Yeast Starter.

First post by Whistledown, 1 year ago

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The standard method of creating a yeast starter is boil a pre determined quantity of water for 15-20 mins, add dme, cool and pitch the smack pack. My question is; if I use UV sterilised water can I forgo the 15 min boil. My water supply is from a rain water tank which passes through a 4 stage filter including uv light before we drink it.

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Thanks for your answer ShorePoints .
What you say makes sense and I will use the normal method of sterilising to make my starters.

Adjusting Water Profile

First post by robertz64, 1 year ago

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 Planning to use Bru'n Water to calculate my water profiles instead of  5.2 pH stabilizer. I will be using a carbon filter and will have Ward Labs analyze a filtered sample to input on Bru'n Water. 
Is this a reasonable method to treat my water?  
Which pH meters are popular?

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I just moved so my old water report is no longer good. I haven't had a chance to get a full report on my new water so today I used aquarium test straps to find my GH and KH. I plugged these into the brewers friend advanced water profile and was able to figure out my salt additions there. I will be brewing tomorrow and am interested in seeing how it works out. I have a thermoworks ph meter.

More water treatment partial BIAB

First post by aamcle, 2 years ago

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I usually don't brew FVM, I save some of the total water and do a dunk or two often I don't even heat the sparge water and it still moves my efficiency from 65 - 66% to closer to 80%.

I use a standard water calculator to calculate the additions to the volume of water I actually mash with.
All I do with the sparge water is ensure the alkalinity is in the 20 - 50 range but do not other treatments..

Is there some way I can improve my procedure?

Many thanks. Aamcle

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I want to encourage you to use that book. The BIABacus WILL scale the grain and hops automatically :thumbs:

I was tinkering with what little I know about this recipe, my best guess is that it's for a 1.057 OG, is that right? That would put the grain bill at 6231 g, 26.6 L at VAW and 23 L into packaging and you could expect a 82% efficiency in kettle.

That's FVM (full volume mashing)! You CAN do it !!!

5 star water treatment

First post by Oldgit, 2 years ago

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Any one tried this product, dus it actually work

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It will work in full-volume brewing (pure BIAB) in some waters but not others.

Your first step is to buy a pH roll (see bottom of this page) and see what pH your mashes are currently at.

If too high, then use acidulated malt or something like phosphoric acid to get your pH right. Get the pH strips first though and do the measurements. Water adjustments are something you should usually creep into slowly.

Using RO Water - The results are delicious

First post by shetc, 2 years ago

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Gang,

I finally decided it was time to start controlling the water aspect of my brewing, especially as I felt a had the other main factors under control. Decided to go the route of RO water (from my local Wholefoods), and calcium chloride, gypsum and acidulated malt from the LHBS (yea, I finally have one!). Using the Bru'n Water calculator, TDS-EZ METER and Duotest pH strips.

I have brewed Dr Smurto's Golden Ale (a Superbowl party success story) and the BCS California Common. These beers are...

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Great post shetc :salute:.

Definitely something almost all new brewers don't need to worry about however, when you get to the stage you are at, it does open up another world of exploration and fun. The RO world is clean and sometimes too clean. I brew my beers with RO now but some of them have a hollow in the middle of them which I haven't worked out what salt will 'fill' it with yet. I need to brew more often to fix that or just wait for guys like you to teach me how to fill it :peace:.

Keep...

Method and timing of adjustments for FVM

First post by Inconceivable, 3 years ago

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Hello
I'm having a bit of trouble finding explicit instructions on when and how to add your water adjustments. Even 'How to brew' and the Bru'n water knowledge don't spell this out.

From watching videos and random snippets I've read i think the following is the right approach but I'd appreciate confirmation or a steer in the right direction from any that know for sure.

1 add your Camden tablet to kettle
2 fill kettle to SWN level and add your acid addition e.g. Phosphoric
3 commence heating...

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Inconceivable, one other Thing.

The Campden tabs need 20-30 minutes to remove Chlorine, Faster if Crushed, Finely.

Add any other salts/minerals as it starts heating to Dough in temperature, it Take Time to Disolve!!

As the Grains heat thru 121F to 130F the PH of the Mash will drop 1.0 ph to 1.5 ph (in step mashing, it is Acid Rest).

So check the Ph of the mash, a few minutes after Dough in, before adjusting it to 5.5ph.

This, and brewing salts such as gypsum are actually more soluble...

Hard water

First post by Andym510, 3 years ago

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hello, a complete newbie here..... Got most of my equip around for a MINIbiab batch. However our well water is very hard, leaves lots of deposits in a pot when I boil it. Should I plan on using bottled water of some type? Note, our water does taste very good if that helps at all. Andy

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If you can get a water report for the Magnesium/Calcium/Sulfate/Chloride levels you can dilute your Good water with Rain or RO water to have perfect Brewing Water.

Of Course, if the water is good tasting look for London England Ale recipes, since they NEED hard, High Mineral Content.

The worst Beer I have ever had was made with 'Soft water.

Profile for a Belgian Wit Beer(Bier)

First post by HbgBill, 3 years ago

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I was just sitting down to ask this question when I saw I had a message.. Thanks MS...

Hey folks. I've never done a Belgian anything and would like to try a wit beer. For the first try, I bought a kit from an on line brewing supply store...

Basically, the recipe is 6/10's Belgian Pils, 3/10's White Wheat and 1/10 flaked oats... along with some coriander and bitter orange zest.

Being's we have a world wide community here, I thought there might be someone who could lead me in the right...

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Think I finally have it narrowed down.. Now, all I have to do is try to figure how to put it in BeerSmith and BIAB for brew records. :)

Adding salts/minerals to boiled water?

First post by the-erl, 3 years ago

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Hi Guys,

I live in Auckland and our water supply is pretty good other than approx. .8 to 1.3 ppm of chlorine. As I work for a water company I'm in the process of getting my hands on a activated carbon filter to treat the water before using to brew but in the meantime I'll boil the water the night before. My question is, do I need to add anything to the liquor after boiling/passing through a filter?

I'm not too concerned with re-creating famous water profiles yet so any info would be much...

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Cheers Guys :thumbs:

:peace:

First AG and BIAB brew - salts/acid addition needed??

First post by paul_ulyett, 3 years ago

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Hi guys,

I'm planning to do my first AG and first BIAB brew at the weekend and am wondering whether I need to do any water additions (salt/acids etc.)? I brew with rainwater from our tank at home in Perth, WA and am planning on making a London style porter, so there is a bit of chocolate/crystal malt and roasted barley in the grain bill. I've read that rainwater is effectively a blank slate for mineral salts etc. and this affects the enzyme activity and taste to a certain extent, but given...

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Jeff, the PDF is a good write-up. It shows Campden Tablets work well(<1minute).

Those Guys do know the difference between Shinola and that other Stuff.

pH too high?

First post by James, 3 years ago

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I've just had my tap water tested at an aquarium shop and it came up with pH 8.1. I read somewhere that the ideal pH is 5.6 (ish?). I live in Pembrokeshire, South Wales and believe the water to be soft (little limescale build up in kettles, etc). Should i treat my brewing water and if so with what?

Thanks all,
James

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I seem to remember those particular ones are either difficult to source in the UK, or are very expensive.
Maybe Bob needs to add these to his cheese winners awards!

Water treatment for FVM stems?

First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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Before anybody gets excited about partial pressures and reaction equilibria I feel that I must point out that I have trouble chewing gum and walking!

What I've gleaned seems to focus on old style 3V systems not on FVM.

My process is this -

Mash in reserving some water for two dunk sparge.
Mash as required.
Remove bag and dunk sparge.
Add the sparge to the kettle.

All very standard if not pure full volume.

Do I treat the full volume of water to reduce alkalinity or do
I have to further...

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PP I've read your reasoning as to why FVM doesn't benefit from sparging and I believe you have over looked something.

The sugars from 5 to 6 kg of grain will dissolve in 20liters of water as readily as they would in 30liters. I can not persuade my self that their solubility coefficients are such that they suffer any issues at these concentrations.

That's largely beside the point, the grain bed acts like a spong retaining wort and sugars. A sparge simply flushes the most of retained wort from...

Adjusting my water

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First post by onkeltuka, 4 years ago

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I've gotten quite a good water analysis from a friendly chemist at my local water plant. My water is very soft, and I would like to amend it with a touch of gypsum (calsiumsulfate), to bring up those two ions. I just wanted to check my thought pattern here: I will calculate the addition to the final amount of liquid left in the kettle, yes?

I have been learning to use and it's quite handy once you understand what's what.

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Getting back to this water stuff. One thing I can't get my mind around is this: when calculating mineral additions in BW, I calculate the mineral amounts based on the TWN, but once I'm done boiling I might have only 60% liquid of that left, so won't I end up with hugely concentrated amount of minerals in that smaller volume of wort?

Found this response today from the Martin, figured it would be a great addition to this thread.

onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; ... ost6581444...

Ph range in BIAB mash

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First post by nik, 7 years ago

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Has anyone test the Ph range of mash ?
How does the liquid to grist ratio affect the mash compared with traditional liquid to grist ratios ?

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Just my 2 (euro)cents :p
Best and quickest way is to use decent test papers. And it comes from somebody, who was using pH meters. For us it's really the best and convenient way to take measurements.
This plus monitoring water 'source' stats (they can change during the year), should result in comfy solution for enzymes to break the starches :)

Water, water every where ...

First post by Niimus, 4 years ago

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Hi,

I have scoured the internet for details on water and calculators on what I need to add to get a reasonable (for brewing) water profile.

I have 'moderate' hard water with a ph of 7.25 (analysis here .. Derby Centre but all calculations seen to ask for ppm values of minerals etc. not found in my water report - so all calculations fail ... :think:

So my question is basically given wha\t info I can get from severn trent water what do I need to add for my tap water to become the 5.2ph...

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Hold on guys, we are forgetting the beauty of pure BIAB!!!

Remember in pure BIAB, you add all water needed in the beginning. This makes things really simple. The addition of grains doesn't make that much difference. And, there is a lot of misinformation in this area. Crystal grains affect the pH more than dark grains for example.

As for pH measuring instruments, you will need a pH meter (and know how to use it) or the correct type of pH strips.

Only worry about water when you know why you...

Is my water too hard?

First post by bionut, 5 years ago

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Hi!
My last brew, a SMASH with Pale Ale malt and Cascade hops (homegrown) has a harsh bitterness that you stays on the tongue for 5-10 seconds after you drink it, although i didn't use so much hops: 50 grams of Cascade as 60, 25 and 5 min aditions, for 4 kg of malt . The smell is also a little bit strange, i can't asociate it with nothing :(
Could that be a sign that my water is too hard, with to much carbonate?
I can't do a water test because it cost to much (the price is bigger that 25 kg of...

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bionut,

Look at this link about Off Flavors

Using water from a Solar hot water system

First post by Aces high, 6 years ago

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I have a solar hot water system on my brew shed. It seemed like a great idea when i was getting it and right now the water comes out at about 65 degrees straight from the tap (i removed the tempering valve)

Since i have been using it my efficiencies seem to be down. Im not a sticklier for eff, but I used to always hit hte numbers that the calculator & brewmate told me i would get. Lately i've been down every time.

The tank is a steel/ ceramic tank and it has a magnesium sacrifical annode....

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So FWIW I taste tested the solar heater water once cool, and it tasted fine. Possibly better than our normal tap water, which I generally find unpleasant.

I went ahead a tried a BIAB with the hot tap water which was around 65'C, so it took very little heating to get up to the 72'C required for pitching the grain. I used 10g of gypsum since I'm brewing an ESB style, calculated based on some Brisbane water (Mt Crosby) profile averages.

I'd be curious to learn more about the chemistry of water...

Water Treatment

First post by nik, 8 years ago

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Hello!
Recently while planing my new brews I considered to use some water treatment . I am convinced that is beneficial but as I read more I am getting more confused also.
As far as I read I 've understood that is a quite complicated subject and with wrong use you can end with disaster .
Have you any opinions or suggestions on that subject.

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I've started using this web based tool that Kia made, it closely matches the EZ spreadsheet. You can use it for free and you can keep up to 5 profiles . If you join, your recipes will interface with it.

I like the 'water target selection' and the 'source water, GH & kH water report'.

You can do your own home water testing and plug the numbers into the calculator;

Electronic pH meter

First post by thughes, 6 years ago

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Just picked up a pH meter from Austin Home Brew Supply (the price was right) so now I can check my mash pH. Although I've never worried about pH before, get good conversion, and my beer tastes excellent, I've always wondered if it could be better . I tried the paper strips but discerning the shades of color between 5.0 and 5.4 was beyond the ability of my old eyeballs. :dunno:

So, now I get to measure my mash pH accurately! :thumbs:

(At least until PP shows up and tells me that pH meters...

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Never put the electrode in hot wort Whoops!

:P

pH of Full Volume BIAB as a Function of Res. Alkalinity

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First post by BrickBrewHaus, 6 years ago

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I've been wanting to do a little experiment involving the mash pH of a full volume BIAB for quite some time now. The opportunity finally presented itself today and I was able to do a modified version of the experiment I had planned.

If you've read around the interwebs long enough, you've surely come across threads regarding the mash pH and how it should ideally fall within some range, lets say 5.2-5.5. Most threads you read about water treatments and predicted mash pH's are assuming a...

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Linköping, Sweden water report:
Ca: 18,6 ppm
Mg: 2,5 ppm
Na: 8,9 ppm
Cl: 10,9 ppm
Alkalinity CaCO3: 45,6 ppm
pH: 8,4

To this I added for 27,5l of mash water:
7,2 g CaCO3
3,1 g CaCl 77%
2,1 g MgSO4
Hmmm...Any idea what the units were for Ca and Mg? Were they ppm or ppm as CaCO3?

If ppm, then the Ca hardness is (18.6 ppm (mg/L) / (40 g/mol / 2)) x 50 = 46.5 ppm as CaCO3. Mg hardness is (2.5 ppm / (24.3/2)) x 50 = 10.3 ppm as CaCO3.

Then, RA = Alk (as CaCO3) - ((Ca/3.5) + (Mg/7)) = 45.6 -...

pH meters

First post by wizard78, 7 years ago

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G'day everyone,
I'm looking into getting a pH meter while the Aussie dollar is good, and was wanting advice on whether or not to get a meter with auto temp comp? I'm looking at either the Hanna 98107 or 98108(with atc).
I noticed that the one with atc only has a range to 50 deg C, so I assume you would have to collect some wort and cool to test.
I hope some of you will be able to chime in with some of your experiences with either type of meter.
Cheers :salute:

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Thanks for the replies guys, look like I'll go for one with atc. :thumbs: