Big_Belgian
Well-Known Member
I am just getting into water chemistry issues and working my way through the Bru'n Water information. I'm not a scientist, so it has been slow going, but I am looking forward to finally addressing this part of my home brewing process. Currently, all I do is add a campden tab to address the chlorine/chloramine in our water. The common wisdom among homebrewers in Milwaukee is that our water is fine for homebrewing "as-is", and the Milwaukee Water Works even puts out a publication declaring our water is excellent for hobbyists such as homebrewers (http://milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/WaterWorks/files/2013WaterQualityBasicsforHobby1.pdf).
As I begin this process and realize it is going to take a significant time investment, I've begun to wonder whether the water report put out by Milwaukee Water Works is sufficient, or whether I need to get a report from Wards. The report I'm using is here: http://milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/WaterWorks/files/2013DistributionSystemWaterQua.pdf
I've been advised by someone at the water dept. that these values don't change much at all from year to year because our water resource (Lake Michigan) is so huge.
One question I have is whether it is likely that the water coming out of my taps is changed in any significant way from the water tested at the source. I live in the city near the lake. On a typical brew day, me and my fellow homebrewers get together in one of our garages and just use water out of the garden hose.
Very much appreciate any thoughts on this. I've been trying to simplify my hobby, but it keeps getting more complicated. Ideally, I'd love to have just a few simple rules like - "for darker beers add XX, for hoppy beers add XXX" etc. that I could follow going forward. Do I have enough to get this result using our report linked above and the Bru'n water spreadsheet?
TIA, BB.
As I begin this process and realize it is going to take a significant time investment, I've begun to wonder whether the water report put out by Milwaukee Water Works is sufficient, or whether I need to get a report from Wards. The report I'm using is here: http://milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/WaterWorks/files/2013DistributionSystemWaterQua.pdf
I've been advised by someone at the water dept. that these values don't change much at all from year to year because our water resource (Lake Michigan) is so huge.
One question I have is whether it is likely that the water coming out of my taps is changed in any significant way from the water tested at the source. I live in the city near the lake. On a typical brew day, me and my fellow homebrewers get together in one of our garages and just use water out of the garden hose.
Very much appreciate any thoughts on this. I've been trying to simplify my hobby, but it keeps getting more complicated. Ideally, I'd love to have just a few simple rules like - "for darker beers add XX, for hoppy beers add XXX" etc. that I could follow going forward. Do I have enough to get this result using our report linked above and the Bru'n water spreadsheet?
TIA, BB.