Seven
Well-Known Member
Ever since moving to Pittsburgh I've brewed 2 batches of beer using bottled purified water purchased from Lowe's. Both batches were IPAs. The first batch had great hop flavor and aroma at first, but this rapidly disappeared after a few days in the keg. The 2nd batch had very subdued hop flavor/aroma from the get go. It definitely should have had a much more pronounced hop character than it did. Not sure where Lowe's get its tap water from (they sell it in 5-gallon bottles) but I thought using purified/RO water would be safer than using tap water without having any information on the chemistry of the local tap water.
I brew all-grain and both beers were mashed at 152F and full mash conversion was achieved. I pitched the correct amount of yeast (per yeastcalc) and both batches reached 79-percent attenuation.
I'd like to switch to using local tap water if possible. I sent a sample of our tap water to Ward Labs and they came back with the following. I'm still reading the various threads about water but thought I would post this hoping someone could give some advice or feedback on our water report.
Ward Labs report: Pittsburgh, PA tap water
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 131
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.22
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.1 / 1.9
Sodium, Na 17
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 18
Magnesium, Mg 5
Total Hardness, CaCO3 66
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.6 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 10
Chloride, Cl 22
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 38
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 31
I brew all-grain and both beers were mashed at 152F and full mash conversion was achieved. I pitched the correct amount of yeast (per yeastcalc) and both batches reached 79-percent attenuation.
I'd like to switch to using local tap water if possible. I sent a sample of our tap water to Ward Labs and they came back with the following. I'm still reading the various threads about water but thought I would post this hoping someone could give some advice or feedback on our water report.
Ward Labs report: Pittsburgh, PA tap water
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 131
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.22
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.1 / 1.9
Sodium, Na 17
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 18
Magnesium, Mg 5
Total Hardness, CaCO3 66
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.6 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 10
Chloride, Cl 22
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 38
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 31