutrient like DAP either way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hey Gang, Check out this Linky. It is a study one brewer is doing with different types of water and their effects on extract brewing. His theory is that if using extracts then the water profile used at the brewering to make the DME, LME, etc. already has impacted the product. So, if you were to use water rich in "X" minerals then these would be compounded in your homebrew lending to astringent or bitter tastes. Something to consider.[whistling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 doesnt matter, calcium should be added. Minimum 50ppm Particular to Melbourne, have a read of the doc linked HERE [rightful] My literature state that "a good level for most ales and lagers to be around 100mg/l. Too much will create a harsh, bitter taste. It also states that this be the most important "permanent hardness" element. It helps lower the pH to the optimum range of 5.0-5.5 and helps the precipitation of protien("the break") during the boiling process. Sound important to me.[unsure] Remembering that great tasting water does not always make great beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 My literature state that "a good level for most ales and lagers to be around 100mg/l. ...and Melbourne's Water does not have that, hence my statement about it being required as an additive. Usually Calcium Sulphate for most of my brews (and a bit of acidulted malt) have a look at the Calcium content in the PDF linked HERE (Same topic but different post to that I linked above) for Melbourne Calcium Levels The Doc by Tony Wheeler has dosage reccomendations for those MASH brewing in Melbourne... all of this info relates to Mashing, not extracts / Kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I live in Melbourne' date=' so I'd have to be crazy not to use tap water, since we have close to the best drinking water in the world.[/quote'] Yep Melbourne is close to the best water in the world... as close a land mass to Tassie than anywhere else [whistling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Have brewed a version of an all-grain recipe (Caroline's Fine Ale) using just tap water in Adelaide (Salisbury Downs), Melbourne (Hoppers Crossing), Hobart (Glenorchy) and now back in Adelaide (inner suburb). Gotta say, I couldn't pick any noticable difference between them. [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Yes, but really only if you are mashing (and then depending on if it's a light or dark beer) [lol] I am mashing now, I have moved into all grain in the last month or so. I'll have to go back to John Palmer's site and find out what the suggested additive is to bring it down. I did read the entire site but I can't remember what it was.[bandit] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Pretty sure Adelaide has the worst tasting tap water ever, sorry Paul [bandit], closely followed by Perth. Yet the Aussie beers I drink consistently are from those 2 cities (Freo counts as Perth, right)... Melbourne water is nice, but we end up with Vitamin B [sick] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 suggested additive is to bring it down. I get the stabiliser from Craftbrewer Kelsey, easy peasy, also whilst your there get some Litmus papers to test your water.....infact whilst your in there also get some.....and some.....$$$$$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I shall investigate this when I go in there next, which will probably be when I need another sack of base malt. I've still got enough for about 3 more batches in there at the moment. Or I might make a trip to get some specialty grains and do it then. Either way, cheers for the input [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Pretty sure Adelaide has the worst tasting tap water ever' date=' sorry Paul [bandit'], closely followed by Perth. Yet the Aussie beers I drink consistently are from those 2 cities (Freo counts as Perth, right)... Melbourne water is nice, but we end up with Vitamin B [sick] You were right about Adelaide water being horrible. I remember a TV show I saw back in the early eighties that displayed the tap water quality from each of the major capital cities in Australia. Indeed Adelaide had the worst. [sick] Times have changed though with the advent of new technologies, techniques & treatment plants. Anyways, as soon as you boil any liquid for a reasonable amount of time, any impurities it originally contained will be steamed off. Go the "Crow-Eaters"! [biggrin] Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 You were right about Adelaide water being horrible. I remember a TV show I saw back in the early eighties that displayed the tap water quality from each of the major capital cities in Australia. Indeed Adelaide had the worst. [sick] AFL teams from Vic take their own water with them when they play in Adelaide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 AFL teams from Vic take their own water with them when they play in Adelaide No wonder they lose more often than they win when they come to SA! [wink] Beer. [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 No wonder they lose more often than they win when they come to SA! [wink] Beer. [biggrin] I'm actually a queenslander and follow the lions...i know all about losing[crying] [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 find out what the suggested additive is to bring it down. Citric Acid (a little does ALOT)will lower the PH of the mash as will acidulated malt, but I'm thinking that coz I've got HERMS I may as well start doing a small Acid rest (35.6.c - 40'c) just dont know how long for with my 'house' grist (mostly Pale Malts). My investigation into this is ongoing [lol] [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 That's handy to know. I actually have some citric acid, I use it to clean the boil scale off the element in my urn, just chuck a bit in with a small amount of water and boil it for a few mins and it comes right off. I'll have to experiment, and see if there's any noticeable difference in taste with or without changing the pH. My last recipe contained 5.4kg of grain for a 26L batch, I got a post boil SG of 1050. Not sure if that's low or high based on the ingredients though. [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Citric Acid (a little does ALOT)will lower the PH of the mash as will acidulated malt' date=' but I'm thinking that coz I've got HERMS I may as well start doing a small Acid rest (35.6.c - 40'c) just dont know how long for with my 'house' grist (mostly Pale Malts). My investigation into this is ongoing [lol'] That paragraph really sums things up for me. It really shows the 'Gap' between me being a reasonable quality brewer, & being a high quality brewer. I have NFI what Yob was talking about at all. He may as well have been speaking Chinese! [lol] ...anyways, back to the books! (IMA find out WTF "HERMS" is!!) [tongue] Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I've got HERMS [lol] so has my grandad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 ...anyways, back to the books! (IMA find out WTF "HERMS" is!!) INFO HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 INFO HERE Yob, that seems like a hell of a lot of effort just to mash a few potatoes. [lol] I just use a whisk & a bit of cream, & mine turn out perfect everytime! [biggrin] Each to their own though. [roll] [tongue] Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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