Hey guys,
I’m fairly new to brewing & recently started AG. Buying 10gal of spring water every weekend (yes, 5gal/week is a requirement) is a PITA.
I pulled up my water report and understand what most of it means. But, I don’t know what are reasonable levels/ppm for brewing. Would anybody be so kind to review my local water report & let me know if I’m good to go, or should add a few minerals?
http://www.goletawater.com/assets/docum ... 3_4_13.pdf[quote=“GhengisT”]Hey guys,
I’m fairly new to brewing & recently started AG. Buying 10gal of spring water every weekend (yes, 5gal/week is a requirement) is a PITA.
I pulled up my water report and understand what most of it means. But, I don’t know what are reasonable levels/ppm for brewing. Would anybody be so kind to review my local water report & let me know if I’m good to go, or should add a few minerals?
http://www.goletawater.com/assets/docum ... 3_4_13.pdf[/quote]There’s really not enough info there to tell for sure. I can say that your alkalinity looks high, but without more info it’s hard to say what to do about it. At the very least, you’d need to remove any chlorine in it.
Thanks for the response, Denny. I’m guessing this is why a lot of brewers send a sample of their water to the lab?
I was hoping to avoid that. Maybe I’ll put together a small 2 gal test batch & try my tap w/ some of those chlorine removal tabs.
[quote=“GhengisT”]Thanks for the response, Denny. I’m guessing this is why a lot of brewers send a sample of their water to the lab?
I was hoping to avoid that. Maybe I’ll put together a small 2 gal test batch & try my tap w/ some of those chlorine removal tabs.[/quote]
The Ward labs W-6 test is very affordable ($16.50) and totally worth it IMHO.
You could try cutting it 50/50 with RO as a starting point. As I’ve learned more about water chemistry I’ve gone from 100% tap to 100% RO and back to 100% tap and finally settled on 50/50 (for now at least) as a good base for most of the beers I brew. But I feel your pain on the RO water thing - I need 15-20 gallons for a typical brew day and pulling two grocery carts through the store to fill four bottles isn’t much fun.
[quote=“airlocksniffer”][quote=“GhengisT”]Thanks for the response, Denny. I’m guessing this is why a lot of brewers send a sample of their water to the lab?
I was hoping to avoid that. Maybe I’ll put together a small 2 gal test batch & try my tap w/ some of those chlorine removal tabs.[/quote]
The Ward labs W-6 test is very affordable ($16.50) and totally worth it IMHO.[/quote]
That’s not too bad. One I was looking at started around $100. I may take ShadeTree’s advice and try a 50/50 of RO & tap. My tap water generally tastes pretty good, not a lot of floaties or sediment in there, compared to other cities I’ve lived in
Don’t use that as a basis for determining water quality. When I moved from Tampa to Maryland, the change in water quality was staggering. Because the water in Tampa was so bad (it actually had a ‘taste’) it made the water here in maryland taste like unicorn giggles. I always assumed the water was great for brewing becuase it was so much better than Florida water, but after many batches of beer went bad with age I finally was able to put my nose in a glass of water and really notice the HIGH level of chlorine. It was killing my beers.
I switched to spring water and that helped a lot. Then I found a place where I could buy 8 gallons of RO water for about $6. I’ve been building my water ever since and my beers have improved greatly. 
What are you adding to your RO water?
Depends on the style… and I’m still learning.
Basically a little gypsum, epsom salts, Calcium chloride, table salt, baking soda, chalk… Beer Smith 2 has a handy calculator that helps figure out amounts based on the style/water profile you are trying to hit. I’m probably off a considerable ammount, but the beers have been very good so I’m still dialing it in.
If you’re adding epsom salts for Mg, you can skip it. The grain provides all the Mg you really need, which is a very small amount.
Looking back at my notes I actually don’t use it very often. And it’s always been in very small amounts.
I’ve got a small bag of it that seems like it will last forever. But I’ll take your advice into consideration the next time I’m building water. :cheers:
I’m no water expert, but it looks like your water is suited for a dark hoppy beer.
High bicarbonates and high SO4ppms.
[quote=“brewingdan”]I’m no water expert, but it looks like your water is suited for a dark hoppy beer.
High bicarbonates and high SO4ppms.[/quote]
Those are my favorite. Wookey Jack clone- here I come!
:cheers:
[quote=“airlocksniffer”][quote=“GhengisT”]Thanks for the response, Denny. I’m guessing this is why a lot of brewers send a sample of their water to the lab?
I was hoping to avoid that. Maybe I’ll put together a small 2 gal test batch & try my tap w/ some of those chlorine removal tabs.[/quote]
The Ward labs W-6 test is very affordable ($16.50) and totally worth it IMHO.[/quote]
i just mailed water out to Ward Labs and the ‘beer test’ is $26.50 now. Still worth it for me. I have well water and I want to get a handle on it.
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“airlocksniffer”][quote=“GhengisT”]Thanks for the response, Denny. I’m guessing this is why a lot of brewers send a sample of their water to the lab?
I was hoping to avoid that. Maybe I’ll put together a small 2 gal test batch & try my tap w/ some of those chlorine removal tabs.[/quote]
The Ward labs W-6 test is very affordable ($16.50) and totally worth it IMHO.[/quote]
i just mailed water out to Ward Labs and the ‘beer test’ is $26.50 now. Still worth it for me. I have well water and I want to get a handle on it.[/quote]
I have well water also. I always get the W-6 and save the 10 bucks.
I stopped using tap water entirely. The quality or our beer went from mediocre (at best) to better than store bought.
We make our own water profile with RO water and additives to hit the right numbers for the style we are brewing. RO water is so cheap that its totally worth it.
