[HoosierBrew]

Ran numbers for my light n malty, calls for 1 tsp lactic in the mash.
My IPA should get 1/2 tsp in sparge
Everything will need gypsum and IPA needs a lot. Calculator said 12g!

Sounds familiar for IPA ! You can use calcium chloride in a beer that you want to really show the malt in too.  Gypsum much more for hoppy beers of course.  Or a little of both for a balanced beer.

[kramerog]

I'll be having fun crunching numbers on brewers friend. I don't have excel for Brun water sadly.

Brewer's friend should work fine.  The functionality is different but both Brewer's Friend and Bru'n water differentiate between base malts, caramel malts, and roasted malts.

[klickitat jim]

Cool thanks

[jskiles]

This is Schaumburg, Illinois city water which ultimately comes from Lake Michigan.  The samples are both post carbon block filter, and tested by Ward Labs.  Other Chicago area suburbs should not be too far off from this.

Parameter	10/2010	10/2013
pH	6.4	7.9
Total Dissolved Solids Est, ppm	100	196
Electrical Conductivity	0.17	0.33
Cations / Anions, me/L	1.5/1.3	3.2/3.0
Sodium, Na	8	8
Potassium, K	1	1
Calcium, Ca	8	36
Magnesium, Mg	8	12
Total Hardness, CaCO3	53	140
Nitrate, NO3-N	0.1	0.2
Sulfate, SO4-S	8	9
Chloride, Cl	13	14
Carbonate, CO3	<1	<1
Bicarbonate, HCO3	29	123
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3	24	101
Total Phosphorus, P	N/A	0.27
Total Iron, Fe	N/A	<0.01

[denny]

Wow, big variations!

[kramerog]

I've never seen a Chicago water report like 10/2010 and I have seen reports every few years going back about 20 years.  The 10/2013 report seems to be pretty typical.  I suppose the 10/2010 water could have been affected by a heavy rain.

Here are some links to Chicago's analysis: http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/water/WaterQltyResultsNRpts/ccReports/cca12a.pdf
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/water/WaterQltyResultsNRpts/ccReports/cca11a.pdf

[jskiles]

Yeah I was pretty surprised about the change too.  I'll probably test it again next year to see if it's more consistent  with the results I just got.

[weithman5]

Yeah I was pretty surprised about the change too.  I'll probably test it again next year to see if it's more consistent  with the results I just got.

i live in naperville and i think mine is pretty close to 2013.  i have the old ones some where and can compare.  i haven't really been checking them very closely

[punatic]

Sometimes different sources are blended, or not blended.  That could account for the difference.  Rainwater dilution seems unlikely.  If dilution were the reason for the drop in concentrations in 2010, the concentrations would change by close to the same ratio, which they did not. 

[coastsidemike]

This is a Ward report for softened well water; the location is about 15 miles south of San Francisco, in a hilly section about a half-mile from the ocean.

pH	7.6
TDS Est	ppm 538
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm	0.90
Cations / Anions, me/L	8.2 / 8.2
Sodium, Na	186
Potassium, K	< 1
Calcium, Ca	< 1
Magnesium, Mg	< 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3	7
Nitrate, NO3-N	5.8 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S	10
Chloride, Cl	199
Carbonate, CO3	< 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3	92
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3	75
Total Phosphorus, P	0.04
Total Iron, Fe	< 0.01

From taste, most of the Sodium and Chloride is from the softener.  I appreciate this thread as it's challenging me to learn water chemistry for brewing but really to get a grasp of the house well water as well (for things like skin care - need to drop the Ph).

Brew-wise, my darker beers taste great, my IPA hop aroma fades within 2 months, and I've never had a crisp snappy taste on anything like a Pilsner.  The one local pro brewer who has similar water is diluting half with RO and adding gypsum, advising to read up and use Bru'n Water.  The numbers make sense when using Martin's spreadsheet, it's nicely done.

Asking openly: 

What's your process for measuring mash Ph and adjusting?  Do you measure when the grist is added and/or adjust over time?

Decarbonating by boiling:  any advice on how long or how hot to heat the water?  My water heater puts out quite a bit of what looks like baking soda when I clean it, so I'm wondering if it makes sense to start decarbonating using the heated water as a source.

Many thanks.

[klickitat jim]

I'm just getting started in water too. I have been using the water calculator at Brewer's Friend. My pH was predicted perfectly, adjusted with lactic acid per the calculator recommendations. I measure pH with colorpHast strips.

[hopfenundmalz]

This is a Ward report for softened well water; the location is about 15 miles south of San Francisco, in a hilly section about a half-mile from the ocean.

pH	7.6
TDS Est	ppm 538
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm	0.90
Cations / Anions, me/L	8.2 / 8.2
Sodium, Na	186
Potassium, K	< 1
Calcium, Ca	< 1
Magnesium, Mg	< 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3	7
Nitrate, NO3-N	5.8 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S	10
Chloride, Cl	199
Carbonate, CO3	< 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3	92
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3	75
Total Phosphorus, P	0.04
Total Iron, Fe	< 0.01

From taste, most of the Sodium and Chloride is from the softener.  I appreciate this thread as it's challenging me to learn water chemistry for brewing but really to get a grasp of the house well water as well (for things like skin care - need to drop the Ph).

Brew-wise, my darker beers taste great, my IPA hop aroma fades within 2 months, and I've never had a crisp snappy taste on anything like a Pilsner.  The one local pro brewer who has similar water is diluting half with RO and adding gypsum, advising to read up and use Bru'n Water.  The numbers make sense when using Martin's spreadsheet, it's nicely done.

Asking openly: 

What's your process for measuring mash Ph and adjusting?  Do you measure when the grist is added and/or adjust over time?

Decarbonating by boiling:  any advice on how long or how hot to heat the water?  My water heater puts out quite a bit of what looks like baking soda when I clean it, so I'm wondering if it makes sense to start decarbonating using the heated water as a source.

Many thanks.

Your sodium is high, greater than 150 ppm. Very low Ca And Mg, so the softener works.

This might work for extract batches, but you are adding the minerals to the minerals in the extract.

Most say not to use the water from the heater.

[Jimmy K]

I just got my Ward Lab's report. This is town water for Felton, DE. Need to do something about that alkalinity!

Edit: To add a numbers from a 2012 Town water report.

Source                            Ward             Town Report
Date                               2014              2012

pH:                                 8.1                8
(TDS) ppm:                     340               366
Conductivity, mmho/cm:  0.57               ---
Cations / Anions, me/L:    6.3 / 6.8        ---

Sodium, Na:                    121               134
Potassium, K:                  9                   ---
Calcium, Ca:                   7                    ---
Magnesium, Mg:              6                    ---
Total Hardness, CaCO3:   43                  12.6
Nitrate, NO3-N                < 0.1 (SAFE)   ---
Sulfate, SO4-S:               3                    9.7
Chloride, Cl:                   14                   14.1
Carbonate, CO3:             9                     ---
Bicarbonate, HCO3:         358                 ---
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3:   309                 274

[dsidab81]

So while this post is in the opposite sense of the thread....I'm curious if any brewers could assist.
Shortly I will be moving to Minnetonka, MN, and I am curious if any brewers here have lucked upon a report from the city that has any useful values for water chemistry??

The only report I am finding for Minnetonka is the annual report, which is of basically no use for brewing!!
http://beta.eminnetonka.com/sites/default/files/documents/my-property/utilities/tap-water/quality/tap-water-quality-report-2013.pdf

http://beta.eminnetonka.com/my-property/utilities/tap-water/quality

Once i have those reports I'll follow up here.

***Edit to add Ward Labs tap water report***
pH                                                      8.0

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm       280

Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm             0.47

Cations / Anions, me/L                          5.1 / 5.9

                                                        ppm

Sodium, Na                                         6

Potassium, K                                       3

Calcium, Ca                                        57

Magnesium, Mg                                   23

Total Hardness, CaCO3                        238

Nitrate, NO3-N                                 < 0.1 (SAFE)

Sulfate, SO4-S                                   1

Chloride, Cl                                       10

Carbonate, CO3                                < 1

Bicarbonate, HCO3                            336

Total Alkalinity, CaCO3                       275

"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

[Jimmy K]

You might call the water dept and ask if they have info for other minerals. They may not put them in the report. I'd think they'd at least have hardness tested.