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Water Profile Help

Hebby5

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Hey Gang,

I have done many Extract batches but only 4 AG.  The first was a pale ale and came out with a bitter after taste.  I didn't treat my water:(.

My 2nd batch was a brown ale, didn't treat the water, and came out great.  After lots of research, I found that the water from Raleigh, NC is very alkaline (tap is pH 8.3).  I spoke with my local home brew supply shop and they sent me home with Water Crystals (Calcium & Magnesium Sulfates (5:1 CaSO4 to MgSO4 I think).

My next batch was another pale ale (10lbs 2row, 1lb Crystal 20, 1/2lb carapils, and 1/2lb honeymalt).  I put 1 tablespoon of the water crystals into my mash water (4Gal) and diluted it.  I didn't add any to my mash out or sparge water.  The beer is finally ready (4 weeks bottle conditioned) and taste much better than the first pale ale AG batch.  However, I still find a small harshness or bitter after taste.

I did get the water report from Raleigh and plugged it into Beersmith but am missing the HCO3 value. 

I know for darker beers, I think my tap water is fine (browns and darker) but not so much for lighter colored beers (pales, IPAs, etc...).

1) Does anyone have the HCO3 value or a completed water profile for Raleigh in Beersmith?

2) Any tips on adding additions to water?  Mash water only or sparge too?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris
 
Your lucky you got a water report at all. I tried here and they looked at me like I had 3 heads.. I went to Lowe's and bought a carbon filter whole house system, filled my HLT to the amount I needed and did a Ph test, came in right at 5.2.. Best $35 I could have spent on my Home Brew system.
 
Got any info on the carbon filter system you bought?  Brand, part number, etc...Very interesting.

Thanks for the update.

Chris
 
Chris,
This is what I use:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_89374-59019-WHKF-DWH_0__?productId=1201339&Ntt=whole+house+water+filter&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dwhole%2Bhouse%2Bwater%2Bfilter&facetInfo=

With these filters:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_149010-43353-149010_0__?productId=3130893&Ntt=whole+house+water+filter&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dwhole%2Bhouse%2Bwater%2Bfilter&facetInfo=
 
Carbon filters do give you a cleaner better tasting water to start with. A necessity for making good beer! BUT it doesn't remove minerals from the water. Knowing your mineral content of you water is necessary before you start making additions.  Brewsmith2 has the best calculator for making water additions. It is useless if you don't know your base water mineral/hardness profile. If you need an affordable analysis got to http://wardlab.com/images/SampleForms/wsis.pdf 
It is the best advice I can offer to you to make any beer you want to make.
 
Chris,
That is interesting that your water is so alkaline. My North Raleigh well water is 5.2 and very soft. I add gypsum to every batch. I also have the profile sent to me by my nephew, a chemist and brewer in Delaware. I could share that with you though I don's suppose it would be relevant to your water.

As far as my brewing goes, no issues with ph or hard/soft water.
Mark
 
I found the following online (here: http://www.raleighnc.gov/services/content/PubUtilAdmin/Articles/WaterQualityReports.html)

Most local water has a pH around 8, that's to prevent it from leaching from the copper plumbing in houses.  pH doesn't mean much without the total alalinity, though.

Total Alkalinity, mg/l as CaCO3  36.2

I think that's pretty low.  Mine is more like 120 ppm.

I've never heard of water crystals, and can't find anything online.  Are you sure they are both sulfates?  It would be more typical for the Calcium-salt to be Calcium Chloride.  Sulfates will make the beer even more bitter, and more harsh.  To balance the bitterness you want to add chloride (using calcium chloride).  Read more about it at howtobrew.com or over on htb in the chemistry section. 

If you are going to use the profile tool, you would be better off to get plenty of CaCl and MgSO4 in separate containers so that you can mix and match, rather than a pre-mixed bag.  If you have a water profile for Raleigh, then you want to add CaCl to equalize the SO4 and Cl ions in the resulting water.  This will have the added bonus of decreasing your mash pH...which is almost always needed for pale beers, and frequently needed for dark ones too.  Given your low total-alkalinity you MIGHT need some CaCO3 for a dark beer like a porter or a Stout. 

BS2 doesn't do water quite right, yet.  I'd recommend http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/

Mash pH and Cl/SO4 ratio are the two primary things you are balancing.



 
A friend in CARBOY told me 30 when I was preparing a PPT on local waters.  Best bet is testing your water for $17 at www.wardlab.com 

A tablespoon of any brewing mineral might be too much for 4 gallons.  I use a small "drug dealers" scale and measure those in grams.  Most are 1.0 to 2.2 gram additions for 3.5 gallons in my mash. 

Here in Charlotte, the water is like Plzen or Deer Park bottled, so we need to add everything for good boil conditions and yeast performance. 

You're correct about Raleigh  being suited to darker styles.  I noticed CARBOY always won the stout categories and that is one thing that got me interested in water chemistry.

 
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