Thoughts on Ward Laboratories Water Test?

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
adamjackson

adamjackson

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 2, 2012
Messages
735
Reaction score
79
Location
Canaan New Hampshire
https://producers.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.aspx

$36. I'm going to do this and finally start giving a crap about my water. A pro-brewer friend of mine makes excellent beer. I got one of his recipes and made it at home (yes I know other factors are involved) but the mouth feel and overall quality was no where close.

I'm wondering if there's a cheaper test available?


---Before the questions come in, I'm out in the middle of nowhere..about an hour from any town / city so my water is off two wells and rely heavily on the rain we get. There's a running river behind the house and I brew beers off the tap water. It's a new hot water heater so there aren't a lot of mineral deposits but the house is hold so plumbing may have some rust. I'm honestly not sure.

It tastes great to drink. Pretty soft.

:fro:
 
adamjackson said:
https://producers.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.aspx

$36. I'm going to do this and finally start giving a crap about my water. A pro-brewer friend of mine makes excellent beer. I got one of his recipes and made it at home (yes I know other factors are involved) but the mouth feel and overall quality was no where close.

I'm wondering if there's a cheaper test available?


---Before the questions come in, I'm out in the middle of nowhere..about an hour from any town / city so my water is off two wells and rely heavily on the rain we get. There's a running river behind the house and I brew beers off the tap water. It's a new hot water heater so there aren't a lot of mineral deposits but the house is hold so plumbing may have some rust. I'm honestly not sure.

It tastes great to drink. Pretty soft.

:fro:
Click to expand...

Many people get the W-6 test, which should be enough. If your water is heavily influenced by rain you might be chasing a ghost of sorts, though.
 
afr0byte said:
Many people get the W-6 test, which should be enough. If your water is heavily influenced by rain you might be chasing a ghost of sorts, though.
Click to expand...

Really? Why is that? Just rain patterns..it is "filtered" to a degree as it goes through the ground and into the well. I feel like our water does taste better in the spring when all of the snow melts (usually 4 feet deep snow in our yard) and that fills the river and water tastes better. It gets more minerally in the fall.
 
The influence of rain will depend on the depth of the well(s). If they are tapping a deep aquifer how much it rains somewhere quite distant from you will be more important than the rain patterns at your location. Get the test done to see what's nominal and then you can either decide to go with that (which, if the water is low in mineral content is OK) or get additional tests or do some testing yourself to see about variability over time. If the water is variable an RO system is a possibility not so much because it takes out the minerals (which of course it does) but because in so doing it takes out the variability.
 
adamjackson said:
Really? Why is that? Just rain patterns..it is "filtered" to a degree as it goes through the ground and into the well. I feel like our water does taste better in the spring when all of the snow melts (usually 4 feet deep snow in our yard) and that fills the river and water tastes better. It gets more minerally in the fall.
Click to expand...

In general that more minerally taste is going to mean higher alkalinity, which will make for a harder time getting your mash pH in line. But, I'd wager (though one can't be certain) you must have a fair bit of variability (over the year at least) if you an so clearly taste the difference.
 
afr0byte said:
In general that more minerally taste is going to mean higher alkalinity, which will make for a harder time getting your mash pH in line. But, I'd wager (though one can't be certain) you must have a fair bit of variability (over the year at least) if you an so clearly taste the difference.
Click to expand...

or more likely, I'm just insane.

:ban:
 
If the OP is from New Hampshire, aren't the mountains up there mostly igneous? I don't believe there are carbonate aquifers or deposits up there. Mineralliness in the case of groundwater from a non-carbonate aquifer may be more likely from other metal ions like Fe and Mn.
 
mabrungard said:
If the OP is from New Hampshire, aren't the mountains up there mostly igneous? I don't believe there are carbonate aquifers or deposits up there. Mineralliness in the case of groundwater from a non-carbonate aquifer may be more likely from other metal ions like Fe and Mn.
Click to expand...

Good question. NO idea. I'm living on a mountain. Peak is a few thousand feet and the rain feeds into 4 rivers (one running behind my house) that feed into a lake that's about 4 square miles in size.
 

Similar threads

Clint Yeastwood
Water Test Strips: Reliable?
Replies
10
Views
770
Clint Yeastwood
Clint Yeastwood
ebbelwoi
Filling in the gaps of a Japanese water report
Replies
20
Views
2K
ebbelwoi
ebbelwoi
Jhedrick83
Brew Space
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
Jhedrick83
Jhedrick83
kingschiff
Water test feedback please!
2
Replies
48
Views
1K
ajdelange
A
Oxynostu
Basement to first floor long line keezer build: contribute your advice & information!
Replies
13
Views
3K
Tallgrass
T

Latest posts

Back
Top