Got water analysis, now what?

Don't really know where to go from here? I was told our water is very soft, which I've read is a good base to make additions too....

Name: Tahoe
PH: 8.50

Ions:
Calcium: 7.00 mg/L
Magnesium: 2.10 mg/L
Sodium: 5.90 mg/L
Sulfate: 1.80 mg/L
Chloride: 1.80mg/L
Bicarbonate: 54.80 mg/L

Hardness (Total) as CaCo3: 26

KIAKillerXJ said:

Don't really know where to go from here? I was told our water is very soft, which I've read is a good base to make additions too....

Name: Tahoe
PH: 8.50

Ions:
Calcium: 7.00 mg/L
Magnesium: 2.10 mg/L
Sodium: 5.90 mg/L
Sulfate: 1.80 mg/L
Chloride: 1.80mg/L
Bicarbonate: 54.80 mg/L

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Your best bet would be to read these two threads below. I use a combination of the base information from the Water Chem Primer and the EZ Water Calc spreadsheet to build my water from a Reverse Osmosis system I have in my house.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/ez-water-calculator-3-0-a-261001/

Soft water isn't necessarily a good thing, water low in alkalinity is. You have a lot more bicarbonates than calcium which makes your water high in alkalinity. I'm no water expert, but look for EZ Water Calculator and put your numbers in and see what kind of information you get. You are going to need some adjustment, especially for any lighter colored beers.

yea, thats why I'm looking for help. My lighter beers have not been turning out especially well

KIAKillerXJ said:

yea, thats why I'm looking for help. My lighter beers have not been turning out especially well

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I've been having the same problem. I brewed yesterday (an IPA) and for the first time I got water from the Glacier machine in front of the grocery store. It should be pretty void of mineral content, so I added back some gypsum and calcium chloride. I will see how this turns out in a few weeks

I've been to Kings Beach and I'm sure that its pretty cold there now. Tahoe water is very soft and quite useable for brewing. As pointed out, the calcium is too low and the alkalinity is modest. That combination is not good for brewing, but is easily correctible.

Adding calcium chloride or gypsum will address the calcium deficiency. Modest acid or acid malt addition will solve the alkalinity problem.

It appears that the bicarbonate reported may not be quite right. The cation and anion balance is a little off. Its not too bad though.

Prymal said:

Your best bet would be to read these two threads below. I use a combination of the base information from the Water Chem Primer and the EZ Water Calc spreadsheet to build my water from a Reverse Osmosis system I have in my house.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/ez-water-calculator-3-0-a-261001/

Click to expand...

+1. EZ water gives you general ranges for your ion concentrations. Start there. I would think with your 1:1 chloride to sulfate ratio you'll need to add both gypsum and cacl2 to keep them in balance.

I've been having issues that taste like astrignecy, and muddled hops flavor.

Trying to get a hold on it-- I try to brew often, buts its quite disheartening when you wait a month or more to taste results and then aren't satisfied. And in the meantime you've brewed a couple more that are going to come out with the same issues.

This is a handy little tool:
Brewing Water Chemistry Calculator | Brewer's Friend

You can target profiles, tells you if ion levels are within range, and shows you salt additions in tsp vs. grams.