Cut Municipal Water with RO then adjust??

Craigerrr

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Hey Folks
I have been using RO and building water to a profile to suit my various brews for some time now.
My local brew club has finally posted my municipal water profiles, yes more than one.
We have two separate water sources, so my tap water could be one, the other, or a mix of the two.

Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl HCO3 pH
Well # 1 101 36 52 52 127 363 8.08
Well # 2 106 39 78 65 190 338 7.69

I would average the above numbers, and expect to be close to real world numbers for my tap water.
Mg and Na are way high compared to what I usually build to.

Would it make sense to cut this 50/50 with RO, and adjust the chlorides to sulfates to suit light hoppies, and dark malties accordingly?

Or should I just use this water as is and see how it pans out?

Thanks in advance,
Craigerrr
 
Hey Folks
I have been using RO and building water to a profile to suit my various brews for some time now.
My local brew club has finally posted my municipal water profiles, yes more than one.
We have two separate water sources, so my tap water could be one, the other, or a mix of the two.

Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl HCO3 pH
Well # 1 101 36 52 52 127 363 8.08
Well # 2 106 39 78 65 190 338 7.69

I would average the above numbers, and expect to be close to real world numbers for my tap water.
Mg and Na are way high compared to what I usually build to.

Would it make sense to cut this 50/50 with RO, and adjust the chlorides to sulfates to suit light hoppies, and dark malties accordingly?

Or should I just use this water as is and see how it pans out?

Thanks in advance,
Craigerrr
I've cut our water with distilled a few times in the past, seems to work for me.
 
Hey Folks
I have been using RO and building water to a profile to suit my various brews for some time now.
My local brew club has finally posted my municipal water profiles, yes more than one.
We have two separate water sources, so my tap water could be one, the other, or a mix of the two.

Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl HCO3 pH
Well # 1 101 36 52 52 127 363 8.08
Well # 2 106 39 78 65 190 338 7.69

I would average the above numbers, and expect to be close to real world numbers for my tap water.
Mg and Na are way high compared to what I usually build to.

Would it make sense to cut this 50/50 with RO, and adjust the chlorides to sulfates to suit light hoppies, and dark malties accordingly?

Or should I just use this water as is and see how it pans out?

Thanks in advance,
Craigerrr
All that really needs to be done is cut your hardness and pH down with acid then adjust your chloride/sulfate to your style and your good
 
This is just from memory, but some of those metallic salts are needed during fermentation but then become a great source of oxidation afterwards. I think it may be Manganese instead of Magnesium that I've heard talked about more, but I think it's most of them. So mixing in the RO water makes sense to me.

The other tip I've heard is to add a small amount of hops to the mash as that is able to change some of those metallic salts to less oxidative variations (I think it was Scott Janish on the hop idea).
 
This is just from memory, but some of those metallic salts are needed during fermentation but then become a great source of oxidation afterwards. I think it may be Manganese instead of Magnesium that I've heard talked about more, but I think it's most of them. So mixing in the RO water makes sense to me.

The other tip I've heard is to add a small amount of hops to the mash as that is able to change some of those metallic salts to less oxidative variations (I think it was Scott Janish on the hop idea).
I believe you're correct on both counts: Manganese is oxidative, best to get it out of there if possible. I don't see any manganese (Mn) in his listing, only magnesium (Mg). The water isn't bad to start with, just quite alkaline. Make a great dark beer!
 
The other tip I've heard is to add a small amount of hops to the mash as that is able to change some of those metallic salts to less oxidative variations (I think it was Scott Janish on the hop idea).
Would that be the same as a chelation agent like Brewtan B?
 
Would that be the same as a chelation agent like Brewtan B?
Similar I suppose. I've tried to find it on Scott Janish's blog, but can't see it. It may have been from a podcast when he was talking about his book.

From what I remember it was taking the salt and moving it to a more stable form that was less likely to oxidise. So it would probably then just drop to the bottom and effectively be the same.

Though I never really understood the Brewtan B story. There seemed to be too many faith based statements when people explained it. Not saying it doesn't work, just that I didn't really hear the evidence.
 
Similar I suppose. I've tried to find it on Scott Janish's blog, but can't see it. It may have been from a podcast when he was talking about his book.

From what I remember it was taking the salt and moving it to a more stable form that was less likely to oxidise. So it would probably then just drop to the bottom and effectively be the same.

Though I never really understood the Brewtan B story. There seemed to be too many faith based statements when people explained it. Not saying it doesn't work, just that I didn't really hear the evidence.
I’m not sure how effective it is either, but I do know it’s a chelation agent and bonds to metals. I was wondering if the hops in the mash serve the same purpose.
 
I've used it (and still do when I remember to), mostly on light lagers and ales. Can't tell any real difference.
 
Hey Folks
I have been using RO and building water to a profile to suit my various brews for some time now.
My local brew club has finally posted my municipal water profiles, yes more than one.
We have two separate water sources, so my tap water could be one, the other, or a mix of the two.

Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl HCO3 pH
Well # 1 101 36 52 52 127 363 8.08
Well # 2 106 39 78 65 190 338 7.69

I would average the above numbers, and expect to be close to real world numbers for my tap water.
Mg and Na are way high compared to what I usually build to.

Would it make sense to cut this 50/50 with RO, and adjust the chlorides to sulfates to suit light hoppies, and dark malties accordingly?

Or should I just use this water as is and see how it pans out?

Thanks in advance,
Craigerrr

This water is great for gardens, I'm a gardner and would love that water
 

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