water question

This is my water profile

Acidity/Alkalinity PH 6.5
Ca 4.1
Mg 1
Na 1.5
HCO3 396.5
Cl 1.6
SO4 5.3

This is what i want it to be to brew a light American Lager........

Acidity/Alkalinity PH 5.0-5.5
Ca 7.0
Mg 3.0
Na 2.0
HC03 14
Cl 5.0
S04 5.0

What would you do to this water to get it close to the desired water profile?

beersmith software will do this all for you. Very handy. I am in DC and a friend advised me to cut my water with 50% distilled (to reduce the carbonate), and then add ~8 g of gypsum and 4 g of CaCl for a 5 gallon batch. but thats from my water profile..

Um, Beersmith wouldn't even recognize that the starting water profile is bogus! There are some incorrect concentrations, but its not apparent which.

To the OP, you need to revisit the source of that starting water profile. See if you can get accurate information.

Try plugging it into Bru N Water which is free. If you are within a few PPM in your concentrations then it's not a huge deal. As far as how to get rid of the HCO3 you will most likely have to add some acid into the mash.

mabrungard said:

Um, Beersmith wouldn't even recognize that the starting water profile is bogus! There are some incorrect concentrations, but its not apparent which.

To the OP, you need to revisit the source of that starting water profile. See if you can get accurate information.

Click to expand...

so revisiting the water report it is accurate except for the bicarb, the rabge says from 20 to 250. what are your recomendations for the best water to use on this brew? worried about the taste of the water showing up in this light lager?

Hopper5000 said:

Try plugging it into Bru N Water which is free. If you are within a few PPM in your concentrations then it's not a huge deal. As far as how to get rid of the HCO3 you will most likely have to add some acid into the mash.

Click to expand...

do you have a link, the one i found it seems you have to pay?

mabrungard said:

Um, Beersmith wouldn't even recognize that the starting water profile is bogus! There are some incorrect concentrations, but its not apparent which.

To the OP, you need to revisit the source of that starting water profile. See if you can get accurate information.

Click to expand...

guess i just wonder if using poland springs water will work or taste funny in the end

willey146 said:

guess i just wonder if using poland springs water will work or taste funny in the end

Click to expand...

when in doubt use distilled as a clean slate and add to it.

here is the free version download: https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/home/files

so what water report are you using? you should get your water tested by ward labs so you know your actual baseline values before trying to mess with the water profile. If your using your municipalities report and the range is that different then you shouldn't go off of it. That's a large swing.

If you are really worried then you should just use distilled water. Shouldn't have a taste problem with that.

willey146 said:

so revisiting the water report it is accurate except for the bicarb, the rabge says from 20 to 250. what are your recomendations for the best water to use on this brew? worried about the taste of the water showing up in this light lager?

Click to expand...

I see. Based on the other ions, the bicarb is much lower than 250 ppm. Are those other values averages that were reported by a water utility?

By the way in response to another question above, there is a free-version of Bru'n Water on the website. If you like that software and how it works for your brewing, there is a better version that is provided to Bru'n Water supporters. Either version provides the same pH prediction method. The better version includes more features and a better user interface.

willey146 said:

This is my water profile
...
HCO3 396.5
...
...I want it to be to brew a light American Lager........
...
What would you do to this water to get it close to the desired water profile?

Click to expand...

Other than the gross ion-imbalance?

I rarely give this advice, because there is often something that can be done to make water usable. What should you do to this water to make a light lager? Pour it down the toilet.

Boiling and lime treatment could be a fun learning exercise. But for the energy and cost of heating to a boil, or the effort in testing your results from lime softening, OR the amount of dilution with RO (80-90% RO), you're left with just starting with RO.

At least for a light lager.