Water Profile for Denver Metro Area

Hey All,
Been looking at Water Chemistry and how it affects brewing, and I was curious if anyone local to the Denver Metro area had their water tested recently and wouldn't mind sharing the results (even for a price). You can get some of the information off of the DenverWater.org website, but it's not complete.

Figuring it couldn't hurt to ask

I haven't gotten a report but the general consensus is that Denver area water is good to brew with. I'm in Littleton and I use tap water with camden tablets and my beers are just fine.

I've also heard that water reports are just a snap shot of your water because the mineral content changes throughout the year. I also know my water here could come from a couple different reservoirs based on time of year, rainfall, snowmelt, etc...

Remove the chlorine and chloromines and brew on!

Related question, but what are your evap rates? Just curious. I haven't measured yet but I intend to.

Evap rates are dependant on the surface area of water, and would vary from pot to pot. I get about .9 gallons per hour in my 15 gallon pot, which I use simply to avoid boil overs.

As far as the water report stuff. I recognize that a water test is just a point in time thing, but it would give me a starting point. I realize that Denver Water is good for lots of stuff, but I'd just like to take things to the next level with water Chemistry, and I don't want to "over due it" if I can help it.

putorious said:

Evap rates are dependant on the surface area of water, and would vary from pot to pot. I get about .9 gallons per hour in my 15 gallon pot, which I use simply to avoid boil overs.

As far as the water report stuff. I recognize that a water test is just a point in time thing, but it would give me a starting point. I realize that Denver Water is good for lots of stuff, but I'd just like to take things to the next level with water Chemistry, and I don't want to "over due it" if I can help it.

Click to expand...

You can always buy distilled and build it how you want it.

putorious said:

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As far as the water report stuff. I recognize that a water test is just a point in time thing, but it would give me a starting point. I realize that Denver Water is good for lots of stuff, but I'd just like to take things to the next level with water Chemistry, and I don't want to "over due it" if I can help it.

Click to expand...

From my understanding, the water chemistry changes depending on what part of the city you live in as well. I'd like to know more now that I have moved from Aurora to Denver.

Really interesting article here on boiling points of water in Denver.

I'm always frustrated by my boil only being 202 degrees, but I guess that's pretty much boil point here in Denver.

http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/?quid=1386

Brewed in Denver for years and didn't really become happy with my lighter styles until I started building water. At first I followed the brewing water chemistry primer thread by ajdelange using his advice to dilute water until possible measurements were low.

I now buy distilled water for 100% of the brew and build the water up to appropriate levels.

A trick is to go to King Soopers and fill containers from there distilled/RO station. 39 cents a gallon is okay for me even if I have to buy 40 gallons.

I'm reviving this thread cause I'm also moving to Denver and am about to get brewing.

Has anyone else looked at the treated water profile report from the city? It's a great document. http://www.denverwater.org/WaterQuality/QualityReports/

Things I've learned so far:

1) The water comes from 3 different sources, The Foothills plant, the Moffat Plant, and the Martson plant. Here's a quote from the report:

Which Treatment Plant Serves
My Area?
Denver Water's distribution system is completely
integrated. This means that we can distribute water
from any of our three potable treatment plants to
anywhere in our system. Water is usually routed
based on demand. Foothills Treatment Plant is
our largest gravity fed potable water plant. It is
often in service and serves much of the system.
However, we can blend water from Foothills with
Moffat or Marston or blend the water from any two
potable treatment plants and send it anywhere in our
system. This complete redundancy is rather unique
compared to other distribution systems in the United
States. When wondering which treatment plant
serves you, it is best to assume that the water can
come from any of the three treatment plants to your
home or business at any given time.

Click to expand...

That makes me consider using the Foothills specific numbers as a base approach, but is also a reminder that the water will never always be exactly the same.

2) The average pH for the Marston and Foothills plants is roughly just over 7.7, while the Moffat plant averages closer to 7.85

The tables with the specific numbers are a little annoying to import, but the PDF for 2013's report has a lot of information.

There are a number of disinfection byproducts in the water including

Bromochloroacetic acid Bromodichloromethane Chloroform
Cyanogen Chloride Dibromochloromethane
Dichloroacetic acid
Haloacetic Acids (5)
Total Trihalomethanes
Trichloroacetic acid

I am still learning a lot about water (and getting into the palmer book) but from what I've read an activated carbon filter should take care of most of these chemicals. I got a 5M carbon dupont filter setup that I'm going to semi-hard plumb into my system.

benbradford said:

I now buy distilled water for 100% of the brew and build the water up to appropriate levels.

A trick is to go to King Soopers and fill containers from there distilled/RO station. 39 cents a gallon is okay for me even if I have to buy 40 gallons.

Click to expand...

I have a question - is the King Soopers station water really RO? I just thought it was spring water, which isn't the same.

I wish I could find the water profile from Deep Rock. I go to Home Depot and fill up jugs from there, but I can't find any info at all about Deep Rock's water. I'm assuming that's because it's filtered water from multiple locations.

The label on the water dispenser reads ro/di. I also noticed that there are service calls monthly in which I hope trey test water and change filters. I feel like my beers have improved since switching to ro and building water up.

Where you doing any filtering before you switched to RO Ben?

I was just treating with campden tablets previously.

benbradford said:

The label on the water dispenser reads ro/di. I also noticed that there are service calls monthly in which I hope trey test water and change filters. I feel like my beers have improved since switching to ro and building water up.

Click to expand...

Can you take a photo next time you're in your king soopers? I'm not doubting you. I actually just want the photos so that I can see what type of unit I should look for so I can do the same! Sounds like a great solution. I've never seen a Ro water dispenser at any of the Soopers I've been to.



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Not trying to be a "well, actually" type of person and if you're happy with it go for it but I've seen a few posts from people who sent some grocery store RO machine water to Ward labs and got reports that were far from RO. If I was geeked out about water I would buy distilled and build it. There is no other way to really know what is in there. I suppose you could send in some to WL and get a report. Maybe it comes back RO. But will it come back RO next month or the month after. Maybe it would but you can't really know.

For the record, I'm not geeked out about water at all. I add some camden and let it rip. I've read a lot about it and if I was going down that road I would buy distilled and add what I wanted.

I am considering a switch to buying spring water though. Just to see really but if it makes it better why not? Water is cheap.

We sell the La Mott water test kits, then you can really geek out on your water!
Thing is, tap water will vary. Even using a filter as the filter ages and degrades and changes how well it works. I have to think the in store on demand filters also have variances, a real time test kit will tell you what water you have and allow you to then build the water profile fit for your beer.
Brewers had no clue about water contents and changed their mash and yeast profiles to get the best result, thus, with control over those items, we now look at water and know different regions offer different water qualities to help achieve a specific style. Fully distilled and then rebuilt water is the only way to replicate that water. Just ask yourself, is the water test kit, time testing, cost of minerals and additives, more testing and all worth it for your homebrew?
Remember some malts like acidulated and aromatic came into play to adjust mash pH plus there is also Five Star Mash 5.2 which some swear by, others swear at. Just keep in mind, if your water taste like a dead body is floating in it, your beer will taste like a dead body is floating in it! Use water you like to drink at a minimum!

I sent in a request to Deep Rock to see what they would come back with for their spring water. Very curious to know the profile there.

I might put in a request to aquafina as well.

I have plastic bottles for deep rock but I quit using them because I typically don't brew beers with a lot of hops anyhow.


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Hmm Aquafina is just local tap water - bummer

Interesting article here on "bottled water" that in most cases it's really just local tap ran through some filters.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...si-s-aquafina-bottled-water-is-tap-water.aspx

Eldorado Spring water is available at many grocery stores and WalMart, and they provide a water analysis on their website.

I am far from a water expert, and I probably assume way too much to really tinker properly. If I am doing an all grain batch, I usually use the EZ Water Spreadsheet, based on averages from the three plants (I figure it gets me in the ballpark- 24 Ca, 6 Mg, 16 Na, 18 Cl, 44 SO4, 49 CaCo3). Two things stick out. First, my effective alkalinity number is 49, which is nice for amber beers, but a little high for pale beers. If I'm making a lighter color beer, I usually throw in some acidulated malt to bring the mash pH down into the 5.5 range (based on the spreadsheet, at least). Second, my chloride / sulfate ratio is pretty low (.5) which could potentially, as I understand it, enhance the hop flavor. So if you want pale and malty, you probably want to look into some CaCl2. But once again, I'm not holding myself out as a water expert, so don't take my word for it.