Incomplete Water Profile?

[snowveil]

So I've been trying to read up on water profiles in Palmer's book but seem to be stuck in that I don't believe I have all of the information that I need.

Can anyone with a bit more experience lend a hand? The only two factors on my local report seem to be the Alkalinity and Sulfates...is this enough to go off of or should I contact the local water authority to see if they have more information? (Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride...)

http://www.lebanonauthority.org/images/files/report.pdf


Also, the pH seems to be awfully high at 9.8-9.9, will this be an issue? I've been brewing with spring water and would really like to cut down on the hassle of constantly buying (and wasting) gallon jugs.

Thanks

 

[ross3648]

Call your water Authority and ask them for the information you need.

 

[sjlammer]

+1 to calling.

I called my water authority because i was missing a few parameters. The gentleman had all the numbers I needed on hand. I didn't tell him why I needed the information, but after I thanked him for his time he said "happy brewing".

my guess is he will be more than happy to help. if you meet some resistance, tell him you are brewing beer. I have found that i often get a lot of help/interest when i say that.

 

[bartyen82]

I also ran into this problem when trying to get a water report from the local utility. I sent an email, and an engineer contacted me within a day or two. I was given all the numbers I was interested in, as well as the following:

"EPA and FDEP require only violations of secondary water quality standards to be included in the water quality report. Utilities are discouraged from including those compounds if compliant with the secondary standards. Hope that explains the absence in the Water Quality Report."

Don't forget to ask about chlorine vs chloramine disinfectant use...

 

[remilard]

So I've been trying to read up on water profiles in Palmer's book but seem to be stuck in that I don't believe I have all of the information that I need.

Can anyone with a bit more experience lend a hand? The only two factors on my local report seem to be the Alkalinity and Sulfates...is this enough to go off of or should I contact the local water authority to see if they have more information? (Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride...)

http://www.lebanonauthority.org/images/files/report.pdf


Also, the pH seems to be awfully high at 9.8-9.9, will this be an issue? I've been brewing with spring water and would really like to cut down on the hassle of constantly buying (and wasting) gallon jugs.

Thanks

To estimate mash pH you need alkalinity, calcium and magnesium to calculate residual alkalinity. To try to use the water to affect the flavor of the beer you will also want sulfate, chloride, sodium and maybe potassium.

The pH is high because the water supplier has put it there (weakly buffered) for various reasons. The pH does not matter at all, only the alkalinity matters (in terms of mash pH). It's a happy coincidence that a lot of very alkaline water has a low pH and a lot of water that is not very alkaline has a high pH. The water pH is therefore more likely to mislead you than to inform you, I would ignore it.