Dilution volume by style due to Chloride

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

I received a water report that isn't very promising for us to be able to use undiluted water for brewing anything but stout or porter. The main issue is the Chloride level, which sits at 286ppm. The next highest number in the preloaded ProMash water database is 106ppm. The Bicarb level is high as well, but sits at 330ppm expressed as HC03, so not too high above the next highest at 319.

Ca Mg Na SO4 Cl HC03
108 33 39 87 286 330

I went through the BJCP style listing to determine how much city water we can use by style, and was hoping someone could look the list over to sanity check. We are in Hespeler, Ontario right off the Grand River. I have never seen water as hard as it is around here.

% of Hespeler water usable by style
01 Light Lager - 0%
02 Pilsner - 0%
03 European Amber Lager - 0%
04 Dark Lager - 0%
05 Bock - 25%
06 Light Hybrid Beer - 25%
07 Amber Hybrid Beer - 25%
08 English Pale Ale - 25%
09 Scottish and Irish Ale - 75%
10 American Ale - 25%
11 English Brown Ale - 25%
12 Porter - 100%
13 Stout - 100%
14 IPA - 25%
15 German Wheat and Rye - 25%
16 Belgian & French Ale - 50%
17 Sour Ale - 50%
18 Belgian Strong Ale - 50%
19 Strong Ale - 75%
20 Fruit Beer - 25%
21 Spice/Herb/Vegetable - variable by base style
22 Smoked/ Wood Aged - variable by base style
23 Specialty - variable by base style
24 Traditional Mead - 50%
25 Melomel - 50%
26 Other Mead - 50%
27 Standard Cider and Perry - 50%
28 Specialty Cider and Perry - 50%

Thanks for your time.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'd just scrap it and go with distilled or RO water and build it to your liking. If you don't have a local source of cheap distilled water, the next best thing is a cheap RO filter kit ~$100US and rig a float valve in a small barrel to collect it.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

That was my thought too Bobby_M, but there are others in the brew club that want to avoid a complete build-up from RO. If there are enough people posting the same thing, maybe I can print the thread and get my way.

 

[Bobby_M]

I like how you've approached it with the table and percentage of stock water. Unless one brewer is looking to stick to 100% stouts and porters, there's very little advantage to trying to hold on to that water. It will need a fix with Gypsum after dilution no matter what so you can't avoid salt additions. Even with Stouts I'd be chipping in for a pH meter. You might be forced to acidify your mashes further.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

We have a pH meter, and my calculation put us at just over 12 mL of HCL to get down to a -50 residual alkalinity, not that I would try to brew a pale ale with this water uncut.

The chloride level is still what concerns me with using the water as is for even stout and porter. Assuming a +/- 10% on the water report, we could be at 360ppm of chloride. That not only far exceeds what I have read about for flavour change in beer (250ppm max), it exceeds what my Province has listed as a 'normal' range limit.

Salty Stout? We're stouter than Dublin?