Living as a foreigner in Japan, otherwise simple tasks can sometimes be quite daunting. In the case of my water profile, I was able to get some of the info I needed quite easily. Getting the rest of it might prove quite difficult, so I figured I might as well ask some fellow brewers.
We've got nice, soft water. The water company was able to give me this info:
Ca: 9
Mg: 2
Cl: 10
Na: 7
pH: 7.7
I've got some questions filling in the gaps:
1. They didn't give me an SO4 level, because they say they don't test for it. All of the other figures are quite low, so is it safe to assume that the SO4 level is quite low too? Any suggestions as to what number to enter into my default water profile in my brewing software? Does 20 sound about right? I realize there's no way to be sure, but if you had to enter a figure, what would it be?
2. Regarding bicarbonate, they said, "free coal, which is a similar item because it has not been inspected, I will answer with acid: 2mg/L (translation courtesy of Google Translate). I don't know what that 2mg/L would refer to. For now, I've left that field blank. I do use baking soda when brewing porters, and add lactic acid when making pilsners. I don't have a pH meter. Hoping to get one in the spring, maybe six months from now.
3. They also said they didn't test for alkalinity. Is that something I can test for myself, once I get a pH meter? Any ideas what to plug into my water profile there?
I wish I could just send a sample of to Ward Labs, but that's not feasible in my situation. For now, I'm just thinking of finding a city that has similar Ca, Mg, Na and Cl levels and using that as my own water profile. However, I'd really appreciate any input if there's a better way to go about it.
Thanks!
We've got nice, soft water. The water company was able to give me this info:
Ca: 9
Mg: 2
Cl: 10
Na: 7
pH: 7.7
I've got some questions filling in the gaps:
1. They didn't give me an SO4 level, because they say they don't test for it. All of the other figures are quite low, so is it safe to assume that the SO4 level is quite low too? Any suggestions as to what number to enter into my default water profile in my brewing software? Does 20 sound about right? I realize there's no way to be sure, but if you had to enter a figure, what would it be?
2. Regarding bicarbonate, they said, "free coal, which is a similar item because it has not been inspected, I will answer with acid: 2mg/L (translation courtesy of Google Translate). I don't know what that 2mg/L would refer to. For now, I've left that field blank. I do use baking soda when brewing porters, and add lactic acid when making pilsners. I don't have a pH meter. Hoping to get one in the spring, maybe six months from now.
3. They also said they didn't test for alkalinity. Is that something I can test for myself, once I get a pH meter? Any ideas what to plug into my water profile there?
I wish I could just send a sample of to Ward Labs, but that's not feasible in my situation. For now, I'm just thinking of finding a city that has similar Ca, Mg, Na and Cl levels and using that as my own water profile. However, I'd really appreciate any input if there's a better way to go about it.
Thanks!