FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
So I think I want to give all grain brewing a shot, but I read that water quality is more important to AG brewing. I have started reading about water quality issues in brewing, but it gets pretty complicated.
I have obtained my municipal water quality report, and I know my tap water is considered 'hard'. So darker beers, like porters and stouts should be OK. But I am wondering about paler beer, like a Pilsener -- perhaps I will have to do some water adjustments? I have this vague recollection of Chairman Cheyco saying that our Calgary water was 'not great' or something, so I am generally a bit worried about all-grain brewing with it. There is lots of advice on water on this site, but frankly, I am not sure how any of it applies to my situation.
Can anyone with some experience in this area provide some feedback about issues that may arise using Calgary tap water? Here is a quick summary of the water quality (full details are here):
Hardness as CaCO3: 144 185 mg/L
pH: 6.80 - 8.01
Total dissolved solids: 177.2 211.2 mg/L
Bicarbonate as CaC03: 92.3 137.5 mg/L
Calcium: 39.8 55.4 mg/L
Chloride: 2.36 6.20 mg/L
Free Chlorine residual: 0.78 - 1.53 mg/L
Magnesium: 10.6 - 16.1 mg/L
Sodium: 2.24 4.01 mg/L
Sulfate: 38.8 51.3 mg/L
Thanks!
I have obtained my municipal water quality report, and I know my tap water is considered 'hard'. So darker beers, like porters and stouts should be OK. But I am wondering about paler beer, like a Pilsener -- perhaps I will have to do some water adjustments? I have this vague recollection of Chairman Cheyco saying that our Calgary water was 'not great' or something, so I am generally a bit worried about all-grain brewing with it. There is lots of advice on water on this site, but frankly, I am not sure how any of it applies to my situation.
Can anyone with some experience in this area provide some feedback about issues that may arise using Calgary tap water? Here is a quick summary of the water quality (full details are here):
Hardness as CaCO3: 144 185 mg/L
pH: 6.80 - 8.01
Total dissolved solids: 177.2 211.2 mg/L
Bicarbonate as CaC03: 92.3 137.5 mg/L
Calcium: 39.8 55.4 mg/L
Chloride: 2.36 6.20 mg/L
Free Chlorine residual: 0.78 - 1.53 mg/L
Magnesium: 10.6 - 16.1 mg/L
Sodium: 2.24 4.01 mg/L
Sulfate: 38.8 51.3 mg/L
Thanks!