13 replies to this topic

[Stains_not_here_man]

This is my tap water

pH 7.9
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 72
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.12
Cations / Anions, me/L 1.1 / 1.1
ppm
Sodium, Na 15
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 7
Magnesium, Mg 2
Total Hardness, CaCO3 26
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 4
Chloride, Cl 5
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 45
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 37
Total Phosphorus, P 0.03
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

Edited by the_stain, 23 January 2017 - 03:27 PM.

[Big Nake]

This is good water. It looks soft which is good because it's easy to work with. You could use more calcium and I like to get to about 50-60ppm. Your magnesium and sodium are great. The chloride and sulfate are a little low but that's fine because you can adjust them easily. Also, your sulfate is listed as SO4-S (which Wards usually does) which means you multiply it by 3 so your sulfate is actually 12. Either get to know Bru'N'Water or download something called EZ_Water. EZ_Water is much simpler but not quite as involved or robust. You need calcium chloride, gypsum and lactic acid so you can adjust things. Adding calcium chloride will add calcium and chloride and adding gypsum (calcium sulfate) will add calcium and sulfate. Adding chloride gives the beer a smooth, rounded fullness (think Oktoberfest) and sulfate gives the beer a sort of spiky sharpness (think pale ale or IPA). You want to use the acid to lower the strike water to 5.2 to 5.4 and with your bicarb only being 45 (mine is 138), it should be relatively easy to do. Bicarb acts like a buffer which makes it tougher to lower pH. You will usually add some amount of both CaCl and CaSO4 but you might lean more in one direction or the other based on style.

[Bklmt2000]

Looks like good water; a bit on the soft side, but nothing that can't be adjusted w/ some calcium (chloride or sulfate).

 

ETA: getting your Ca levels to 50 ppm or more is a good starting point; will help enzyme activity in the mash and will help the yeast flocc better.

Edited by Bklmt2000, 23 January 2017 - 03:42 PM.

[Stains_not_here_man]

I shouldn't need to adjust anything for extract brews right? Haven't yet gotten back to AG just yet, though I plan to.

[Big Nake]

That water will work great for extract beers. If there's any chlorine in it you'll want to send it through a carbon-block filter or add a campden tablet. I used to tap water right from the sink and brew extract beers with it and my water has a lot of chlorine in it. It will lend a sort of medicinal/Band-Aid flavor to the beer. Otherwise you're ready to roll I think. If and when you get to all-grain, you should thank your lucky stars for that water... it's very good brewing water.

[Stains_not_here_man]

Yeah, I do send it through a dechlorinating filter, one of these:

httpss://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Logic-31030-chlorinator-sediment-filter/dp/B002DV70IY

[Big Nake]

Perfect. Similar to what I do.

[Stains_not_here_man]

We are lucky to have nice clear clean water here. It's nice for gardening too

[Big Nake]

We are lucky to have nice clear clean water here. It's nice for gardening too

Some people have crazy high levels of things that cannot be present for brewing: sodium, any metals (copper, iron), ultra-high bicarbonate, etc. Soft water is the best because it can work for your soft beers (say, Czech Pils) just as it is and minerals can be added for things like pale ales, IPAs, etc. If the water is not soft, you have to think about boiling off first, possibly diluting with distilled water, etc. Ask me how I know. Good to see you back at it Stain. Brew on.

[djinkc]

If you have chloramines you may need to upgrade your filter.  Or just use Campden tablets.

[Stains_not_here_man]

Nope, they state right on the city water site that they use chlorine and not chloramines

[djinkc]

Nope, they state right on the city water site that they use chlorine and not chloramines

 

That's good, we have chloramine but the tablets knock it out.

[MtnBrewer]

Stain, that's pretty much the same as my water and it's representative of most surface water along the Front Range. It's basically snowmelt and rain water from reservoirs sitting on granite foundations so it doesn't pick up much in the way of dissolved ions.

 

I pretty much always add calcium to my brewing water. When making hoppy beers the calcium is mostly in the form of gypsum. For other beers it's primarily from CaCl₂. Usually it's a mix of both but will lean one way or the other depending on the type of beer. I use the Bru'nWater spreadsheet to formulate my salt additions and when you start back with all-grain, I'd recommend that for you too. For extract you should be good to go with the filter.

[positiveContact]

Stain, that's pretty much the same as my water and it's representative of most surface water along the Front Range. It's basically snowmelt and rain water from reservoirs sitting on granite foundations so it doesn't pick up much in the way of dissolved ions.

 

I pretty much always add calcium to my brewing water. When making hoppy beers the calcium is mostly in the form of gypsum. For other beers it's primarily from CaCl₂. Usually it's a mix of both but will lean one way or the other depending on the type of beer. I use the Bru'nWater spreadsheet to formulate my salt additions and when you start back with all-grain, I'd recommend that for you too. For extract you should be good to go with the filter.

 

agree on all fronts.  pretty much how I roll as well except I use campden tablets for the chlorine/chloramines.