Testing Tap Water

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ToastedPenguin

ToastedPenguin

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I was contemplating using bottled water for my upcoming adventure into homebrewing but started thinking about using tap water after a tout of local craft brewery (free plug---Two Brothers Brewing Co.) where I asked what source their water comes from. The brewer said they use their cities water (Warrenville IL). I asked if they have to muck with the water at all to get it ready for use and he said that part of the year they have to add calcium but that was all they did.

I live in a different city a few miles up the road so I am sure even though our water most likely comes from some of the same sources (like Lake Michigan) there might be differences in how each city treats it. I got my cities 2009 water report which shows all added and natural elements found in the water however other then it not being contaminated and now aware that the city uses chlorine and adds fluoride I don't know where the water ph or anything else that matters for brewing and mashing stands.

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive testing kit that can be used for the home brewer or any other methods of testing?

Thanks!
 
Don't bother testing until you call your water company and ask for a detailed water profile. They're usually required to send you one for free, and often have the information available online. If the profile is disgusting, skip the kit altogether. If not, you can still buy a test kit, but don't have to.
 
pericles said:
Don't bother testing until you call your water company and ask for a detailed water profile. They're usually required to send you one for free, and often have the information available online. If the profile is disgusting, skip the kit altogether. If not, you can still buy a test kit, but don't have to.
Click to expand...

I actually have the profile/report that I pulled from their website But I am not sure what specifically to look for in the report. Aside from the use of chlorine to treat the water, which from what I understand can be boiled off and the use of fluoride, everything else is "greek" to me. I drink the water straight from the tap so I know it doesn't taste bad. My boil should be ok but when I go all grain I'd like to know what if anything I need to manage.
 
I got my free water report online, and it also doesn't give me the info needed from Palmer's guide, only contaminate information like lead, etc. I live 1.5 miles from Terrapin, I'll have to go there this weekend for tour and tasting, for entirely hydrological research purposes. ;)
 
ward labs (http://wardlab.com/) will do a household mineral test for like 16 bucks. if you can spare the money and are really interested in your water report I think it's worth it. what the water company tests at their plant and what comes out of your faucet aren't always the same- though for the purpose of brewing it's probably close enough.
 
adurotec said:
I actually have the profile/report that I pulled from their website But I am not sure what specifically to look for in the report. Aside from the use of chlorine to treat the water, which from what I understand can be boiled off and the use of fluoride, everything else is "greek" to me. I drink the water straight from the tap so I know it doesn't taste bad. My boil should be ok but when I go all grain I'd like to know what if anything I need to manage.
Click to expand...

Water is one of the most complicated things in brewing so there's not going to be a real easy answer unfortunately. On the bright side, unless your water really sucks, it won't ruin your beer and you may not need to worry. Having the right water can take you from very good to great, though.

Brew Strong did a 4 or 5 part water series which is a very good, thorough listen if you are into podcasts. How to Brew by John Palmer is the other resource I recommend.

Since you asked about pH, my LHBS sells pH test papers for about $2 for 100. Your shop may have them too, or at worst you can get them online from MoreBeer, Northern Brewer etc. If your water report sucks and doesn't provide pH that should get you in the right ballpark.
 
talking about water anyone ever use bottled water from jewel/osco? i bought about 7 gallons of the drinking water for 85 cents a piece and am going to use them in my first brew
 
sportscrazed2 said:
talking about water anyone ever use bottled water from jewel/osco? i bought about 7 gallons of the drinking water for 85 cents a piece and am going to use them in my first brew
Click to expand...

I was originally going to do just that, Meijr brand though ;-) but having read a few reasons why not to and hearing from a local brewmaster who brews beer I really enjoy, unless I am going to give it my tap water a shot.
 
What you should be looking for (in my opinion, i'm still new to brewing too) is the amount of calcium in the water. There are a couple ways to read this.

Easiest to measure and most commonly found on a city water report is PPM / parts per million which measure dissolved solids in water, of which calcium is the major mineral found. Most places have between 2-300ppm starting tap water. Less than that and you have very clear natural water (lake superior, michigan, aquifer, etc).

More than 300ppm and you likely experience hard water stains on your showerhead, shower tile, dishes from the dishwasher, etc.

Higher ppm is actually preferable for brewing. Boil out your chlorine and you're good to go. Low ppm and you may wish to add something.

The only time your water is really 'no good' is if it stinks or tastes bad to drink. This can be caused by rust from well water, or sulpher/rotten-eggs smell. As stated above, boiling the water works pretty good. If you're worried, pre boil the extra that you add to your fermenter if you dont do a full boil.

Another alternative to preboiling is to leave the water open to the air for 24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate out of the water, but this can let in dust or other containments not good for brewing.

Cheers to beers!
 
MikeRoBrew1 said:
What you should be looking for (in my opinion, i'm still new to brewing too) is the amount of calcium in the water. There are a couple ways to read this.

Easiest to measure and most commonly found on a city water report is PPM / parts per million which measure dissolved solids in water, of which calcium is the major mineral found. Most places have between 2-300ppm starting tap water. Less than that and you have very clear natural water (lake superior, michigan, aquifer, etc).

More than 300ppm and you likely experience hard water stains on your showerhead, shower tile, dishes from the dishwasher, etc.

Higher ppm is actually preferable for brewing. Boil out your chlorine and you're good to go. Low ppm and you may wish to add something.

The only time your water is really 'no good' is if it stinks or tastes bad to drink. This can be caused by rust from well water, or sulpher/rotten-eggs smell. As stated above, boiling the water works pretty good. If you're worried, pre boil the extra that you add to your fermenter if you dont do a full boil.

Another alternative to preboiling is to leave the water open to the air for 24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate out of the water, but this can let in dust or other containments not good for brewing.

Cheers to beers!
Click to expand...

Based on the report I obtained and the signs of what I would call average calcium build up (shower head, coffee pot etc. need to cleared of deposits every other month or so), I should be good to go with tap water usage. It doesn't taste bad, though some of my "gotta have bottled water" neighbours beg to differ, and the pre-boil option that has been suggested should reduce any anxiety I have of off-tastes.

Besides, even though I am starting out as an extract brewer w/speciality grain I have a 10 gallon pot so I intend to do full 5 gallon boils (way to many positive reasons to make this happen) and only topping off to maintain 5G for fermentation.

Think I have just been over analysing the use of tap water when I am actually in a town that has pretty decent water to begin with and won't know till I try!!!

Thanks for all the help!
 
There are lots of debates about tap vs bottled regarding taste, how pure the water actually is, and how it is treated.

Some bottled waters are filtered, some are distilled. Some are just bottled tap water ("spring" water) or even worse than tap water according to water analysis.

Many people say distilled water tastes 'dead' or flat, devoid of any taste at all. Minerals in water are not a bad thing and never did anyone on Earth drink distilled water until we invented it....

Even worse, there can be added chemicals in that bottled water such as fluoride.

Here is one of the only non-political pages I could find on the subject. :)
http://waterquality.cce.cornell.edu/bottled.htm
 

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