Additions for Seattle water

[Anyhowe]

While it is good to learn from your mistakes, it is GREAT to learn from others mistakes. All jokes aside, what additions (and how much) are you adding to your north Seattle (tolt supply) water for different styles of beer? Thanks!

 

[enkamania]

Greetings,

I would start by downloading the Bru'n Water spreadsheet https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

I live in Ballard/North Beach and had my water tested a couple years ago by Ward Labs. You can use this as the base for the water report input

pH 7.1
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 55
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.09
Cations / Anions, me/L 0.7 / 0.8
ppm
Sodium, Na 2
Potassium, K 4
Calcium, Ca 9
Magnesium, Mg < 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 27
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 4
Chloride, Cl 4
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 27
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 22
Total Phosphorus, P 0.55
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01

 

[Anyhowe]

Thanks for the link. Ballard gets Water from the cedar river watershed which is much different that what comes from the tolt watershed. The cedar also has significant water quality issues and changes in the warmer months due to algae blooms and the treatment to combat that. The tolt does not have these issues. They keep the ph about the same for both watersheds as they add lime and soda ash to keep the corrosiveness down.

Anybody have the breakdown from say Bellevue, woodinville, Kirkland etc?

 

[doug293cz]

You can find the latest analyses for both the Tolt and Cedar water sources here: http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/WaterQualityAnalyses/index.htm.

Brew on

 

[Anyhowe]

You can find the latest analyses for both the Tolt and Cedar water sources here: http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/WaterQualityAnalyses/index.htm.

Brew on

Isn't that special. Thank you very much. Do you make any general additions or process mods?

 

[doug293cz]

Isn't that special. Thank you very much. Do you make any general additions or process mods?

I just put the water profile in Bru'nWater, and adjust based on beer style and grain bill. I usually end up adding gypsum, calcium chloride, and lactic acid. I also add about 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite so I don't have to worry about any chlorine or chloramines.

Brew on

 

[Anyhowe]

I just put the water profile in Bru'nWater, and adjust based on beer style and grain bill. I usually end up adding gypsum, calcium chloride, and lactic acid. I also add about 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite so I don't have to worry about any chlorine or chloramines.

Brew on

I know it varies but what typical amounts of gypsum, calcium chloride, and lactic acid do you use. Or maybe you have some amounts you use for different beer styles. This would give me a great baseline or starting point. Thanks for anything and everything.

Having trouble loading the bru'nwater on the iPad.

 

[doug293cz]

I know it varies but what typical amounts of gypsum, calcium chloride, and lactic acid do you use. Or maybe you have some amounts you use for different beer styles. This would give me a great baseline or starting point. Thanks for anything and everything.

Having trouble loading the bru'nwater on the iPad.

For a recent amber ale (~21 SRM) I used 3 g gypsum, 3 g calcium chloride, 1.5 ml lactic acid (88%), 1 g magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts), and 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite.

For a recent pilsner (~3 SRM) I used 2 g gypsum, 2.8 g calcium chloride, 4.1 ml of lactic acid, and 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite.

Brew on

 

[Andre3000]

Bumping up an old thread.

I'm moving to Seattle very soon, most likely to the Green Lake area. Here in Edmonton alkalinity is in the 120ish range. My opinion is an RO system is a must for consistency and it greatly improved the quality of my beer. But reading the above water reports suggests that that may not be the case in Seattle. 30-40 TDS is quite low. Is there anyone in Seattle who can make a good argument for using an RO system?

For a recent amber ale (~21 SRM) I used 3 g gypsum, 3 g calcium chloride, 1.5 ml lactic acid (88%), 1 g magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts), and 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite.

For a recent pilsner (~3 SRM) I used 2 g gypsum, 2.8 g calcium chloride, 4.1 ml of lactic acid, and 400 mg of potassium meta bisulfite.

Brew on

That seems like a heck of a lot of mineral addition for a pils! (assuming a 5 gallon batch)