Understanding Water Report & Additions

[orionol73]

I have been brewing all-grain for a year now and have yet to delve into water conditions, just using good local water. I have recently converted to my tap water which comes from a community well. I had the water tested by Ward and here are the results

pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 207
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.35
Cations / Anions, me/L 3.6 / 3.6
ppm
Sodium, Na 3
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 44
Magnesium, Mg 15
Total Hardness, CaCO3 173
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.6 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 2
Chloride, Cl 3
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 204
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 168
Total Phosphorus, P 0.02
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01

I am trying wrap my head around this and what additions I might need to make, or even if the water is worth trying to adjust? I am hoping to build to either a general water profile that works decently across styles or one for lighter/hoppier beers and one for malty beers. The current beer produced has been pretty good, but not great. It has been all hoppy beer to this point and while they are there, they do not pop.
I believe that the PH is the reason my efficiency is not consistent and a big part of why I always miss my SG and OG. Efficiency has ranged from 61-72

Recommendations appreciated

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

Your alkalinity is high. If you look at the bicarbonate, you can see how how it is. That means you can probably make really good stouts with lots of roasted barley, but the pale beers will suffer from a high mash pH, and the sparging pH will be too high for sure.

You could dilute your water 50/50 with distilled to drop the alkalinity to a more acceptable level and then use some phosphoric or lactic acid to get the pH more in range. You could also try preboiling the water and racking off of the precipitate, and even consider lime softening.

 

[orionol73]

Thanks for the response Yooper!

Is there any reason I couldnt build my water to this balanced profile from Brewers Friend?

Balanced Profile II
Ion Profile in ppm
Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ Cl- SO42- HCO3-
150 10 80 150 160 220

That would compensate for the high bicarbonate level and then I could lower the PH as necessary with some phosphoric acid?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the response Yooper!

Is there any reason I couldnt build my water to this balanced profile from Brewers Friend?

Balanced Profile II
Ion Profile in ppm
Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ Cl- SO42- HCO3-
150 10 80 150 160 220

That would compensate for the high bicarbonate level and then I could lower the PH as necessary with some phosphoric acid?

Well, the actual "target" for Hc03 is 0. Or at least, it should be. You only need enough alkalinity to hit your desired mash pH, so that shouldn't have 220 there.
Also, in my option, the chloride is WAY too high with that level of sulfate and the calcium is too high and would result in a minerally beer.

 

[Lefou]

Going to send you a link to Chris Colby's blog. It makes choosing your beer styles based on water profiles easy.
Great explanation of how to adjust, too.
http://beerandwinejournal.com/easy-aqua/

If it was me, I'd dilute your well water with twice the amount of distilled or low mineral "soft" water, and adjust with CaCl2. You have "hard" water and need to balance it out in order to do pale ales or hoppy light beers.

 

[orionol73]

Thank you for the responses! This certainly helps me direct my searching.

If I am understanding this correctly I am trying to cut the bicarbonates because they are causing the water to be more alkaline. I could just use acid to lower the PH from my current water but because of the quantity required it may have an adverse impact on the beer, hence using the water. The other focus is get my chloride to sulfate level into the correct proportions using CaCl2 and Gypsum. Overall, the fewer minerals used the better?

Onward down the rabbit hole!