Water Quality minerals

I'm wondering what sort of minerals I should be looking for in water quality reports, and if certain minerals match up to certain characteristics in beers and am aware that some pre-brewing boiling is necessary to remove chlorine ect. To be more specific, I am attempting to make a beer tailoring to the minerals found in Minneapolis water. I use all-grain, and have brewed for a number of years. I am also wondering how pH ties in with certain types of beer, does it vary according to the type of beer or do you always want it at a certain number? How do certain minerals affect a multi-step infusion as far as temp? Any help is appreciated?

If you're looking at a water report, you'll want to pay special attention to alkalinity, calcium, sulfate and chloride.

Chlorine boils off, but chloramine does not and is common in water supplies. You'll want to get rid of it, either by using a campden tablet or using bottled/RO water.

Mash pH is important, but water pH is not. You'll want to take the pH of the mash, not the water. You want to be in the 5.2-5.5 range.

What beer are you making targeting Minneapolis water? I like Summit and Surly, but they use St. Paul water.

There are only a few ions that are of keen interest to brewers. There are plenty of other ions and compounds in the water, but they are typically in very low concentrations and don't typically affect brewing performance.

You can find a lot of information in the Bru'n Water program. It includes a fairly substantial section on Water Knowledge that would be very helpful for you. You can download it at the link in my signature line.

Enjoy.

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