Can someone help me with my water?

[doctorRobert]

My town has a water report. Probably not as great as those detailed reports most of you guys get. But this is what I have to work with (see page 4)

http://www.townofsharon.net/Public_Documents/SharonMA_DPW/WQR09.pdf


Anything good in there? All I saw was chlorine which I thought was reasonable.

I'm thinking the report isnt that helpful for brewing, but instead just letting me know I can drink it without dying. Is there anywhere I can send my water to get analyzed for a reasonable rate?
Thanks

Mods sorry didnt know what board for this to go in, so feel free to move it.

From what I gather:

My sulfate is low.
My chlorine is ok.

 

[MalFet]

Looks okay to me. If it tastes good, I suspect you'll get great beer from it. If you're looking for a more detailed analysis just to geek out on, people around here seem to like Ward Laboratories. I've never used them myself, but I hear you can get a workup done for not much money.

 

[SilentAutumn]

Your water looks fine. From the report you linked, that's not the full analytical report. You can get the full report from the water department or at the city library. Call the water department and ask if they can email you a full copy. I do that in my line of work all the time. They should be analyzing for iron, magnesium, ph, hardness, etc. Which is what I'm guessing you're looking at.

Usually states have university extensions that perform water testing for the public at a low cost. Did a bit of searching and looks like the UMass extensions only do soil testing. All water testing in Massachusetts is apparently supposed to go to private labs. Depending at what you want analyzed, it can get costly pretty quick. One analyte can cost between $10-$35. Full analysis will be hundreds. Maybe a non-profit or watershed conservation group can get you a discounted rate.

I know more about water quality from an environmental stance than I do water for beer. My understanding is that unless you're brewing a beer that requires a very specific chemistry or you need to replicate a recipe exactly the same many, many times, then you should be fine with the tap water (after you've dechlorinated it of course). You'd be amazed at the fine line parameters water treatment stations have to meet.

Get the info from your water department and hold back on the personal testing unless you think there's something seriously wrong with your tap water (odd taste, smell, color or it gets you sick etc.).

 

[doctorRobert]

Awesome thanks. So is my chlorine levels high enough to warrant a campden tablet or other treament? I've been using plain ol tap water. My water tastes great but one beer I made had a slight bandaid like aroma/taste, and I read that could be due to chlorine in the water.

 

[MalFet]

Boiling will drive off chlorine. Did you top off with unboiled water? I don't remember your water report mentioning it, but some municipalities will use chloramine rather than chlorine, and that doesn't boil off. Another culprit could be bleach based cleansers.

 

[ayoungrad]

I live in Cambridge. As far as I can tell our water is different from most of Metro Boston (we were not affected by the watermain break last year). Cambridge has all the info (i.e. hardness, SO4,Ca) available online. Before I realized that I just emailed the water department and he sent the report back to me the next day. Looks like Sharon doesn't have the info available online but if you send an email you should have it shortly.

BTW, I use campden to get rid of chloramine - there is chloramine in Cambridge - and some in Sharon as well from what I see.

 

[ayoungrad]

I misread chloroform for chloramine on your report. If you send an email to the department you may want to ask about chloramine in the event that it is not part of the water report you receive.

 

[JJL]

Definitely Ward Labs. For something like $11 or $16 you'll have your results e-mailed in a week. It will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[doctorRobert]

Thanks. I'm going to start using campden tables, theyre cheap enough, and it doenst sound like any off flavors or anything bad will remain in the beer from them.

I'm going to try to get a better report from the town, and if not I'll check out wards labs.

 

[SilentAutumn]

I've never used campden tablets. I run my tap through the carbon filter on my fridge. I tried calling the Sharon, MA water department on my lunch break since I had nothing better to do. Seems they were on lunch break too. Left a message, never heard back.

And as for those Ward Lab prices, those are nice. Those drinking water analytical bundles are similar to what university extensions usually charge for analysis. It's hard to beat that price from a private lab.

 

[MaxSpang]

Hey, while on the subject, anyone wanna take a look at my water and see if it's ok?


I actually prefer my tap water to spring water, it's actually very tasty. Never tried brewing with it though! Here's the report of my water:

http://water.cityofdayton.org/Water/docs/WQS.pdf

I think get my water from the Miami Water Plant Effluent, I can't seem to find out which one for sure on the site anywhere!

 

[JSomps6]

If you have four hours to kill.... listen to these...

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong/search/water

Water for brewing is a complicated subject. Anybody who tells you to use your standard tap water obviously isn't interested in making great beer. They are fine with making okay beer. (no offense here...) I went on my township website and emailed the water department and told them I was a home brewer and need some info for my brewing. I had my answer within 24 hours and they wished me luck with my brewing.

Think about it. Why do you think before water chemistry, the great dark beer came from England where the water is really hard and the great light beers came from Pilsen where the water is soft? They each found their way to those beers because they tasted the best with their water. I could be making all of this up, but it makes sense in my head.

I'd say:

-Get your water info from your city/county/township, where ever.
-Download the EZ water spreadsheet. Do a search on this site. And start adjusting your water.
-Use a charcoal filter and/or campden tablets and try to get ride of the cholorine/chloramine. They can really give you off flavors in your beer.

Other tips for improving your beer. Make a starter and pitch the proper amount of yeast for each batch. No more dumping a single vial. Then control your fermentation temp.

Everybody on this site can brew the same recipe and they will all come out different. We would all use the exact same grain bill, but the ones that would come out the best are the ones that have the best fermentation. Fermentation is controlled by pitching rate and temperature more than anything else.

Sorry for the rant, don't know what has gotten into me this morning....

Happy Brewing!

 

[doctorRobert]

All that stuff doesnt mean anything if your beer isnt triple hopped.

 

[JSomps6]

touche