[Bel Air Brewing]

So...my tap water pH is 7.3
How much RO water do I need to add to get it down to 5.2? And this would be for a 14 gallon volume.

[denny]

So...my tap water pH is 7.3
How much RO water do I need to add to get it down to 5.2? And this would be for a 14 gallon volume.

Water pH doesn't really matter since adding grain will bring it down.  Mash pH is what counts.  I use Bru'nwater to figure out how much of what to add.

[BrewBama]

+1

I don’t concern myself with the pH of the strike water.  I plug the grain into Bru’n Water and let it give me a prediction of pH after it’s mixed with the water. I adjust (if required) based on that prediction. Generally, I shoot for 5.4-5.6 at room temp which will get me ~5.2 at 152*F.


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[majorvices]

No one mentioned it that I saw, but you want at least 50ppm calcium in your water for proper yeast health and flocculation. So add a little calcium chloride or gypsum to that RO water if all you are using in RO water.

[Silver_Is_Money]

Isn't it amazing how these myths persist?

Funny how the Pilsner Urquell website states that they brew it today just as they did in 1842, and then it directly states this about the ingredients and the water they use (capital letters are theirs, not mine):

SWEET MORAVIAN BARLEY,
BITTER SAAZ HOPS, SOFT
PLZEN WATER

[dbeechum]

RO is the way to go!!

I don't use RO, because I don't trust the RO vendors to maintain their equipment and I really don't trust myself to deal with the hassle/expense of maintaining one for myself.

Not to mention that if you follow what Martin's talked about, Chloramine is a bear for filtration removal.

So I use an RV hose, know what my water is and work from there. Takes less than 5 minutes on brew day.

[HopDen]

RO is the way to go!!

I don't use RO, because I don't trust the RO vendors to maintain their equipment and I really don't trust myself to deal with the hassle/expense of maintaining one for myself.

Not to mention that if you follow what Martin's talked about, Chloramine is a bear for filtration removal.

So I use an RV hose, know what my water is and work from there. Takes less than 5 minutes on brew day.

I haven't found it to be a hassle in the least bit or expensive. Every 5 or so brew sessions remove the filters and rinse. After 30 brew sessions replace the RO membrane.
Depending on how a the water treatment plant, chloramines are only present when both chlorine and ammonia are used for disinfection but I would defer to Martin on that.
 Can you elaborate on what an RV hose is and what kind of water you use?
Thanks

[hopfenundmalz]

RO is the way to go!!

I don't use RO, because I don't trust the RO vendors to maintain their equipment and I really don't trust myself to deal with the hassle/expense of maintaining one for myself.

Not to mention that if you follow what Martin's talked about, Chloramine is a bear for filtration removal.

So I use an RV hose, know what my water is and work from there. Takes less than 5 minutes on brew day.

I'm my own RO vendor.

No more lugging 5 gallon jugs around, in and out of cars.

[Bel Air Brewing]

RO is the way to go!!

I don't use RO, because I don't trust the RO vendors to maintain their equipment and I really don't trust myself to deal with the hassle/expense of maintaining one for myself.

Not to mention that if you follow what Martin's talked about, Chloramine is a bear for filtration removal.

So I use an RV hose, know what my water is and work from there. Takes less than 5 minutes on brew day.

I'm my own RO vendor.

No more lugging 5 gallon jugs around, in and out of cars.

This. We have a built in RO system under our kitchen sink. It gets serviced by a water company on a regular basis.

[BrewBama]

I buy distilled water off the shelf in 2.5 gal jugs from the local grocery. Add minerals based on Bru’n Water. Cheap n Easy.


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[Bel Air Brewing]

I buy distilled water off the shelf in 2.5 gal jugs from the local grocery. Add minerals based on Bru’n Water. Cheap n Easy.


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Picked up a new countertop charcoal activated filter, with a one micron cartridge. This water will supplement our RO water. The plan now is to go with a 50/50 blend.

[Bel Air Brewing]

There are some universal truths here:

    1. If it is good to drink, it is good to brew.

    2. Duplicating classic styles requires water similar to the original source .

    3. Any amount of chlorine, chloramine, iron or magnesium is always too much but not always so much to not be tolerated.

    4. Homebrewers don't need to follow anyone's rules.

    5. At least some mineral content is needed for all grain, distilled water is acceptable with extract.

    6. Understanding water science is an important consideration if you intend to produce a specific beer but is also not all that important if you just
        want to make good beer.     

    7. Water chemistry for brewing is an advanced topic that only gets more complex the more you learn.

[BrewBama]

Your gonna get arguments with those universal truths. Dudes here will pick that apart like a chicken on a June bug.

For example: duplicating water from a specific source really doesn’t matter because you don’t know what the brewer did to the water to create their brewing liquor.

...and on and on... right down the line.


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[Bel Air Brewing]

Your gonna get arguments with those universal truths. Dudes here will pick that apart like a chicken on a June bug.

For example: duplicating water from a specific source really doesn’t matter because you don’t know what the brewer did to the water to create their brewing liquor.

...and on and on... right down the line.


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The other interesting stat I found is that 55% of home brewers do nothing to their water. Guess I’m in that group. Brewing for 20 plus years and the only thing we do is filter our tap water.

[BrewBama]

Yep. We all fall along a spectrum of involvement.

...for a whole lot of people ‘good’ is good enough. Might even be ‘pretty good’ or even ‘great’. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Others are a bit more meticulous about every nuance of every Nth degree. They’re seeking perfection. Nothing wrong with that either.

Happiness is in the eyes of the beer holder.

Just the word ‘universal’ coupled with ‘truth’ will probably start a range war.

Good luck my friend.

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