Santa Rosa Water Report Question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

user 22118

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
2,023
Reaction score
13
I know it is asked a lot, but I don't know what I am really looking for in a water report. I just brewed with Municipal water and it tastes like two things to me. Bad and Bad. It is sulphury and metalic and tastes a lot like something I would clean a wound with. That is the Brown that I made. The water to me tastes maybe a little metallic after letting it sit overnight, so I bought a water filter that I need to hook up to my sink and another for the brewstand. Here is a link to where the water report is and I don't really understand any of it.

http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/doclib/Documents/Santa%20Rosa%20Well%20Treatment%20Results%202008.pdf

Thanks for any help or advice that can be given.

EDIT: The last pages seem to be the main source of the stuff that we always talk about on here, but why am I getting sulphury metallic flavors. I am using 1968 yeast, but haven't ever had the sulphur flavor like that in my beers with this yeast. Again, thanks in advance
 
So from your report, the more important ions look like this:
Calcium: 26
Magnesium: 16
Bicarbonate: 293
Sulfate: 1
Chloride: 24
Sodium: 22


I think that report is for well rather than municipal water, as the water report for Santa Rosa that I use for brewing is:
Calcium: 18
Magnesium: 11
Bicarbonate: 124
Sulfate: 9
Chloride: 8
Sodium: 14


There's a pretty noticeable difference between the two in regards to bicarbonate so it would probably be worth while to investigate the bicarbonate level coming from your tap when you're looking to make water adjustments. However I saw nothing in the water report that would give the kind of flavors you're experiencing except perhaps chlorine.

Excess chlorine in your brewing water can manifest as a harsh medicinal flavor in your finished beer. Was your brown ale brewed after you installed your water filter? Keep in mind water filters are much more effective at a slower flow rate. Another thing you can try is adding a campden tablet to your brewing water to get rid of chlorine and chloramines.
 
I haven't yet put on the filter, so it is just some straight tap water. I don't think it is as much of a medicinal flavor as a sulphur flavor. Really annoying kinda, maybe it will just get better with age. I am still going to add the filter though for at least a little bit more consistency.
 
Back
Top