Wow hopfenundmalz. That sulfate-chloride ratio is wack.
My house is softened but the water is still about 225 ppm- all sodium.
Boiling was my procedure before, and it would drop out some of the carbonate, so that the kettle had "fur" the next morning. Boiling was time and energy intensive. I also didn't know the repeatability, or the mineral content after boiling.Quote
Jeff,
Have you considered lime treatment of your water to remove some of the alkalinity? It requires much less energy than boiling and is fairly consistent. I tried it on two of my recent batches and using a GH&KH test kit I was able to confirm the alkalinity reduction. The only complicated part is calculating the necessary lime additions but I plan to add support for that to my spreadsheet and also plan to write a how-to soon.
Kai
I have read about that some years back, have not tried it. Does it leave the other minerals unmodified?
Gail, I live in Flint which gets it's water from the Detroit system and I usually dilute my water with RO to 50% for most beers between 6-13 SRM. I have noticed during the winter though that my mash ph has been lower which would mean my bi-carb values are down and the water has less buffering capability. I brewed a Stout with 100% my water a month ago and the ph is usually spot on but I had to add some CaCO3 to the mash to raise the ph a little. First time I've ever had to do that.The last info I got on our Detroit city water was Spring 2009, sulfates at 31 ppm. That was from Springwells plant which supplies my area. I'm pleasantly surprised Flint gets Detroit water. Jeff is right: our city water is great for most beer styles and stouts need just a little adjustment. Time to get another city water analysis which should be available soon. I'm reading another thread about Best vs. Weyermann malts and am wondering if the issues I'm having with lighter SRM beers is really about the malt and not the water (I have diluted and not gotten the clean, malty results I've wanted). I love this hobby. So many variables.
Oh, and I always add about a teaspoon of gypsum to the boil for my IPAs. I don't know my sulfate level but I think it makes the bitterness much more "clean" tasting.