But what does it all mean? Ward Labs report

[Brownherb86]

Took 10 days for my sample to make it from rural Alaska to the Ward Labs laboratory so I’m wondering about the accuracy of my test results.

PH 6.7
TDS 23 ppm
Conductivity .04 mmho/cm
Cations/Anions .03/.02 me/L
Sodium,Na 4
Potassium,K <1
Calcium,Ca 2
Magnesium,Mg <1
Total hardness,CaCO3 9
Nitrate,NO3-N .2
Sulfate,SO4-S 1
Chloride,Cl 4
Carbonate,CO3 <1.0
Bicarbonate,HCO3 2
Total Alkalinity,CaCO3 2
Total phosphorus,P .01
Total iron,Fe <.01

I’ve been brewing pale ales and they’ve been coming out great for my untrained palate but I’m planning a stout and would like to have my water right for the brew. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

You appear to have very clean water. With a ph of 6.7 I can see why Pales and IPAs would come out decent. You should be good for a stout also. Except I'd add a total of 1.5tps of Calcium Cloride and .75tps of Gypsum for a 5gallon batch. This should give you more body feel for the stout. But your pH should be good.

As a suggestion, you can add maybe .75tps both CaCl and Gyp, and 1ml of lactic acid to bring down the pH of your ales more. Optionally, add 4oz of Acid malt to the grain bill instead of the lactic acid.

There's a free downladable spread sheet, Brew'n Water, which calculates your water once you put in all the information. It can be a little dizzying at first tho. Without the sheet in front of me, the above is what I'd suggest to start. Good Luck and Happy Brewing.

 

[myndflyte]

That's some good water you got there. I got to second the Bru'n Water spreadsheet. There is a section on water knowledge that is very informative and should give you enough knowledge on what adjustments should be made.

 

[Brownherb86]

Thank you for your input PianoMan and myndflyte. Definitely the best tasting water I ever drank, hoping to make the best tasting beer. Looks like I’ll be playing around with Bru’n water

 

[ajdelange]

The only parameter that long transit is likely to effect is alkalinity and as you have so little of that any error is insignificant.

Treat this as RO water. You have a blank slate.

 

[SEndorf]

That is some beautiful water, which makes the bru'n water spreadsheet that much easier.
You can skip the water report input tab and the sparge acidification tab.
On the water adjustment tab, select RO water with the dilution percentage at 100%.

 

[xico]

I wish I had that water? I can't tell you how many days I don't brew because I can't trouble myself with running to the supermarket to shuttle 23 gallons of RO home.

One addition to your brew process often overlooked is a decent pH meter. I mention it because you care about water enough to get it tested so you are likely going down the fruitful path of designing your water profile for your beers. If so, being able to dial in your pH of your mash is an important step and the salts you add to your blank slate will have an impact.

Happy brewing!

 

[SEndorf]

I can't tell you how many days I don't brew because I can't trouble myself with running to the supermarket to shuttle 23 gallons of RO home.

But... When standing there filling my five 5 gallon jugs at the supermarket, it does make for some interesting conversations in the isle..
Considering moving to Alaska to brew..

 

[Brownherb86]

Thank you all for your responses. A quality pH meter will be purchased in the near future. I bought a cheapo one off amazon and I couldn’t get it to calibrate so I wrote it off as a $14 loss.

But... When standing there filling my five 5 gallon jugs at the supermarket, it does make for some interesting conversations in the isle..
Considering moving to Alaska to brew..

lol You wouldn’t regret it although I do miss the luxury of a supermarket

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

I don't have a pH meter. But other's that do say Brew'n Water is pretty accurate. So I don't bother getting one at this time.

 

[SEndorf]

I don't have a pH meter. But other's that do say Brew'n Water is pretty accurate. So I don't bother getting one at this time.

Here's a quote by Martin Brungard, the creator of Bru'n water in a recent thread:

"there are a lot of variables that go into the prediction and any one of those variables can actually 'vary' from what the program assumes. Bru'n Water should get you into the ballpark every time, but monitoring with a calibrated meter is a valuable double-check."

 

[Brownherb86]

I don't have a pH meter. But other's that do say Brew'n Water is pretty accurate. So I don't bother getting one at this time.

Good to know I won’t be the only one!

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

Here's a quote by Martin Brungard, the creator of Bru'n water in a recent thread:

"there are a lot of variables that go into the prediction and any one of those variables can actually 'vary' from what the program assumes. Bru'n Water should get you into the ballpark every time, but monitoring with a calibrated meter is a valuable double-check."

AKA.."Covering My Azz!"

We've been making beer for 10,000 years without all our gadgets or even know-how on the chemistry yet we still stuck with. That's a sign how easy it is to make decent beer. Not overly worried. Been doing this for years. Biggest jumps in quality we're from switching to RO/remineralize and Fermentaion temperture control. Noticeable improvement came when I started to cold crash also, beer seemed cleaner. Sanitize everything also.

 

[ajdelange]

We've been making beer for 10,000 years without all our gadgets or even know-how on the chemistry yet we still stuck with. That's a sign how easy it is to make decent beer.

You can buy decent beer at the grocery store. Most of us is the hobby at one time or another want to make good or very good beer.

Biggest jumps in quality we're from switching to RO/remineralize and Fermentaion temperture control.

So you recognize that some technologies (RO, PID control) are beneficial but are certain that others (pH meters) aren't. How can you be so certain? How do you know that accurate pH control won't improve your beer more than using RO water did? Shouldn't it be disturbing that you have been drinking decent beer all these years when you could have been drinking great beer? Now when I address commercial brewers I usually tell them that anyone making good beer is controlling pH either implicitly or explicitly. You could, of course, be in the former group but as a home brewer that's very unlikely.

 

[SEndorf]

We've been making beer for 10,000 years without all our gadgets or even know-how on the chemistry yet we still stuck with. That's a sign how easy it is to make decent beer.

I've been reading a lot lately on the history of beer.
Do you know why all of those breweries descended upon Burton on Trent in the 1700 / 1800's ?
Guess what? They didn't either.
All they knew was that area produced better beer than their counterparts.
Like many advancements, it started with empirical trial and error. Eventually science took over and they figured out "why" beer tasted better from that water source. I'll take all the science I can get. It makes the hobby much more interesting.

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

I just send you some of my beers. Maybe you can figure out if I would've mashed at 5.35 instead of 5.41 my beer would've been head and shoulders above.

 

[ajdelange]

I just send you some of my beers.

Great! When do they get here?

Maybe you can figure out if I would've mashed at 5.35 instead of 5.41 my beer would've been head and shoulders above.

How can I do that as I don't know if you mashed at 5.35 or 5.41 or 5.7? Thus we can only draw statistical inferences based on the reported experiences of less closed minded brewers. If you have not been monitoring mash pH then the liklihood is high that your beers will improve - dramatically. The single comment that will always stick in my mind is "All the flavors are brighter."

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

Great! When do they get here?

PM me your address. Could always use feedback. I'm converting from 5gal AG to 2.5gal PM/AG..so still working out the process. Could always use Brighter flavored beers! Or you could join us here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?threads/643587/