Is this water profile acceptable?

[SLRSLY]

I recently moved into a new house and have not made a drinkable beer since.
Previously I always kept the kegs full of deliciousness. Now I can't even give it away. Not that I would want to anyway. Every beer ends up with this 'bite' in the back. Upfront it usually tastes fine.
I taste the samples and they are fine. Numbers are all right on (except for one batch where my OG was perfect and FG was way low. It still tasted OK until it went into the keg.
So I took my water to my LHBS to have tested. Here are the results:
Test Parameters Results Units Notes
Calcium Hardness 20 ppm
Magnesium Hardness 40 ppm of CaCO3
Total Hardness 60 ppm of CaCO3
Total Alkalinity 50 ppm of CaCO3
Sulfate 0 ppm
pH 7.4
Total Chlorine 0 ppm
Notes, Comments & Recommendations:
Calcium and magnesium hardness levels are in the “slightly hard” category.
Total hardness is at the low range (60 – 120 ppm) for moderately hard water.
Alkalinity is within the optimum range of 30 – 60 ppm Calcium Carbonate
( CaCO3 ). The pH level is very slightly alkaline and close to neutral (7.0). No
chlorine in the water was detected. A very subtle “moldy” scent was detected
when the sample was sniffed, however, this lab does not test for any organic
material (mold spores, bacteria, microbes, etc.)

I'm hoping someone can tell me if this water is acceptable. Or correctable at least. I have since added a whole house filter and it has definitely taken care of the mold smell mentioned in the report. The water has always tasted very good and we drink it all day.
I also came across a story where a guy moved and his gas lines became infected. Right now I have everything post-regulator soaking in PBW, discos are taken apart, both gas lines, even the clamps.

I would definitely appreciate any help. I had planned on brewing this weekend.

 

[mchrispen]

I don't see much in the report that would cause concern. In fact, despite the report, your water is pretty soft and would likely benefit from some hardness in the form of calcium carbonate and gypsum, depending on the style. If they did not detect chlorine (which seems odd) then perhaps some other sanitation chemistry is in play. The moldy smell might be a clue - and indicate some rusty or penetrated water feed into your house.They do not provide a chloride level, which is unusual. You have high(ish) magnesium, which could produce a mineral or metallic quality, but is desirable in some darker beers. It's funny, the description you gave is what I experienced with very high sodium and alkaline water, only mine was an astringent bite. I switched to R/O and build my water and all of the previous issues disappeared. However, your alkalinity is moderate, and should only require a bit of acid to control mash pH, for pale beers. You don't say if you are extract or all grain brewing, and the bite could possibly be from oxidized LME or DME.

Because the magnesium is so high, I might recommend dilution with R/O or DI water at 50%, and adding back in some hardness from gypsum and calcium chloride. The primer in the sticky area here is a good starting point.

Honestly, I think I would brew with some store bought water (and use the primer recommendations) this weekend and eliminate the water or a process issue (over-sparging?). Then possibly replace all hoses and plastics that touch the liquor and wort used if that doesn't solve it.

 

[mabrungard]

The data is incomplete, but what is reported is quite low in mineralization. Both the calcium and magnesium are at low levels (8 and 10 ppm, respectively). The alkalinity is not high, but if you aren't adding any calcium or acid to help acidify the mash, the pH may be too high and that might create the roughness you mention. The other thing that can be a concern is the presence of iron or manganese. They will impart metallic flavor to the beer. If the plumbing fixtures get stained either black or rust colored, then those ions are a problem.

I don't see a problem and the water should be usable. Adding calcium and either chloride or sulfate can improve the flavor. Visit the Water Knowledge page of the Bru'n Water website to help decipher what you might do to treat your water for brewing.

 

[ajdelange]

Only thing I can think of is that your old water might have had more chloride than this water (though chloride isn't reported). Funny that they'd do sulfate but not chloride as sulfate is a more difficult test. You can check my hypothesis by adding a little table salt to a glass of your beer and seeing if that improves it in a direction that makes it more like what you are used to. Or use calcium chloride if you have some. You can get more chloride with that without getting the salty taste than you can with salt.

 

[SLRSLY]

Thanks so much for the help. To answer a few questions:
I brew all grain, usually wheat beers or IPAs.
My process is pretty solid. The only thing that changed since I moved is that I now have to work outside with a propane burner (house is all electric). I've never heard of over sparging but if it's what I think it is, I'm pretty sure I'm in the clear. I mash at the recommended water/lb grain and double batch sparge to collect enough wort for my burnoff.
Maybe I should send my water to ward or someone else. When I first looked at these results I thought the numbers seemed a little too 'round' to be precise. I also thought they would have tested it a little further. But it was easy and quick so I tried them out.
I'll definitely devote some time today to read up on things. I do plan on starting with some spring water from lowes or depot.
There is one 5 gallon batch in the ferm chamber that was made with the tap water. And every keg line/fitting is soaking in PBW right now so that should rule out an infection in the keg. Do I need to disassemble and soak my regulators? I also made a 1 gallon batch this week that I plan to bottle.

Thanks again for all the help so far. It's definitely appreciated. I was just about to buy a fancy blichmann kettle but promised myself I would make some drinkable beer again first.