City Water Profile

So after searching the water department's website and emailing the lab manager I have compiled results of Bradenton, Florida's water profile. Now I'm in some great need of direction. I have read the water primer and the Bru'n water information. From what I understand I have hard water, but a lot of my values are borderline. Should I dilute? Thank you in advance

Sodium 16.5 ppm
Calcium 32 mg/l
Magnesium 9 mg/l
Total hardness, CaCO3 132.9 mg/l
Sulfate 93.3 mg/l
Nitrate .1 mg/l
Fluoride .7 mg/l
Chloride 19.8 mg/l
Carbonate - NOT LISTED
Bicarbonate - 38.9 mg/l - Per bru'n water calculation
Total Alkalinity - 33.3 mg/l

Dilution is an, but not the only, approach. The alkalinity is not that bad by any means. A 1:1 dilution would knock it down to the point where you really wouldn't have to worry about it and even with no dilution only a small amount, if any, acid would be required. The elephant in the room is the sulfate which is too high for delicate lagers but just about right or even low for ales so that you could brew many beers without having to do anything at all. This would require some attention and varying adjustments depending on the style and your tastes.

A dilution of 4:1 would knock the sulfate down to a level acceptable for any beer and if you want to follow the Primer's approach it would take a dilution at that level to get everything into the 20's with sulfate being the driver.

Thanks for your input, which option would you prefer if it were you? Also, i am a total beginner with water adjustments. It seems like the best approach for me would be the 1:1 dilution, since you said the pH and the sulfate would be appropriate for ales. I haven't gotten into lagers yet. Thanks again I really appreciate you expertise.

I wouldn't even consider dilution unless your next brew needs low sulfate water. In the case of most ales, that water is fine. Even the alkalinity is surprisingly low, but I know that Bradenton gets their water out of the Manatee reservoir. So it is surface water, for the most part.

Acidification will easily take care of the alkalinity in that water. In many cases where the calcium content is boosted for brewing, the alkalinity issue may not even be a concern since the effect of residual alkalinity could mitigate the alkalinity.

drumnart said:

Thanks for your input, which option would you prefer if it were you?

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If it were me and I were brewing the lager beers I usually brew I would dilute 10:1 or just use straight RO supplemented with calcium chloride. Were I doing a British ale (which I rarely do) I would do nothing and have my bottle of 'CRS' handy (so that if mash pH came in too high I could add a bit).

drumnart said:

Also, i am a total beginner with water adjustments.

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That makes it a bit harder to answer. I've been doing this for probably 25 yrs now and do it without thinking about how to any more than you think about how to drive your car. If I were just starting out I'd probably follow the Primer which would have you dilute alkalinity and sulfate down to the point where virtually all the minerals in the mash tun come from your additions rather than the water itself.

drumnart said:

It seems like the best approach for me would be the 1:1 dilution, since you said the pH and the sulfate would be appropriate for ales.

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The real question is what do I think you should do in the case of ales? I'd say do nothing. There isn't enough alkalinity there to have much of an impact. With a bit of darkish crystal malt you should be fine especially if your base malt has a low intrinsic (DI mash) pH.

There is a good chance that you might enjoy the beer better with supplemented sulfate. You can discover this by adding some gypsum to a glass of the beer brewed with the water as is and if you like the result adding some gypsum to subsequent brews. You should do the same with calcium chloride in the finished beer as so many beers benefit from chloride levels higher than what you have.