Water quality help in Newport, RI

I am looking for some advice. The water in Newport, RI tastes a little off. Here is the water profile that is posted online:

http://www.cityofnewport.com/departments/utilities/water/pdf/CCR-2011.pdf

I brew all grain and am looking for ways to improve the taste. Is there anything concerning in the report?

Any recommendations for additives or filtering(would using a Brita filter help)?

Does anyone have a more detailed report of the water then this one?

Thanks for the help!

Cheers

Aaron

I apologize if I posted in the wrong section. I am still new at this.

The report says little with respect to brewing water interest. You will have to call the water company to obtain the Secondary Standards or send a sample off for your own testing.

aarong said:

I am looking for some advice. The water in Newport, RI tastes a little off. Here is the water profile that is posted online:

http://www.cityofnewport.com/departments/utilities/water/pdf/CCR-2011.pdf

I brew all grain and am looking for ways to improve the taste. Is there anything concerning in the report?

Any recommendations for additives or filtering(would using a Brita filter help)?

Does anyone have a more detailed report of the water then this one?

Thanks for the help!

Cheers

Aaron

I apologize if I posted in the wrong section. I am still new at this.

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The off taste is probably from chlorination. As was said above that report tells you little about the water for brewing purposes, it is basically a statement that tells customers the water is safe to drink. You can probably safely assume that the basic water itself is very soft and has a low mineral content like virtually all surface water in southern New England. If the bad taste is from chlorination a Brita or other similar filter should take care of it. Letting the water sit for a day or heating it will also drive off chlorine. As far as minerals go, as was suggested try to get a comprehensive list of the ion content. Until then going on the assumption that it is probably low in Calcium consider adding some Calcium Sulphate (gypsum) for hoppy beers and Calcium Chloride for non-hoppy beers. This is a quick & dirty oversimplification but once you obtain a detailed water report you can figure out exact amounts using various brewing programs but to keep it ultra simple just use a teaspoon of one of the salts per five gallon batch and you'll have enough Ca+ to take care of things in the mash.

Make sure you take advantage of all the brewing water information here at HBT. There are many relevant posts and threads in the Brewing Science Section.

Thanks for the advice I used a Brita filter to get rid of the chlorination and it worked great. My efficiency was good and I didn't taste the off taste.

Aaron,
What you want to find out is the concentration of certain elements and minerals such as Calcium, Sulfate, Magnesium, Bicarbonate ,(Ph, Alkalinity, etc).
War Labs has a test (I think its W6) for $16.50 that many home brewers use that will give you this information.

You can then plug those numbers into a spreadsheet such as Brunwater or EZ water to see what adjustments you might want to consider, based on the style of beer you are making.

Godspeed my friend. Newport Storm is OK but the area needs more craft brewers!!

Agreed not too big of a craft brew area.

aarong said:

Agreed not too big of a craft brew area.

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Unfortunately yes, when you look at nearby states like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, the offerings in Rhode Island pales by comparison. (Pun possibly intended)