I just received my water analysis report from Ward Labs and it's not quite what I expected. I did expect the alkalinity to be high but I don't know what to make of some of the low values. My first all-grain brew (Saison Ete) was a few weeks ago (before I had the report) and I just cut my water with 50% distilled water and it seemed to work okay. It looks like I'll need to cut my water with distilled water for anything but a stout or porter. Does that make sense to those who know more about this than I do?
In any event, here's the report:
pH 8.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 239
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.40
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.5 / 4.4
(Values below in ppm)
Sodium, Na 39
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 34
Magnesium, Mg 13
Total Hardness, CaCO3 139
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S < 1
Chloride, Cl 12
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 231
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 199
Fluoride, F 0.27
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
This is for well water, BTW. How concerned should I be about the Sulfate or Calcium values?
In any event, here's the report:
pH 8.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 239
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.40
Cations / Anions, me/L 4.5 / 4.4
(Values below in ppm)
Sodium, Na 39
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 34
Magnesium, Mg 13
Total Hardness, CaCO3 139
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S < 1
Chloride, Cl 12
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 231
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 199
Fluoride, F 0.27
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
This is for well water, BTW. How concerned should I be about the Sulfate or Calcium values?