I think my beers have been pretty bland. I did my last batch with distilled water with just a little calcium chloride and it seemed I could finally taste the hops. So a I am thinking about a RO system. Anyways here is my water report. Can anyone talk me out of a RO system?
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 252
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.42
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.2 / 4.5
ppm
Sodium, Na 14
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 50
Magnesium, Mg 13
Total Hardness, CaCO3 179
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 9
Chloride, Cl 17
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 209
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 171
Fluoride, F 0.10
Total Iron, Fe 0.02
I also had tested with the water softner on:
Sodium 89
Calcium 3
Mag 0
Total Hardness 8
iron 0.01
were the only noticeable differences
I have read a bunch since getting the report and it seems my biggest problem is the bicarbonate? This is where I get confused. They say bicarbonate is good for dark beers because the ph gets lowered and neutralizes the RA. So why can't I just add acid and neutralize for light beers? I am not worried so much about mash PH as I am flavor contribution in finished beers.
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 252
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.42
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.2 / 4.5
ppm
Sodium, Na 14
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 50
Magnesium, Mg 13
Total Hardness, CaCO3 179
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 9
Chloride, Cl 17
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 209
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 171
Fluoride, F 0.10
Total Iron, Fe 0.02
I also had tested with the water softner on:
Sodium 89
Calcium 3
Mag 0
Total Hardness 8
iron 0.01
were the only noticeable differences
I have read a bunch since getting the report and it seems my biggest problem is the bicarbonate? This is where I get confused. They say bicarbonate is good for dark beers because the ph gets lowered and neutralizes the RA. So why can't I just add acid and neutralize for light beers? I am not worried so much about mash PH as I am flavor contribution in finished beers.