Questions for Mad Zs. Who makes no adjustments to water? ◦ Your beer tastes good though right? Who tests/adjusts water profile for each brew? ◦ Y: Has it made a big difference to your beer? ◦ Y: What changes have you found most beneficial? Has anyone ruined a batch by making water adjustments?

Objective To share/test water knowledge gained through BJCP exam prep and general research. To learn more from you via Q&A. Keep it interesting and fun!! Caveat: My practical experience is limited, BUT…I did stay here once.

Soren P.L. Sorensen Invented the pH scale in At the Carlsberg Laboratory in Denmark. Lab established by Carlsberg Brewery in ◦ To advance biochemical knowledge related to brewing. Lab also isolated saccharomyces carlsbergensis.  Know known as saccharomyces pastorianus (lager yeast)

Water Adjustment Overview Colin Mead – Mad Z’s When to (not to) adjust. Local water profiles. Easy adjustments. Reference material.

Reasons Not To Adjust Water If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. ◦ Ok to drink - ok to brew with. Risk vs Reward ◦ Ruin batch vs 3-5% incremental improvement. Complicated, expensive & hazardous. “Get comfortable with the entire brewing process, fix/perfect other areas first (eg fermentation temp) before adjusting water.” - Jamil Zainesheff & John Palmer

Reasons To Adjust Water Remove impurities and off flavors/odors. Emulate a water profile for a specific style. Incrementally improve quality of beer. ◦ Taste, odor, clarity Improve process efficiency. Because you can ;-) Note: There isn’t one water profile suited for all beer styles.

Classic Brewing vs Homebrew. Classic BrewingHomebrewing Ingredient Source LocalGlobal (except H 2 O) Beer Style Brewed Matched to ingredients (incl H 2 O). Any and all styles. Water Chemistry Understanding Limited.Extensive. Adjustments for Style. Process and grain bill. Process, grain bill, & water. Water is accountable for creating entire beer styles, eg: Stouts, Porters, IPAs, Pilsners, Dunkels, Bocks etc…

Key Water Adjustments ExtractAll Grain Remove Impurities Biological, physical, chemical. Yes Adjust for Mash pH Hardness & alkalinity. NoYes Adjust for Flavor Accentuate malt sweetness vs hop bitterness. Yes

Water to Avoid or Be Aware of. Softened Water (never use) ◦ Replaces Calcium & Magnesium ions with Sodium (Na) or Potassium (K) (depending on which salt is used). ◦ The harder the water, the more Na or K gets added. ◦ In excess both Na and Kwill add a salty taste to beer. Distilled Water/RO water (use with caveats) ◦ Extract  Should be OK to use. Extract contains minerals for yeast. ◦ All Grain  Do NOT use “as-is” – no minerals for mash or yeast.  Use to reduce hardness and alkalinity (dilution).  Use to “build you own” water  Need to add Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Zn, Na, SO4, Cl, HCO3

First Step – Where Are You? You need to know A to get to B B B EBMUD 90% Mokelumne River 10% Local watersheds ZONE 7 California SWP Del Valle Wells ACWD California SWP Hetch Hetchy Local Water (Pilzen/Dublin/BoT)

Water Report DSRD 2012

The Problem with Water Reports Averages or wide ranges for the year. ◦ Eg Zone 7 “blends” range 5%-50% well water. Missing data for brewing. ◦ Livermore: No Calcium or Alkalinity reported. Many are inaccurate (online complaints) “You cannot rely on the water report (for brewing) as its only an average over the year, and the blend changes daily…you would need to send your water for testing if you want the level of detail you are asking for” Raj G. – DSRD Water Engineering Mgr

Water Test Kits Gives more meaningful/timely results. Does not test all aspects of water. Expensive.

Test Kit Results (6/9/2013). LevelZone 7 (Dublin) EBMUD (San Ramon) Chlorine/Chloramine0/No Test Avail Calciumppm/as CaCO332 / 804 Magnesiumppm/as CaCO334 / Sulphateppm40Not Tested ChlorideppmNo Test Avail SodiumppmNo Test Avail Total Hardnessppm as CaCO3220 (v. hard)20 (soft) Alkalinityppm as CaCO3220 (high)40 (low) pH 7.8Not tested Would people with test kits be willing to share results? Note: ppm IS equiv to mg/l, but is NOT the same as “ppm as CaCO 3 ”

Municipal Water Treatment Chlorine/chloramine added for safety. ◦ Can lead to medicinal/band-aid like aroma/flavors (chlorophenols) and should be removed. pH/Alkalinity typically increased ( ). Hardness typically reduced. Water profile changed throughout year ◦ Blend ratio (eg surface:well). ◦ Odors from algae and microbes in summer.

Removing Chloramine MethodPositiveBe Aware Campden Tablets (Potassium or Sodium metabisulfite in tablet or powder form) Fast acting Most effective Prevents wild yeast contamination. Cheap. Adds sulphites (allergies) Excess sulphites can stunt/kill yeast. Crush tablets ¼- ½ tablet safe for 5gln Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C.) Effective Alternative to CTs (no sulphites). Cheap. May lower pH. Use 100% powder form. ¼ tsp for 5gln Charcoal Filter Can remove some of the chloramine. Removes other odors and contaminants. Does not remove all chloramine. Water must flow slow over charcoal to work (1 pint per minute).

Measuring Additions Use proper measuring devices. ◦ A teaspoon is not a measuring device. ◦ Very small amounts requiring accuracy/ Use precautions when using acids and bases.

Hardness, pH & Alkalinity Hardness ◦ Measure of Ca and Mg levels. pH ◦ Measure of the ratio of hydronium (H3O+ aka H+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions in solution. Alkalinity ◦ Measure of the “buffering” (resistance to pH change) capability.

pH & Alkalinity OH SR20 Dub200 H+ SR0.2 Dub2 Dublin & SR can have the same pH but different Alkalinity… pH = ratio H:OH (eg1:100) Alk = Ability to resist Acid

pH & Alkalinity OH SR0.2 Dub2 H+ SR20 Dub200 …but it takes 10x more Acid to neutralize the Alkalinity in Dublin As acid increases, base reduces by the same ratio.

Residual Alkalinity Residual Alkalinity = Total Alkalinity – Effective Hardness

RA of Local and Classic Waters EBMUD Actual Zone 7 Actual Dub Ca E P L B Dub Ire Do

How I Changed Zone 7 Water 1.4 Gallons Zone 7 Water 2. Add 5 Gallons Distilled Water 3. Add 4gr (1 tsp) Gypsum E

Summary Get your brewing process nailed down first – then adjust water. ◦ Exception – always remove Chloramine. Know your starting point before adjusting. ◦ If Hardness and/or Alkalinity too high: Dilute ◦ If too soft: Harden with Gypsum/Calcium Chloride Measure with care. The goal is to get in the right ballpark, not hit the plate.

Brewing Mineral Summary FunctionRange (rec) Notes CalciumHardens water to help reduce the mash pH (100) * Major ion. MagnesiumHardens water to help reduce the mash pH. Yeast nutrient >50ppm harsh mineral taste or sour/bitter. >125ppm laxative & diuretic effects SulphateAccentuates hop bitterness astringency >750 = diarrhea. Keep Sodium low. SodiumAccentuates sweetness (<50) accents sweetness of malt. >200 salty taste. Keep low if Sulphates high ChlorideEnhances sweetness and malt flavor & smooths bitterness >300 Medicinal flavors – chlorophenols. High levels can hamper yeast flocculation SO4:Cl RatioAccentuates sweetness/bitterness. 2:1 Hoppy 1:2 Malty 7:1 max ratio. BicarbonateDetermines Alkalinity. Neutralizes acids from dark malts for pale/base malt only beers for amber-colored, toasted malts for dark, roasted malts

Brewing Minerals & Salts Add Viagr/gal ppm Notes CalciumCalcium Sulphate (Gypsum) Calcium Chloride Gypsum: harder to dissolve as water temp increases – add pre-heat. Check existing sulphate/chloride levels and ratio. May need to combine salts. MagnesiumMagnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) Magnesium Chloride Harder to dissolve as water temp increases. Keep Mg below 30 (laxative). SulphateCalcium Sulphate (Gypsum) Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) Keep sulphate below 150 Watch sulphate:chloride ratio SodiumSodium Chloride (canning salt) Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) Keep sodium below 150. ChlorideCalcium Chloride Sodium Chloride (use non-iodized only – otherwise yeast poisoned) Keep chloride below 250 Watch sulphate:chloride ratio BicarbonateSodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) Calcium Carbonate (Chalk) Pickling Lime Be aware of sodium addition. Chalk does not readily dissolve in water so add it to mash tun. Experts say its not worth it, as it only increases pH by 0.2. Chalk and pickling lime also add Ca.

Adjusting Hardness, Alkalinity & Mash pH Increase ViaReduce By Hardness Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum) Calcium Chloride Calcium Carbonate (Chalk) Calcium Hydroxide (Pickling Lime) Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) Magnesium Chloride Boiling (temp hardness only) Dilute with DI/RO water. Residual Alkalinity Sodium BiCarbonate (Baking Soda) Calcium Carbonate (Chalk) Calcium Hydroxide ** Five Star 5.2 buffer (many reports indicate this does not work as advertised and leads to much higher mash pH) Dilute with DI/RO water Calcium and Magnesium additions to mash water. Lactic acid. Sulfuric acid. Phosphoric acid (?) Hydrochloric (muriatic) acid. Dark malts.

Reference Material ◦ How to Brew – John Palmer ◦ BJCP Exam prep ◦ Papers by AJ deLange (water chemistry for ProMash) ◦ Homebrewtalk Forum ◦ Brewing Network Podcasts (Water Chemistry x 4) ◦ Final Gravity Podcast (Water Chemistry) ◦ ◦ ◦ Water Calculators ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

Water Adjustments & Witches Hats