pvtpublic
Whale Oil Beef Hooked
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2011
- Messages
- 1,316
- Reaction score
- 1,680
So, I had moved across town back in September, where I had excellent well water for brewing. I would preboil to remove excess carbonates, but I did not make any chemistry adjustments. That's due to not having the means to take readings, and the lack of water chemistry knowledge to go along with it. I was hitting 85% mash efficiency everytime, no matter the beer style. Producing some excellent beer.
Fast forward to now. I haven't changed a damn thing. My equipment is still the same. My ingredients are the same, process, temps, volumes, the works. The only difference is my source water. I no longer have access to well water, so I pick it up at the grocery store. Again, don't know the chemistry. I'm now getting 70% efficiency with all 5 batches I've brewed in the new digs.
I don't necessarily care that my mash efficiency is lower, but it's perplexing me. I've wrapped my mind around this and the only thing that comes to mind is this - does water make-up affect efficiency? If so, how?
Fast forward to now. I haven't changed a damn thing. My equipment is still the same. My ingredients are the same, process, temps, volumes, the works. The only difference is my source water. I no longer have access to well water, so I pick it up at the grocery store. Again, don't know the chemistry. I'm now getting 70% efficiency with all 5 batches I've brewed in the new digs.
I don't necessarily care that my mash efficiency is lower, but it's perplexing me. I've wrapped my mind around this and the only thing that comes to mind is this - does water make-up affect efficiency? If so, how?