Going in blind

[Josh Hughes]

Brew day tomorrow. Not going after RO water. I have campden tablets. I have 2 gallons of RO and I’ll need 2-3 gallons of tap water which I’ll treat with campden.

I have no idea about my tap water in terms of ppm of minerals. It is hard but not sure how hard. Nothing online. I do know the water plant president. I’m brewing a British brown so I assume hard won’t be a problem.

Not used tap water in 4 years.

My questions
1. How much campden for 3 gallons of tap water?
2. Do I even need to worry about ph? Recipe as listed, not accounting for water or salt additions has a ph of 5.8
3. What do I guesstimate for entering in the calculator?

 

[Sunfire96]

Can you find out if your water has chlorine or chloramine?
I use 1/4 campden tablet for 6 gallons of brewing water from the faucet brita filter because my city uses chloramine

 

[Sunfire96]

With the style you're brewing I wouldn't even worry about pH or minerals. You could throw 2 grams each of gypsum and calcium chloride for peace of mind. My biggest concern would be removing chlorine/chloramine

 

[J A]

Campden dosage suggests 1 tab for 20 gallons, so not much. I agree with @Sunfire96 ...throw in a little Gypsum and CaCl in about equal measure and don't worry about it too much.

 

[Josh Hughes]

They do use chloramine.

Would I even filter it though a Brita?

 

[Sunfire96]

Use 1/4 tablet of campden for each 5 gallons of total brewing water to remove the chloramine

Throw in some minerals or not, I don't think it makes a difference. Add 1 mL of lattice acid if you want, again it won't hurt anything. Chloramine is your worst enemy here

 

[J A]

They do use chloramine.

Would I even filter it though a Brita?

Use the best filtration you have at your disposal. I have a small "whole house" filter on my cold water source that I use for brewing (and drinking). Anything you can do to lighten the load of "contaminants" will help in the long run.

 

[Donoroto]

1/4 tab, no, 20 calcium, 40 sulphate, and forget the rest.

Search for “KY” here:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/water-profiles

 

[Megary]

With the style you're brewing I wouldn't even worry about pH or minerals. You could throw 2 grams each of gypsum and calcium chloride for peace of mind. My biggest concern would be removing chlorine/chloramine

I agree with this. Without knowing what you’re working with just remove the chloramine and don’t worry about the rest.

Unless you can find your water report, then have at it!

 

[Craigerrr]

I agree with this. Without knowing what you’re working with just remove the chloramine and don’t worry about the rest.

Unless you can find your water report, then have at it!

I would also concur

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

If you have a pH meter, just follow that. Hard (calcium) water is not likely going to be a problem, but alkalinity (bicarbonates) will drive the pH up. That's usually not too big of a problem in the mash, but the pH may need to be adjusted prior to the pitch. The pH should be @ 5.2 at pitch. A high pH at pitch can cause the beer to finish with a high pH, it may cause a "flabby" beer or the bitterness to be harsh.

 

[J A]

If you have a pH meter, just follow that. Hard (calcium) water is not likely going to be a problem, but alkalinity (bicarbonates) will drive the pH up. That's usually not too big of a problem in the mash, but the pH may need to be adjusted prior to the pitch. The pH should be @ 5.2 at pitch. A high pH at pitch can cause the beer to finish with a high pH, it may cause a "flabby" beer or the bitterness to be harsh.

Good point...I have a good pH meter and use it to confirm predicted mash and wort pH. Acidifying sparge water is important to mash efficiency and adjusting final pH.