Looking to brew my first all grain batch this weekend and so I got a water analysis done by Ward labs. All the water in our house gets filtered and as a result there is very little left in term of the ions that Palmer talks about in his book. For example he lists the calcium brewing range at 50 - 150 ppm and I've got 3. He lists magnesium at 10 - 30 and I've got 1. Bicarbonate should be anywhere from 0 - 250 depending on the style and I've got 28. For sulfate he lists 50 - 350 depending on bitterness of the style and I've got <1 ppm.
If I use the nomograph to estimate mash pH with calcium and magnesium both at about 0 and CaCO3 at 23 I get a mash pH of 5.75 which isn't the end of the world. I can adjust it up or down from there. But is mash pH the only thing I have to be concerened about or are these missing ions supposed to be doing other things for me as well? For example Palmer states that calcium promotes clarity, flavor and stability and that chloride (I've got 1 ppm) accentuates the flavor and fullness of beer. What do other people with whole house water filters do?
If I use the nomograph to estimate mash pH with calcium and magnesium both at about 0 and CaCO3 at 23 I get a mash pH of 5.75 which isn't the end of the world. I can adjust it up or down from there. But is mash pH the only thing I have to be concerened about or are these missing ions supposed to be doing other things for me as well? For example Palmer states that calcium promotes clarity, flavor and stability and that chloride (I've got 1 ppm) accentuates the flavor and fullness of beer. What do other people with whole house water filters do?