Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Post your water report  (Read 195357 times)

Offline Steve L

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 501
  • Rocky Mount, VA
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #420 on: May 08, 2018, 11:42:31 am »
Simpsonville, SC (Public water supply from Greenville Water)
Tested 08FEB2016 by Ward Labs

pH 7.5
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 28
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.05
Cations / Anions, me/L 0.5 / 0.5

Sodium, Na 8 ppm
Potassium, K < 1 ppm
Calcium, Ca 1 ppm
Magnesium, Mg < 1 ppm
Total Hardness, CaCO3 3 ppm
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 ppm (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 2 ppm
Chloride, Cl 3 ppm
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0 ppm
Bicarbonate, HCO3 20 ppm
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 17 ppm
Total Phosphorus, P 0.26 ppm
Total Iron, Fe 0.02 ppm

"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
You should be brewing pilsners.... Fo sho

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

Corripe Cervisiam

Offline Kevin

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 724
  • Great beer. Less work. More fun.
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #421 on: June 15, 2018, 12:35:06 pm »
Well water. Southern Saginaw County in Michigan.
Tested 05/01/2018 Ward Labs

pH 8.1
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est 286
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.48
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.9 / 5.1
               ppm
Sodium, Na 75
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 20
Magnesium, Mg 7
Total Hardness, CaCO3 79
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 12
Chloride, Cl 14
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 245
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 203
Total Phosphorus, P 0.02
Total Iron, FE 0.07
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
“He was a wise man who invented beer.”
- Plato

Offline narcout

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2217
  • Los Angeles, CA
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #422 on: June 15, 2018, 03:25:16 pm »
The sodium and alkalinity are pretty high.  You could manage the alkalinity with acid or acid malt, but I don't know about brewing with that much sodium (I don't have any personal experience with it).

I think you'd want to dilute that pretty heavily with RO water and add calcium and sulfate/chloride back.
Sometimes you just can't get enough - JAMC

Offline klickitat jim

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8604
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #423 on: June 15, 2018, 03:26:02 pm »
I was born in Saginaw Michigan

Offline MNWayne

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 447
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #424 on: June 18, 2018, 08:01:32 am »
NE Minnesota, Shallow well (30ft), 50 ft from lake,
Ca    14
Mg     5
Na     6
Cl       8
SO4    4
HCO  47
pH    6.6

Far better to dare mighty things....

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10675
  • Milford, MI
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #425 on: June 18, 2018, 11:08:34 am »
NE Minnesota, Shallow well (30ft), 50 ft from lake,
Ca    14
Mg     5
Na     6
Cl       8
SO4    4
HCO  47
pH    6.6
Dang, that is nice water.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline Kevin

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 724
  • Great beer. Less work. More fun.
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #426 on: June 18, 2018, 12:10:16 pm »
The sodium and alkalinity are pretty high.  You could manage the alkalinity with acid or acid malt, but I don't know about brewing with that much sodium (I don't have any personal experience with it).

I think you'd want to dilute that pretty heavily with RO water and add calcium and sulfate/chloride back.

I read this in John Palmer's How to Brew.... "At levels of 70 - 150 ppm it rounds out the beer flavors, accentuating the sweetness of the malt." I assumed my level of 75 was fine.
“He was a wise man who invented beer.”
- Plato

Offline James K

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Flagstaff, AZ
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #427 on: July 26, 2018, 01:01:23 pm »
Flagstaff, AZ



I don’t really know much about water but want to start learning. A few water supplies exist where I live and we used they based on season or depending on snow run off. I’m going to have to look back at the How to Brew book to see what some of this means.

Comments are welcome.
Vice President of Flagstaff Mountain-Top Mashers
2017 Homebrewer of the year
"One mouth doesn't taste the beer."

Offline Robert

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4214
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #428 on: July 26, 2018, 01:42:16 pm »
There's a wide variation in alkalinity between some of those sources,  but they're all short on calcium.  But (unlike my water, which finally drove me to RO) the other ions, especially sodium, sulfate and chloride, are all happily negligible.   Easy peasy. You could treat any of those waters by adding calcium, and if needed adjust alkalinity with acid (or baking soda if you need more) and adjust sulfate and chloride to taste.  You would just need to test the alkalinity and calcium at each  brew day, or seasonally, or whenever it is your sources change, to know where you're starting from.  The Calcium and Alkalinity (KH) kits from Salifert have served me very well, and are available from aquarium shops, or for about $14 with Amazon Prime (for about 50 tests, so that's cheap.)
« Last Edit: July 26, 2018, 01:44:43 pm by Robert »
Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.

Offline mchrispen

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 713
    • Accidentalis Brewing Blog
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #429 on: July 26, 2018, 01:44:15 pm »
If the water changes that dramatically seasonally, I would probably skip it. The differences in alkalinity alone would rule out the tap water for me, or pass it through an RO filter. At least you could get a cheap TDS meter and check your water, then decide if you would rather go buy spring or RO water from the grocery.
Matt Chrispen
Sometime Austin Zealot
Blogging from the garage @ accidentalis.com
>> Bru'n Water Spreadsheet Walkthroughs<<
>> Bru'n Water Subscriber Version 5.3 Spreadsheet Walkthrough <<

Offline James K

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Flagstaff, AZ
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #430 on: July 26, 2018, 02:02:29 pm »
Personally I think the tap water here is great, mountain water. But the recommendation would be to add some calcium to my mash? Any recommendations on how much?
One brewery here said all they add is gypsum and CaCl but that’s mainly for mouth feel and to bring out hop character.
Vice President of Flagstaff Mountain-Top Mashers
2017 Homebrewer of the year
"One mouth doesn't taste the beer."

Offline Robert

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4214
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #431 on: July 26, 2018, 03:18:08 pm »
Ca can vary with style, and with the sulfate and chloride you want for taste, which come with Ca.  Technically, malt brings enough to meet the bare minimum requirements for mashing and fermentation.   But it's generally advisable to have at least 50ppm Ca in the water for good enzyme activity in the mash and clarification of the beer, and 50-100ppm is generally the range needed for pH adjustment in pale beers.
Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.

Offline James K

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Flagstaff, AZ
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #432 on: July 26, 2018, 04:17:47 pm »
Ca can vary with style, and with the sulfate and chloride you want for taste, which come with Ca.  Technically, malt brings enough to meet the bare minimum requirements for mashing and fermentation.   But it's generally advisable to have at least 50ppm Ca in the water for good enzyme activity in the mash and clarification of the beer, and 50-100ppm is generally the range needed for pH adjustment in pale beers.

If i wanted to increase my calcium levels to about how much should I add? A tbsp during the mash?

5e IB well is only used in town from May to November depending on how much snow runoff there was. I know because of last seasons accumulation that this well is being used more right now because last season we only had 30” of snowfall and the LM well and surface are at a much lower level than previous years.

Thank you for help.
Vice President of Flagstaff Mountain-Top Mashers
2017 Homebrewer of the year
"One mouth doesn't taste the beer."

Offline Robert

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4214
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #433 on: July 26, 2018, 04:37:54 pm »
You'll really do better weighing salts instead of approximating volumes. A teaspoon of the same salt might weigh a gram, or 4g, or 6g, depending on the size and shape of particles. 

To start getting an idea of how much you'll need and whether you want to just add it to the mash or all the water,  look back at How to Brew like you mentioned, and then try this:  Go to the free Water Chemistry Advanced calculator at Brewers Friend, it's very straightforward.   Enter one of your water profiles and typical volumes.  Enter a random grain bill or beer color.  Then plug in some salt and/or acid additions, and see what it says will happen with mash pH, adjusted water composition and flavor balance.  You'll start to get a picture of what adjusting the water does.  (If you already use some other software, it'll do the same.)
Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.

Offline caro

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: Post your water report
« Reply #434 on: November 28, 2018, 06:03:10 pm »
Recent water report from Ward Labs for St. Charles, IL. 

pH   7.8
Total Dissolved Solids   425
Cations/Anions   7.7/8.0
   
                 PPM
Sodium, NA   98
Potassium, K   10
Calcium, CA   39
Magnesium, MG   14
Total Hardness, CaCO3   156
Nitrate, NO3-N   0.2
Sulfate, SO4-S   19
Chloride, Cl   15
Carbonate, CO3   <1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3   390
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3   321
Total Phosphorous   <0.01
Total Iron   <0.01

I've started to use Bru'n Water, but would be interested in any additional feedback you might have.

Thanks!