Water Worries Worked-Out

pH for Beginners

by Graham Sanders

Good enough to drink, good enough to brew with....

Why Bother ?

But for some brewers this isn’t enough. Because water is the major raw material used in making beer, it can impart its own taste on the finished product. Adjusting the chemistry of the brew water does play a part if you are really trying to copy a certain brand of beer. Even the best brewers with the best techniques are sometimes disappointed with their brews when they taste certain imported beers and find they can’t quite get the same flavour in their own beer. They follow the recipes to the letter, but still there’s something missing.

Often it’s because the water they use is not the same as the water used by the commercial brewery. It has different minerals, salts and pH when compared to the craftbrewer’s water. But unfortunately, most craftbrewers give up when they read about water chemistry. Things like hardness, alkalinity, pH, ppm, ionic strength, buffering and carbonate and bi-carbonate levels are very off putting, sounds like something only a scientist can understand.

Now, while some of us do get down to this level of water chemistry with our beers, this article is to cover the basics and what most brewers should really worry about when they get into water chemistry and brewing. Master the following basic areas and you should see improvements in your brews.

They are

1. Understanding water pH
2. Buffering and carbonates
3. Correcting your water pH

Now I will not go all chemical or scientific in this article. I don’t see a need to. I will stick to the very basics. Making a beer should be simple and enjoyable, and so it will be for this article.

Understanding water pH

Water pH is nothing more than a measurement of how acidic your water is. You have all tasted something that is an acid, for example vinegar or a lemon. It’s nothing more than a numbering scale from 1 to 14 on how acidic something is.

So it goes like this

1 extremely acidic

4 very acidic

6 mildy acidic

7 neutral

So a number 1 to 7 is in the acid range.

What happens between 7 to 14. Well that’s what they call basic, but sometimes the word alkaline is used, I will stick to the term basic. So what is something that is basic? Well it’s the exact opposite of acidic, so its things like soap and caustic soda. While acid burns, basic stuff feels soapy to touch.

So it goes up like this

7 neutral

8 mildy basic

10 very basic

14 extremely basic.

Now really all you have to remember is that pH are numbers, 1-7 acidic, 7-14 basic.

That’s all.

So how do you find out what the ph of your water is? Surprisingly it’s very easy.

Most water boards or local councils will happily tell you what the average pH of your water is. Just give them a phone call. But one very under used source is the local pool shop. Most know the pH of the water in your area through experience. They would be able to tell you that over the counter, with or without a sample. Other sources are aquarium shops and hydroponics shops.

Measure Your Own

Another way to find out is to use various types of equipment that measure pH. The most common are shown here.

pH papers are readily available and change colour depending on the pH. If the colour turns red it’s been dipped in acid, if the colour changes to blue it’s basic. Only the better ones will tell you exactly where between 1-14 your water is and are usually accurate to about 0.2 pH. The plant meters you stick in the ground are accurate to about 0.5 pH. They work and are ok if you aren’t too serious about your accuracy. Aquarium and pool shops have test kits as well, but are expensive for testing just one sample of water and you can’t test your beer as they only work on clear water. The next door neighbour with a pool is always worth a shot if you want to test a water sample.

The pH meter pictured below is accurate to plus/minus 0.1 of a pH and is only for the most serious brewer. But you don’t really need this gear. Once you have the pH of your water, which you can get for nothing, the rest is easy.

This is a ph meter and there are a number on the market. Cheaper one cost about $80.00 to $100.00. They won't compensate for temperature, and the probe that measures the ph will have to be replaced regularly. This one costs $130.00. It has autocalibration, a permanent probe that doesn't need replacing, and compensates for the temperature of the liquid. You should avoid using it in hot liquids however as it shortens the probe life. Ph meters can be bought from electronics shops (Dick Smiths), Lab suppliers and hydroponics stores.

Buffering

Now some water will stay like this, but other types of water will go back to the original level as if nothing has happened. It is as if this water doesn’t want to change. In its simplest explanation this is called buffering and has to do with certain salts dissolved in the water called (bi)carbonates. These react with the acid and in effect cancel its effect (neutralises it). If you like, compare it to adding sugar to something bitter. If something is very bitter, you have to add a lot of sugar before its sweet, while something that is not very bitter only needs a little sugar to be sweet. Well the same with buffering. The more carbonates in the water, the more it will ’buffer’ the effect of trying to change the pH.

So how do you tell if your water will react with a small amount of acid or need a large amount. Again the water board will tell you. Just ask. And again pool shops, aquarium and hydroponics shops will be very helpful as well, in fact these places may even work it out for you.

Adjusting pH

So where do you start with changing pH and your beer. When is the best time during brewing to adjust the pH?

I would suggest that all craftbrewers beginning to learn about pH and thinking about understanding pH, adjust the pH of their beers just before they pitch their yeast. This applies to extract brewers and prepacked kits. It’s the best place to start learning about changes due to adjusting the pH, and you will notice the difference.

Most people in Australia have water that has a ph around 8.0. Now the fermenting wort should be around 5.5 at the start. 5.5 is a nice safe level. So we have to lower the pH, which means make the wort more acidic. So we need to add acid. But how much to add. Well that’s easy in very broad terms. If the water is very low in carbonates, less than 1/8 teaspoon of citric acid. But, it goes up from there as the carbonate level increases.

So how to work it out. What you don’t do is blindly add some acid. It is better not to add anything than to guess amounts. But there are ways to work it out. Again all the shops I mentioned previously will help you. They do it all the time with local water and will be able to tell you how much to add. Probably the easiest way to do it is to give us your water analysis on the discussion board and we will work it out.

And what if you’re a rare person with water too acidic. Well a very small amount of a base, like good old fashion bicarbonate salt will do the trick. Again tell us the figures and we will work it out.

Well that's about it. So, in summary.

Good enough to drink, good enough to brew with. Don’t worry about water chemistry unless you are trying to make an exact clone of a beer and have already copied the ingredients, fermentation temperature, yeast and adjuncts exactly and still are not happy with the results. Don’t be put off by scientific terms. Find out your water pH and bicarbonate and carbonate levels and leave a message on the board with these values and what you are trying to clone. We will give you the right amounts to add.

Shout

Graham Sanders.