maybe i don't know enough, but...(water report)

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Donner

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Yeah, sorry, another water report question.

I just got mine and for some reason everything seems really low to me. Especially when i compare it to target water reports.

Sodium, Na 7
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 8
Magnesium, Mg 2
Total Hardness, CaCO3 28
Nitrate, NO3-N 1.7
Sulfate, SO4-S 2
Chloride, Cl 5
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 24
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 20
pH 7.7


does that seem odd to anyone else?
 
Did you send in some ro water for analysis? ;) looks pretty mineral free. Should be good for brewing light colored beers.
 
And a nearly clean slate for building up to match any other style.

I fail to see the problem here. Low minerals, near neutral pH......

I'd have to buy and haul water that clean.
 
Yeah, sorry, another water report question.

I just got mine and for some reason everything seems really low to me.

Low is good. It is fairly simple to add in what you need as compared to remove, filter or dilute too much of the wrong ion. :mug:
 
When you say it seems low compared to target water reports, do you mean target levels for specific beers, or target levels for your local water? If you mean target levels for your local water it could be that where you live they are running the water through a filter to clean it up some.

Your water is very similiar to Seattle water. It is good for very light beers, but will need some additions for most others for the best result. You specifically need to at least get that calcium up.

There is plenty of info out there and on this forum to get your feet wet on basic mineral additions.
 
Yeah, it's clear i dont have as firm an understanding as i'd like. I punched the numbers into brewers friend and am starting to get a sense of how each addition changes the water profile.

Up to this point i've been using spring water from walmart since i wasn't sure what the water here was like. Now that i have an understanding i think i'll probably start using water right from the tap here.

I think the thing that surprised me most was that entering common profiles BOT and Dublin, etc, all yielded mineral concentrations in much greater numbers than i have here. I know there will be differences, but it was the difference in the two numbers that had me worried.

thanks for the help. Now i just need to figure out how to balance my additions so that i end up with all the numbers in the correct target area (i currently can't seem to get my bicarbonate level to stay low enough while hitting all the other target numbers for BOT water profile.)
 
...I think the thing that surprised me most was that entering common profiles BOT and Dublin, etc, all yielded mineral concentrations in much greater numbers than i have here. I know there will be differences, but it was the difference in the two numbers that had me worried...
Both of these locales have very HARD water, and that is what may have lead to the evolution of their particular beer styles. Most regional beer styles evolved out of necesity according to the local water contents combined with an appropriate grain bill to get a drinkable beer. See Palmer Balancing the Malts and Minerals
 
thanks for the link.

I do have a question for you all (or a couple of them maybe).

First, if i can't get all the numbers to match up using the brewers friend, is there one way or the other to err? Say, for example, i'm working on a water profile to brew a bitter. Brewers friend tells me when i'm within 20 ppm of each ion, but if i can't get enough CA without going over recommended level of HCO3. Obviously, you can add more CA via chalk or gypsum, but each would add more of an ion i don't need.

I know this isn't an area where i have to be exact, but i just want to know if i should avoid too much of one in exchange for the proper amount of another etc?
 
thanks for the link.

I do have a question for you all (or a couple of them maybe).

First, if i can't get all the numbers to match up using the brewers friend, is there one way or the other to err? Say, for example, i'm working on a water profile to brew a bitter. Brewers friend tells me when i'm within 20 ppm of each ion, but if i can't get enough CA without going over recommended level of HCO3. Obviously, you can add more CA via chalk or gypsum, but each would add more of an ion i don't need.

I know this isn't an area where i have to be exact, but i just want to know if i should avoid too much of one in exchange for the proper amount of another etc?


Don't worry about hitting a number exactly. It's virtually impossible. Bear in mind as well that target numbers of a famous brewing water are based on averages so they are not stationary targets anyway. As long as you are reasonably close and have roughly the same curve in the profile you will be absolutely fine. :mug:
 
Since the type of beer dictates what to add to the water, is it best to play with the numbers until i get a combination that indicates it'd be good for the style of beer i'm brewing? Basically, just adjust the numbers until i get a profile that is good for the style i'm brewing?

The comment is in reference to the results that Brewing Water Chemistry Calculator | Brewer's Friend tells me.
 
Donner,

just out of curiosity is your tap city or well water? Does it get run through a water softener?
 
Donner,

just out of curiosity is your tap city or well water? Does it get run through a water softener?

it's the city's water and isn't softened on my end. I knew we had soft water, but never thought it'd be as soft as it is.

i just hope that it is from the same source all year. I know Jamil and John Palmer commented that cities often get its water from different sources at different times on the year.
 
so i'd like to expand this thread and see if anyone can help me with a few things.

I've used brewer's friend and palmers spreadsheet and i think i understand how most of it all works. I was hoping someone would fill in a few things for me, though.

Palmer's sheet has estimated SRM low and high. Is that just giving me a range to see if my beer's SRM fits within the range? Also, am i supposed to calculate the mash water only, or include my sparge water (4 gallons vs. 8 gallons).

If at all possible, i'd appreciate if someone could give me a sense of what their water numbers look like for an IPA. I'm thinking of brewing an english IPA (a first for me) and i want to get a sense of what other's successfully used for water numbers. I think it would help me understand all the relationships.

thanks for any and all help.
 
Palmers numbers are a range to use to ballpark your water to and you can fall anywhere within the range. Palmer also has limits in the RA and hardness numbers. If you use his chart it can get to some pretty extreme numbers if you are brewing a very dark beer.

From Palmer he says when doing mineral additions do your first addition in the mash and base it on water volume in the mash. Do not add to the sparge. Do a second addition in the boil kettle and figure that based on the water above and beyond what was in the mash. So if you mash with 3 gallons base your mash addition on 3 gallons. then if you will boil 7 gallons, make a boil kettle addition based on the additional 4 gallons of water in the kettle.

The Brewing network has a 4 part series with Jamil and Palmer discussing water. It is a good listen and they cover some of the things you are asking about. Scroll down to find the water podcasts.
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong

For alternative spreadsheets just browse the brew science forums. there are a couple members here that have set up their own sheets and some have some profiles included.
 
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