Finally got my water report

I know there are many many posts in this forum about water. I have read many of them, but still would like some advice specific to my water.

I'm planning recipes for a Scottish ale and an IPA that i will brew in the next couple weeks. I'm making decent beer now, have 7 batches under my belt, four of which are AG.

here's the data that i received:

Chloride 14.4ppm
Sulfate 32.4ppm
Alkalinity CaCO 28.7
Ca 16.7
Hardness CaCO 57.2
Sodium 17.7
Mg none

I am confused by the terms "Alkalinity CaCO" and "Hardness CaCO", but that is the term that was left on my voicemail by the guy from the water company. Those terms don't jive with the terms that I'm seeing on other reports, so maybe he made a mistake.

The main thing I notice is that my Ca is low. i don't want to get caught up in toying with my water, but if a simple addition of gypsum will help out my beer, then i'm all for it. any suggestions are appreciated.

Well, for an understanding of your water report I would refer to the "How to Brew" book website. Below is a link directly to the section you are inquiring about. John Palmer does an excellent job at explaining what the CaCO3 compound is and how it effects the mash.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-1.html

Oversimplified, "Alkalinity CaCo" is basically giving you the concentration of bicarbonates while "Hardness CaCo" gives you the concentration of Calcium...

Most importantly what this means is that if you try to boil your water to get rid of your alkalinity for pale beers, then you will keep some calcium in your water since your Hardness CaCO is higher than your Alkalinity CaCO... (Ca concentration is higher than bicarbonate concentration)

Brewers with Alkalinity CaCO higher than Hardness CaCO will get rid of all their calcium if they boil to get rid of alkalinity... (bicarbonate concentration is higher than calcium concentration)

This may also help you out: How To Read a Water Report for Brewing Beer

Please disregard the advice above. Alkalinity CaCO3 and Hardness CaCO3 does not indicate the actual concentrations of bicarb or calcium. What they are actually indicating is the Alkalinity expressed as CaCO3 and Hardness expressed as CaCO3. Those values have to be converted to their actual concentrations of bicarbonate and calcium. Bru'n Water has those conversions built in.