Help with water chemistry

[Eco]

So I am trying to understand water chemistry. I have read the water chemistry sections in Palmer, Papazian, and a couple other books and I ordered and received two water analysis to average them out for my well water that tastes good to me. It was curious that they were different but I guess I expected that as I ordered two.
pH 7.8
Cloride 12mg/L
Hardness 39mg/L
Calcium 10.mg/L
Magnesuim 3.2mg/L
Sodium 24mg?L

What neither of my reports tell me, that all of the online beer water calculators want to know is, what the Sulfates are and the Bicarbonates? Is this something special I would have to ask for or something that is extrapolated from the other numbers? My reports have about four more times the data that I expressed above but no others that are on brewing calculators or in the books. I would like to try the nifty brewing calculators but am missing some data.
What do seasoned brewers see looking at those numbers? I am doing partial grain batches now and may do all grain. What kind of beers do numbers like these lend themselves best to?
Thanks for any advice ahead of time, Mike

 

[hopsalot]

check out Ward labratories: http://www.wardlab.com/FeeSchedule/WaterAnalysis.aspx

Looking at this makes me think you got a bare bones water analysis. Who analyzed your water?

 

[Eco]

At $110 and $75 they weren't bare bones. It has ALOT of stuff on the report, just none that that are useful for brewing purposes. Zinc, Uranium detergent, cadmium, Iron, and a pile more. But like I said its not giving me all the data I want for brewing. So is everyone doing the W5 or W6 Ward test? Wish I had seen this earlier. I could have done 6 W6 tests for what I have in so far. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[hopsalot]

oops, looks like you got ripped off. On the bright side you now just about everything about your well water. W-6 will cover you for brewing, cheap too

 

[Eco]

yeah, I know allot about my well water now - beer water - not so much. Heck whats another $26 bucks after almost $200 on well water curiosity.
So does anyone have any thoughts on the water elements that we DO know from my first post? Thanks for all the help.

 

[hopsalot]

http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/

a good spread sheet for balancing your water, developed by a HBT user named TH

Cheers,

 

[hopsalot]

Bobby M has great videos on water chemistry and how to use this spreadsheet

 

[Eco]

I know! That EZ calculator is a great tool; but I can't use it yet as I don't have all my numbers still. Ward labs will bail me out.

 

[Eco]

Yea! I finally got my Ward report which better reflects numbers I can use in all the great brewing calculators.

pH 7.8
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 127
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.21
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.1 / 1.9
ppm
Sodium, Na 26
Potassium, K 1
Calcium, Ca 12
Magnesium, Mg 4
Total Hardness, CaCO3 47
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 2
Chloride, Cl 11
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 91
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 75
Fluoride, F 0.14
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

So to touch on part of my original question; What do seasoned brewers see looking at those numbers? I am doing partial grain batches now and may do all grain. What kind of beers do numbers like these lend themselves best to?
I look forward to dialing in my water chemistry numbers better using some of the calculators in the future.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[mabrungard]

Bru'n Water software has an extensive section on brewing water chemistry. It will get you further than virtually any text other than my water treatment engineering texts (they don't get into brewing water chemistry though).

Overall, that water is quite soft and alkaline. The sodium is a little elevated, but not excessive. Its a good starting point with proper alkalinity control. Bru'n Water is perfect for calculating that treatment.

PS: I have a problem accepting advice and guidance from folks who can't even attribute their name to their advice or products. As you can see below, I stand by every word I've ever written here. The Boogy Man hasn't gotten me yet. Why do forum users hide behind avatars? If you want to be taken seriously, you need to stand up for what you write. There are plenty of others on this forum and other brewing forums that disclose who they are and provide the reader with the confidence that we are willing to stand up for that advice. Initials don't cut it.