Final observations/results of my B'N'W experiments...
#1
Posted 28 April 2014 - 07:47 AM
#2
Posted 28 April 2014 - 10:24 AM
Thanks so much for this, Ken. I'll try to let Martin know this si here, but if he doesn't see it, please send him your findings. It could benefit everybody.
#3
Posted 28 April 2014 - 11:41 AM
so far I'm seeing pretty predictable results from bru'n water. I've made an export style stout, pale ale, oktoberfest and denny's waldo lake amber.
now I use colorpHast strips so take my results for what they are worth. on the stout I added nothing to my water and landed around 5.5. bru'n water predicted 5.4. I can't be 100% sure of the accuracy of my water report so I'm not overly concerned with this. on the pale ale I was shooting for 5.3 and hit it. I think I just used gypsum to acidify. On the oktoberfest I was shooting for 5.4 and hit it exactly. I used a little bit of gypsum, calcium chloride and acid malt. on the waldo lake amber I can't remember but I'm fairly sure I hit the mark there as well.
just another data point.
#4
Posted 28 April 2014 - 09:29 PM
#5
Posted 29 April 2014 - 07:31 AM
Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
#6
Posted 29 April 2014 - 07:38 AM
Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
I use the report from water company. It's a little old at this point but I'm not having any issues.
#7
Posted 29 April 2014 - 07:46 AM
Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
Yes. To me it was worth knowing what I was starting with.
#8
Posted 29 April 2014 - 08:27 AM
Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
Yep. I've gotten it several times to test the stability of my water.
#9
Posted 29 April 2014 - 08:29 AM
Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
Yes and I need to do it again to see if my water has shifted much.
#10
Posted 29 April 2014 - 01:17 PM
Yes. Gotta know what's in the water so you know how to adjust. Gotta.Did you guys all get the Ward labs water test? My tube arrived last week, just haven't gotten around to filling it yet.
#11
Posted 29 April 2014 - 02:27 PM
Yep. I've gotten it several times to test the stability of my water.
Argghh..so i should retest someday..LOL..
And keep these water threads going. Info in layman's terms preferably.
#12
Posted 29 April 2014 - 02:38 PM
I am lucky that many, many brewers in Chicago, the burbs and all the way into Milwaukee use Lake Michigan water. We compare notes on the numbers and the water plants keep things so consistent that they're always within a point or two regardless of what time of year it is. But I think getting it checked every so often makes sense if you want the confidence of knowing what's in the water.Argghh..so i should retest someday..LOL..And keep these water threads going. Info in layman's terms preferably.
#13
Posted 30 April 2014 - 09:02 AM
Argghh..so i should retest someday..LOL..
And keep these water threads going. Info in layman's terms preferably.
I'm on a well. I've gotten the water tested 4-5 times and it's always been really close. At this point, I won't bother with another test for a while.
#14
Posted 01 May 2014 - 05:10 AM
#15
Posted 01 May 2014 - 05:42 AM
Another instance: I am making a helles this morning with 100% filtered tap water. About 10lbs of grain that should get me to about 5 SRM and 3.5g of CaCl added to the mash water. BNW suggested 4.4ml of 88% lactic acid to reach a mash pH of 5.2. I was conservative and added 3.0ml to the mash water. My meter was calibrated and performing nicely, reading the 4.0 and 7.0 solutions accurately. I ended up at 5.1 which I'm not worried about but it's another example and consistent with the others.
Ken, maybe you could post your bru'n water spreadsheet and some of the old hands here could check to make sure you aren't using it incorrectly. i've caught myself a few times making some errors that might result in a mistake.
#16
Posted 01 May 2014 - 10:04 AM
Some others here have already checked it and said it looked okay and I even emailed a copy over to Martin who also looked at it and said that it did not appear to have any entry errors in it. It's possible that some have taken the accuracy of my meter into question and I wouldn't blame them because my meter got off to a rocky start. But after talking with the Milwaukee people, doing an occasional overnight soak in white distilled vinegar and making certain that the calibration process goes smoothly, my meter has been solid.Ken, maybe you could post your bru'n water spreadsheet and some of the old hands here could check to make sure you aren't using it incorrectly. i've caught myself a few times making some errors that might result in a mistake.
#17
Posted 01 May 2014 - 10:08 AM
Some others here have already checked it and said it looked okay and I even emailed a copy over to Martin who also looked at it and said that it did not appear to have any entry errors in it. It's possible that some have taken the accuracy of my meter into question and I wouldn't blame them because my meter got off to a rocky start. But after talking with the Milwaukee people, doing an occasional overnight soak in white distilled vinegar and making certain that the calibration process goes smoothly, my meter has been solid.
sounds like all that could be left would be how certain you are of your source water (or as you stated some bias in the spreadsheet calculations).
eta: also maybe your scale(s) for grain and salts and/or method of measuring water.
Edited by TheGuv, 01 May 2014 - 10:09 AM.
#18
Posted 01 May 2014 - 10:40 AM
#19
Posted 01 May 2014 - 10:49 AM
I guess what's surprising is I've been surprised by how "not senstive" the results are to what I thought were big differences. you can be pretty far off on an addition of gypsum and still end up more or less at the same mash pH. given this it's strange to me that you see a bias towards overestimating the pH value while I have not.
i don't see it above so forgive me if it is - but how far off is bru'n water from reality for you?
Edited by TheGuv, 01 May 2014 - 10:50 AM.
#20
Posted 01 May 2014 - 11:04 AM
Some others here have already checked it and said it looked okay and I even emailed a copy over to Martin who also looked at it and said that it did not appear to have any entry errors in it. It's possible that some have taken the accuracy of my meter into question and I wouldn't blame them because my meter got off to a rocky start. But after talking with the Milwaukee people, doing an occasional overnight soak in white distilled vinegar and making certain that the calibration process goes smoothly, my meter has been solid.
How old is that meter now Ken?
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