[Wort-H.O.G.]

My beers were terrible when I used tap water. My city water is about as bad for brewing as it can get, no calcium and high levels of sodium. I've no idea if it's softened at the treatment plant or what, but it makes awful beer. Really bad mineral flavor that wouldn't go away.

I got lucky in that 5.2 pH buffer helped, but only once I started learning about water chemistry and using Bru'n water did my beer turn the corner. It's freed me up to tackle other issues.

I really don't worry much about pH, I target 5.4 in Bru'n water regardless of style and leave it at that for now.

Not a bad place to be Phil. You have a process you can manage and repeat- half the battle.


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[Phil_M]

To be fair - I plan on tackling pH in more detail, I just don't have the drive to do so right now. With only some of my beers getting temp controlled fermentations, I still have other fish to fry.

[HoosierBrew]

My water here is pretty horrendous, too. Used straight it's good for a very roasty black beer and little else. Even if it were consistently crappy, I could at least account for it and blend for some beers. But I've had it tested multiple times and get noticeably different results from Ward each time. I'm long over it - I build up from RO (verified by TDS meter) and make consistently good beer. Word to the wise - depending on where you live your water makeup can change throughout the year, sometimes drastically. One Ward test may not tell the whole story.

[Stevie]

My water is awful at over 450 ppm TDS and much of it is carbonate. Throw in the chloramine and it is a no-brainer for me. The water also comes from many sources from day to day, so the only way I could count on it is if I measured the minerals every time. I bet I could make a great stout with dechlorinated tap water.

I heard from the guy at the water store, my water comes from a dedicated store now (weird), that another town nearby has over 1200ppm TDS.

[hopfenundmalz]

Epsom Salt that we buy is the MgSO47H2O. Just saying.

[hopfenundmalz]

My water is awful at over 450 ppm TDS and much of it is carbonate. Throw in the chloramine and it is a no-brainer for me. The water also comes from many sources from day to day, so the only way I could count on it is if I measured the minerals every time. I bet I could make a great stout with dechlorinated tap water.

I heard from the guy at the water store, my water comes from a dedicated store now (weird), that another town nearby has over 1200ppm TDS.

Good grief, 1200 ppm, that has to taste like drinking plaster. Is it mostly Colorado River water?

[Stevie]

I think some is Colorado River water, but I think that is mostly for south of LA. The water here is bought from other water districts from what I can tell. I'll research more.

[mabrungard]

I'm considering switching to spring water (Zephyrhills here in Florida) over my current routine of RO. The reason is that there is obviously more of an already build up water profile for me to work with.

Depending where you are at in FL, your water may be equal to that bottled spring water. All you would need is campden tablets and tap water to avoid the trouble and expense of 'spring water'. I brewed quite successfully in Tallahassee for years with the tap water, carbon filter, and lactic acid additions. 

The variation in the Zephyrhills water quality is insignificant, so don't worry about that aspect. Given the reported quality, it should be a fine alternative to RO water, as long as its cheaper. However, I'll continue to state that 'spring water' is a red herring and not a sign of desirable brewing water. The most important thing is that the water quality IS suited for the brew that you are contemplating. 

[Stevie]

28% of the water here is coming from ground water. Being on the ocean obviously causes these wells to contain more minerals and high sodium. The city treats some of the water from these wells with a 7.5 million gpd RO system. The wells are also topped off with water from reservoirs that is lower in minerals. The balance of the water comes from the aquaduct from Northern California.

Peep that hardness range.



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[jmitchell3]

So thats the other concept to be aware of when choosing a water source....consistency. That spring water may or may not be as consistently bland as the ro water, depending on water tables, rainfall, etc (im guessing).

 Im in a suburb of phoenix and happen to have the most consistent water in the valley, as it comes from the same source year round and is all treated at the same plant...that being said, even my values can have a 10-30% range during the year. Steve's water is a good example...the hardness range is 870! With a range like that, water's like a box of chocolates...  Using straight RO, all the time, brings consistency to your brews and an element of simplicity to your brewday, as you can always build from a single water profile. Short of testing ones water le motte style before each brew day, RO is (imo) the way to go!


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[narcout]

I think Martin has said that magnesium isn't always needed? Anyway, I've left it out on occasion and haven't had any glaring issues.

Page 148 of Water by Palmer and Kaminski:

"Magnesium is recognized as a necessary yeast nutrient at 5 ppm, but barley wort typically contains much more than the yeast would require (c. 100 ppm @12^oP)."

There's additional relevant info, but I don't have time to type the entire paragraph right now.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

i use epsom to drive sulfate while containing calcium <50ppm-lagers.

[HoosierBrew]

i use epsom to drive sulfate while containing calcium <50ppm-lagers.

Same here, and for hoppy beers, to keep excess Ca in check. I posted last year that I wondered if epsom additions were giving some of my beers a minerally bite I didn't care for. It wasn't the epsom. Biggest culprit was not subtracting my boil off from the sparge volume in Brunwater. All good now.

[crakers540]

I see many references to RO (Revers Osmosis?).  What about distilled water?

[Stevie]

Distilled is fine, just more expensive for marginally better water (IMO). I can get distilled with 1ppm TDS for $0.50/gal or RO with 8ppm (10 guaranteed) for $0.25/gal