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That should be a modest and unoffensive water profile to start with. Higher chloride and/or sulfate might be enjoyable too. Don't bother targeting that HCO3 content since that would need to change depending upon what's being brewed.

A low mashing pH like that does encourage a greater degree of proteolysis and that can create a beer that seems 'thin'. That can be OK for some beer styles, but may not fit your desires. Do pay closer attention to your wort pH. Be sure to measure mash pH after about 45 minutes of mashing to...

You have very nice water for brewing. Is that NYC water? As mentioned, don't worry about 10 or 20 ppm difference for almost any ionic content. You wouldn't taste the difference.

I recently brewed a Saison and used table sugar with no detrimental effect. The beer scored 36 in the Indiana Brewers Cup.

Exactly! The grain and its dissolving constituents produce a strong buffer system. The rise in wort pH is typical in pale grists since the acidity of the strike liquor has to be somewhat high to overcome that buffering and keep the mash pH somewhat low. This phenomena can be reversed if the...

Gordon is an avowed Luddite and he isn't interested in doing it in a better way. The only thing you can say for his method is that its better than nothing. The problem that I see with other brewers adopting Gordon's approach is that they may overlook the nuance that he always starts with RO...

To get that 'bound' water out of the calcium chloride molecule, you need to get the temperature between about 375F and 400F. 212F or thereabouts won't do it. I'd rather underdeliver the amount of calcium and chloride than overdeliver. That's why I recommend that brewers calculate their CaCl2...

A calcium chloride supply might be anhydrous when produced, but it doesn't want to stay that way whenever moist air contacts it. So for most of us, that means that we won't precisely know it degree of hydration. There's mentions of liquid solutions, but even those can change through...

That's a reasonable water profile for a pale ale. 170 ppm sulfate is a modest, yet notable level for those styles. You can always experiment with higher sulfate content by adding a thin pinch of gypsum to a pint of that finished beer and that should add about 100 ppm sulfate to the beer. You...

If you want to test out an alternative dechlorination method, I recommend that you go down to your local swimming pool store and buy one of those chlorine test kits with the drops that turn yellow when there's any sort of chlorine compound in the water. They're pretty accurate to fairly low...

Great Lakes water can be a decent place to start for brewing water, but it will certainly require adjustment for most brewing. I suggest you read the Water Knowledge page of the Bru'n Water website to understand the What and Why of brewing water adjustment. If you're going to stick with that...

I see a couple of significant problems with your previous extract brewing: softened tap water and spring water. Both are unlikely to be suited for most brewing. I recommend that you remove them from your process, whether extract or mashing. Knowing what's in your brewing water is really the...

Residual alkalinity is not really something a brewer should concern themselves with. Its alkalinity that ALL brewers should be aware of in their water supply. Its what has a profound effect on mashing pH. I've seen that electronic alkalinity testing unit, but I don't think its the best way to...

Shouldn't be.

Well, you're mixing units since you don't mention what the volume of beer is. But it is possible that some tasters would detect the lactate taste...and possibly disagree with the result. If you or others sense that your beers have too much lactate flavor, then you should employ something like...

If metabisulfite is added at any step prior to boiling, it will NOT result in sulfites being present in the finished beer. Heat breaks down metabisulfite.

In my opinion, adding 88% lactic at a rate of 1.5ml per gallon or less, is not going to be perceptible to most drinkers. On top of that, I find that the flavor of the lactate ion is fairly pleasant and isn't necessarily a beer killer. Remember that there are beers that are made with lacto and...

Although chlorine dioxide is different than chlorine, they both end up producing the hypochlorite ion. Therefore, you can use the treatment recommendations for chlorine when preparing that tap water for brewing use.

Sorry, chalk only dissolves slightly...even in a mash. I've had several commercial clients that tried using chalk for mashing their dark beers and they had no success in avoiding an overly low wort and beer pH. Chalk will typically increase wort pH by about 0.1 units and then stop, no matter how...

Negative RA or negative bicarbonate amounts are essentially meaningless with respect to brewing water and wort chemistry. But they do provide an accounting of the calculations employed to estimate mashing pH. You can ignore them in practice, but do strive to put your mash into a good pH.