Thanks Eric - quite a relief! If only the terminology could be sorted out for this subject - even on this thread we have the term alkalinity being used by some and hardness being used by others it seems - it doesn't help!
When I got my Salifert kit it agreed pretty much with last years Alkalinity of 123 but haven't tested for quite a long while. As this year has a reading of 177 it clearly has potential for quite significant variation.
Extract brews taste less bitter and are more balanced
-
Eric
- Even further under the Table
- Posts: 2919
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:18 am
- Location: Sunderland.
Re: Extract brews taste less bitter and are more balanced
Yes Steve and it would be a lot better if all the water companies provided their data in the same way.
Local water company figures here are not especially helpful but do illustrate that significant variations in alkalinity can be expected. From my own experience, it is unwise to brew using CRS without testing. I add CRS then test, to reduce the amount of test reagent used and recently added 10ml to 15 litres of mash liquor. Normally it would need up to 10ml more to achieve the desired alkalinity but this time needed another 12 litres of water before it was once more alkaline.
Water treatment can make a big difference to your beer, but if you're not sure what those adjustments do, it's just as possible those differences can be for the worse.
Local water company figures here are not especially helpful but do illustrate that significant variations in alkalinity can be expected. From my own experience, it is unwise to brew using CRS without testing. I add CRS then test, to reduce the amount of test reagent used and recently added 10ml to 15 litres of mash liquor. Normally it would need up to 10ml more to achieve the desired alkalinity but this time needed another 12 litres of water before it was once more alkaline.
Water treatment can make a big difference to your beer, but if you're not sure what those adjustments do, it's just as possible those differences can be for the worse.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.
-
Steve B
Re: Extract brews taste less bitter and are more balanced
I think your last sentence sums it up nicely - I'll be using my salifert kit every time from now on! I might just be lazy every once in a while and get in some Tesco water - but the look the home delivery guy gave me when he carried 30 litres to my door wasn't something I'll forget in a hurry! 