Water chemistry query

[Philmac]

Hey all,
I am a relative new comer to All Grain- done about 10 brews so starting to get the hang of it. I am now thinking about other difference-makers and water chemistry gets a lot of chat.
Is there anyone out there that lives in Belfast that would know how to treat the water for better tasting beer?
The results of water quality tests give the following profile-

There is a full report available.
Any advice on what i can add to this profile?

Many thanks

 

[Kent88]

I'm no pro, but I've never seen a water report with some of these terms.

@mabrungard I think I usually see you in water discussions, does it make sense to you?

 

[mabrungard]

Multiple descriptions of the same thing, but ultimately they provide the Ca and Mg concentrations that spawn the hardness values. The rest of the water report is needed.

 

[Philmac]

I have the full water report- is there any particaular stats that you need.
Thanks for the assistance, much appreciated

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Alkalinity (or bicarbonate) is needed. Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate are also needed.

 

[Philmac]

Sulfate- Min Mean Max
28.992 | 61.271 | 78.699 |

Chloride- Min Mean Max
0.013 | 0.021 | 0.030

Sodium- Min Mean Max
0.151 | 0.267 | 0.436

pH- Min Mean Max
7.160 | 7.610 | 8.210 |

The report did not have alkalinity but i thought pH would be similar (remembering that from school..!)?

Let me know if anything else is needed.

And thanks very much!

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Water pH is not water alkalinity.

 

[ajdelange]

For a complete picture one needs alkalinity and pH or bicarbonate and pH or carbonate and pH. Alkalinity by itself will do. Bicarbonate alone is less informative than alkalinity alone though estimates can be made from it. pH alone is not sufficient.

 

[Philmac]

There is no alkalinity on the water report- is there any other stat that could be used instead? The report seems to have everything apart from that!

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Can't help here. I think in terms of ppm. And kind of thrown by 'dishwasher setting'?

 

[ajdelange]

There is no alkalinity on the water report- is there any other stat that could be used instead? The report seems to have everything apart from that!

Yes. As pointed out in Nos. 5 and 8 bicarbonate and pH will do.

 

[ajdelange]

We do have one other trick up our sleeve:
Total Hardness 138.4 as CaCO3 => +138.4/50 = +2.768 mEq/L
Sulfate 61.28 mg/L => -61.28/48.04 = -1.2756 mEq/L
Chloride 0.021 mg/L => -0.021/35.45 = -0.0006 mEq/L
Sodium 0.267 mg/L => -0.267/23 = +0.0116087 mEq/L

Adding these up we have
+2.768 - 1.2756 - 0.0006 + 0.0116087 = +1.50341
so that, as water is neutrally charged, there must be other ions in the water with a charge of -1.50341. Assuming these to be carbonate and bicarbonate (and as we have the pH we could calculate the ratio of the concentrations of those) we can estimate the alkalinity as 1.50 mEq/L or 75 ppm as CaCO3. Any ion omitted from the report (K+, Fe++, Fe+++, NO2-, NO3-...) will, of course, throw our estimate off but these ions, with the possible exception of NO3-, are usually present in small quantity. Were NO3- present in significant concentration we would expect that it would be reported.

 

[Philmac]

Ajdelange- thanks for this, most of it is way above my head
The nitrite levels are
Min- <0.010 | Mean- < 0.010 | Max- < 0.010
The nitrate levels are-
Min < 0.400 | Mean < 1.149 | Max- 2.208

Will that level of nitrates affect how i should treat me water?

 

[ajdelange]

0.01 mg/L nitrite => -0.01/47 = -0.0002128
0.400 mg/L nitrate => -0.400/62 = -0.00645161

Adding these into the sum it becomes
2.768 - 1.2756 - 0.0006 + 0.0116087 - 0.00016129 -0.00645161 = +1.4968 which is not appreciably different from 1.5 so nitrate and nitrite come under thetoo small to matter much umbrella.

 

[Philmac]

Alright- so nitrate/ nitrates are no issue
Is there anything i should add in terms of water chemistry to improve my beers?
The report outputs are below.
Thanks very much guys- this is all double Dutch to me!

 

[Philmac]

It put the same report in like 10 times for some reason on my response..!

 

[Philmac]

I will not be brewing for another couple of weeks but if anyone can let me know if i would benefit by adding something to my water could you let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Abrayton]

I am also considering water adjustments as my next step in brewing but my head is spinning a bit. I’ve tried some of the online tool but am still a bit confused. Based on my water report, I’m looking for suggested adjustments for a hoppy ipa. Grain bill is 12lb Brewers and 1lb c10. Any feedback is appreciated.