Water help

[Pumbapoindexter]

Hey y'all I am brewing my second all grain and first try at a parti-gyle English barleywine
I have never made any water adjustments and am trying to figure out how to do it.
My water is as follows:
Ca- 15ppm Mg-10.3ppm Alk-56 Sulfate-47 Sodium-51 Chloride-67 and my RA is 39

What do you think of these additions?
Chalk- 1gm
Calcium Chloride-4gm
Epsom salt-8gm
Canning salt-1gm

Palmers mash RA
Says if I did it right that the adjusted mash will be
Ca-64
Mg-36
Alk-89
Sodium-64
Chloride-151
Sulfate-150

What do you think of that for an English barleywine? Should it work out okay? Thanks for any input and sorry if this isn't clear it's not really clear to me....

 

[ajdelange]

You certainly don't want any chalk in there. Quite the opposite in fact - you will probably need some acid. See https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

 

[hotspurdotus]

I think your water has plenty of Magnesium and Sodium; no need to add epsom or canning salt.

My suggestion: use Gypsum to get your sulfates, and more Calcium Chloride for your Chloride levels. Both seem a bit high, are you try to recreate a particular water style?

A parti-gyle for your second all-grain brew is pretty amibitious. Good luck!

 

[Pumbapoindexter]

I am just going off one of the guides in John Palmers "Water" book to get within range for style I am just trying to get the best beer possible. But I have to be honest this water chemistry really throws me for a loop! I'm out of my depth, is there a particular style I should be brewing with my water? It's almost enough to make me go back to extract but I'm trying to save money that's why I went all grain.

Do you think I'm biting off more than I can chew with the parti gyle? I was just going to mash with close to the full boil volume. Then with the second runnings make an English pale ale which my wife was going to brew... So is it the time that's a lot or the technique that is ambitious?

Thanks guys!

 

[hotspurdotus]

I am just going off one of the guides in John Palmers "Water" book to get within range for style I am just trying to get the best beer possible. But I have to be honest this water chemistry really throws me for a loop! I'm out of my depth, is there a particular style I should be brewing with my water? It's almost enough to make me go back to extract but I'm trying to save money that's why I went all grain.

Don't be discouraged. The water stuff isn't all that complicated, but it might take some time to sink in.

I'd say your water is pretty well suited to amber malty beers. Here's what I would concentrate on.

- Use campden tablets to treat for chlorine and chloramine.

- Get your calcium up to 55 ppm using Gypsum and Calcium Chloride.

- Pay attention to your sulfate:chlorine ratio. Your ratio is about .70 right now (47 sulfate/67 chloride) good for malty beers. For hoppy beers, increase the ratio by using more gypsum instead of calcium chloride to get your ratio to 2.0

Then check out bru'n water to get a better understanding of how to build your water profile. Here's a good walkthrough.

Do you think I'm biting off more than I can chew with the parti gyle? I was just going to mash with close to the full boil volume. Then with the second runnings make an English pale ale which my wife was going to brew... So is it the time that's a lot or the technique that is ambitious?

Thanks guys!

It's one more thing to go wrong during a brew day. I'd keep it simple until you are comfortable with the process, then try more advanced techniques.

 

[mabrungard]

As AJ mentions, I don't think you'll need additional alkalinity in that water unless you really boost the calcium content. I see that the sodium, sulfate, and chloride content are moderately high already. The calcium is somewhat low for an ale and might be boosted. A touch of gypsum and calcium chloride might be added. I don't think you need to boost the calcium too high nor the sulfate and chloride. You may be able to brew a BW somewhat well with this stock tap water along with that touch of acid that AJ mentions. But the minor additions I mention above should be good too. I wouldn't mineralize the water anywhere near what How to Brew indicates.