Soft VS hard water...???

[yeast_slurry_speech]

Also remember to look at the numbers. One persons "hard" water may be another person's "soft" water. Those terms are pretty subjective.

[howtobrew]

So, I can take it that most of the chapter on water in this book is basically null and void. If they misunderstood alkalinity, thats going to affect every aspect.

Whoa, hold on a sec. If by "this book" you mean How to Brew, that's not right. I have no problem with what John Palmer has to say about water (or much of anything else) in How to Brew. None of How to Brew is null and void; it is full of good stuff.

I do have a problem with the page bug pointed out, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage ... terqal.htm I used to use that page too, now I don't. I still use John's How to Brew book and spreadsheet and nomograph.

Ok, I feel a bit better now. I have studied How To Brew from cover to cover and especially the water section, I just didn't want to think the whole chapter on water was flawed. He also talks about ranges for each of the minerals and what they do for the beer. I will say that I looked at that chart that bug linked to and scratched my head a bit also. Mostly because in was in direct contradiction with HTB in places. So, I guess that as long as you don't rely on the RA chart in the back, HTB is still valid as far as water goes? Which spreadsheet and nomograph of John's are you using? I sure didn't mean to come across like I was disrespecting John Palmer, far from it. Its just the first I have heard that something in the book was "dead wrong". Such a large part of what I have learned about brewing has come from him and also JZ, I was set back a bit. I don't learn that fast to have to unlearn something for crying out loud.

Barry

Okay, one more time just to clarify. Nothing in How To Brew's water chapters is wrong, including the RA nomograph. What I was saying was wrong was a Water Chemistry for Styles table published by Zymurgy back in 1991. That table did not address the bicarbonate levels nor the RA for the waters from the various cities, and was therefore wrong.

Palmer's Rules for Brewing Water:
1. "Hard" water means it contains high levels of Calcium and Magnesium.
2. "Soft" water means it doesn't contain high levels of Calcium and Magnesium.
3. Both Hard and Soft water can be highly alkaline (high bicarbonate).
4. Hard water is good for brewing, because calcium is good for the mash and fermentation biochemistry.
5. You need to understand Residual Alkalinity, it's the Big Picture. High RA water means you need to brew dark beers, Low RA means you need to brew pale beers.

[Eagle Creek Brewer]

So, I can take it that most of the chapter on water in this book is basically null and void. If they misunderstood alkalinity, thats going to affect every aspect.

Whoa, hold on a sec. If by "this book" you mean How to Brew, that's not right. I have no problem with what John Palmer has to say about water (or much of anything else) in How to Brew. None of How to Brew is null and void; it is full of good stuff.

I do have a problem with the page bug pointed out, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage ... terqal.htm I used to use that page too, now I don't. I still use John's How to Brew book and spreadsheet and nomograph.

Ok, I feel a bit better now. I have studied How To Brew from cover to cover and especially the water section, I just didn't want to think the whole chapter on water was flawed. He also talks about ranges for each of the minerals and what they do for the beer. I will say that I looked at that chart that bug linked to and scratched my head a bit also. Mostly because in was in direct contradiction with HTB in places. So, I guess that as long as you don't rely on the RA chart in the back, HTB is still valid as far as water goes? Which spreadsheet and nomograph of John's are you using? I sure didn't mean to come across like I was disrespecting John Palmer, far from it. Its just the first I have heard that something in the book was "dead wrong". Such a large part of what I have learned about brewing has come from him and also JZ, I was set back a bit. I don't learn that fast to have to unlearn something for crying out loud.

Barry

Okay, one more time just to clarify. Nothing in How To Brew's water chapters is wrong, including the RA nomograph. What I was saying was wrong was a Water Chemistry for Styles table published by Zymurgy back in 1991. That table did not address the bicarbonate levels nor the RA for the waters from the various cities, and was therefore wrong.

Palmer's Rules for Brewing Water:
1. "Hard" water means it contains high levels of Calcium and Magnesium.
2. "Soft" water means it doesn't contain high levels of Calcium and Magnesium.
3. Both Hard and Soft water can be highly alkaline (high bicarbonate).
4. Hard water is good for brewing, because calcium is good for the mash and fermentation biochemistry.
5. You need to understand Residual Alkalinity, it's the Big Picture. High RA water means you need to brew dark beers, Low RA means you need to brew pale beers.

Ok, I see what happen here. He wasn't replying to my post but to Bugs. That makes my day and thanks for the clarification. My Bad. I was a bit confused about it as in HTB carbonates and bicarbonates and RA are talked about, I need to quit drinking so damn much, my brain doesn't work hung over.

Barry