Search

Blog

Tools for Making Brewing Water Adjustments

Tools for Making Brewing Water Adjustments

Brewing water is very important for brewing a good beer. As 90-95% will be made of water by brewing equipment.  So here we would like to introduce some tools for making brewin g water.


If you’re a serious brewer who wants to make a good beer (and who wants to make a bad beer?!), you need tools to help you be precise with your measurements.
 

 

1. High-Quality Digital pH Meter

To measure your mash pH and make sure you’re hitting your target of 5.2 to 5.6, you need a high-quality digital pH meter. “Test strips are for amateurs” according to Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers by John Palmer and Colin Kaminski.
And not all pH meters are the same. You need a good one that can measure pH quickly in any temperature and has dual calibration for the best accuracy. It won’t be cheap, and that’s a good thing. You’re getting what you pay for. Remember you’re also going to need storage solutionand calibration solutions.
To use your pH meter, after you’ve been mash resting for about 15 minutes, you can either take a wort sample or dip the pH meter right into the top of the mash to get a reading. Again, your goal is to have a mash pH between 5.2 and 5.6. If the mash pH is high or low, you can make chemical adjustments.

2. Jewelry Scale

You need a small scale that measures in grams as accurately as possible, so a jewelry scale is perfect for measuring your brewing salts. For instance, you only need about 500mg (or ½ gram) of potassium metabisulphite to remove chlorine/chloramines from 10 gallons of brewing water.
This scale will also come in handy for measuring hops in both grams and ounces.

3. Calibrated Glass Medicine Dropper

This tool is optional, but it allows you to measure liquid down to the quarter milliliter. This is important for dosing out liquid acid additions for lowering your mash pH. You could also use a teaspoon and just re-test the pH after each addition.
Or you could use software to help you calculate exactly how much acid you need.

4. Software for Brewing Water Adjustments

Some are free, some cost, but all will save you a lot of math and headaches.

Bru’n Water

This is a free spreadsheet developed by Martin Brungard, a “civil and environmental engineer with extensive experience in the fields of water resources and geotechnical engineering.” It’s clear the guy knows his stuff.
You need to know your existing water profile and your grain bill before using the spreadsheet to calculate mineral additions. It may be intense and a bit intimidating when you first open it, but don’t worry. Marshall at Brülosphy created a great video on how he uses it with Beersmith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0baxAHXmQU

EZ Water Calculator

If you’re looking for something a little less intense and easier to use, you can try this other free spreadsheet.
If you find either (or both) of those spreadsheets helpful, you may want to consider donating to their upkeep.

BeerSmith

This is an all-in-one brewing solution. One of the best features is being able to do water calculations right in the software. You can even create your own water profiles based on other recipes you like.
Even better, you can create a water profile for your home brewery, plug in a target profile, and click a button to get all the brewing salt additions. It’s super simple!
BeerSmith costs $27.95, but there’s a 14-day free trial so you can try before you buy.
Thanks for your reading and if any questions, welcome to contact Shandong Tianter Beer Equipment company.
Thanks for your reading.
Ivy liang
Email:[email protected]

 
 
 
 

Get In Touch

Click image to refresh

Do something for your dream.
Start from selection

Contact now
Request A Quote

Request A Quote

Click image to refresh