De-ionised water

(That's water to the rest of us!) Beer is about 95% water, so if you want to discuss water treatment, filtering etc this is the place to do it!
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Cobnut
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De-ionised water

Post by Cobnut » Fri Mar 29, 2019 1:56 pm

having located a low cost source of the above (100l "donated") and suffering from super-hard domestic water supply, I'm wondering about "collective's" thoguhts on the 'blank canvas' approach using de-ionised /de-mineralised water?

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Re: De-ionised water

Post by LeeH » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:02 pm

100l isn’t a huge amount.


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Re: De-ionised water

Post by Cobnut » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:26 pm

Leeh,

True, but I'm sure i can obtain more at low cost.

The question was more concerning whether it represents a good way to obtain a desired water profile?
Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!

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De-ionised water

Post by LeeH » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:33 pm

I’ll fess up to something embarrassing.....I though this post was on www.detailingworld.co.uk





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Re: De-ionised water

Post by Cobnut » Fri Mar 29, 2019 6:17 pm

LeeH wrote:I’ll fess up to something embarrassing.....I though this post was on www.detailingworld.co.uk





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Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!

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De-ionised water

Post by LeeH » Fri Mar 29, 2019 6:20 pm

Building a profile up from scratch is way above my knowledge and Murphy’s broad brush approach. I have very hard water.

I have mainly seen the method you mention on the US forums where they seem to be extremely anal about water profiles.


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Re: De-ionised water

Post by Kev888 » Sat Mar 30, 2019 1:15 am

Using 'nothing' water as a starting point and building up is popular with some nationalities or in certain situations, and it can be made to work. But it really isn't something I would choose for home-brewing to British styles or preferences unless there was a good (and somewhat unusual) reason.

I'd firstly question if there was any need to do this; hard water isn't intrinsically bad, and in fact frequently the opposite. Depending on its make-up, some small, easy tweaks might be all that are needed. Or, if there were an argument for DI water then I'd ask if just diluting with it might be more appropriate than completely substituting it and so then having to start from scratch.
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Re: De-ionised water

Post by orlando » Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:03 am

Obviously it depends on what is in your water in the first place, have you had a proper analysis? Most of us with slightly, even highly raised alkalinity levels, can make just about anything without using DI or if you like RO water. Diluting with it can help with low mineral Beers like Pilsner but otherwise judicious use of acids and a bit of calcium chloride and it really is unnecessary. We wouldn't be having this discussion if it wasn't for the US obsession with "minerally" water, which is not helpful to British brewers. In answer to your question, does it represent a good way to obtain a desired water profile, no, not really, just another way.
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Re: De-ionised water

Post by Cobnut » Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:22 pm




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Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!

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