Got a water report

[Bamsdealer]

From 1999. Lol.

So I got the latest water report from my borough. The most recent of 7 wells drilled into the same aquifer that feeds my water supply. It doesn’t have as much as I’d have liked, but it does have some info I can use. I wasn’t looking to get exact numbers, as they probably change depending on which wells they are pumping, time of year, etc. Just wanted a general idea of what’s going on with my water to see if I need to dilute it for some of my lighter brews. My IPAs, Pale Ales and dark beers all come out awesome and make up 90 percent of my brewing so I was never really concerned with water.



As far as my water goes, the last well was drilled in ’99 and the useful info I got from the water report post drilling was sulfate at 19ppm, chloride at 21ppm and hardness at 190ppm. Sulfate to Chloride ratio is balanced and I’m guessing most of my hardness is Calcium Carbonate? Also, my dissolved solids at 260ppm probably doesn’t give much info without knowing what they are. I guess solids minus chloride, hardness and sulfate leaves 30ppm of other minerals?



I do brew lagers and pilsners from time to time and I’m very happy with them so I don’t know if I want to mess with a good thing. Looking at water profiles for some of the traditional styles from Europe, I should probably dilute my water by 80+ percent with distilled. If I do that to get my calcium carbonate in range, there will be very little of anything else. I’m not looking to replicate any beer, just get in range and brew good light colored Euro lagers and pilsners. If I were to dilute my water for lagers and pilsners, would I then have to add sulfates, minerals, etc for yeast health or taste? Also, I usually add a pinch of yeast nutrient to my beers, never gave much thought to what was in there or if it would influence taste.

Thoughts?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

i dont yet consider myself an expert in this arena, but i know a thing or two and have been treating my water for 8+ months. Your Cl and SO4 are low, which is great, you can easily add more to get to where you want a beer to be. With a high hardness like that you likely have been mashing pretty high, adding acidity will help to bring your mash pH down into what is considered the accepted range.

With that said i brewed european lagers with my untreated water for a few years, which I now know would have been mashed in the 5.5-5.6 range. I thought those beers were awesome, and actually in my czech pils I prefered the version of a few years ago to the one I have now which was mashed at 5.3. I liked the fuller mouthfeel I had from the high-mash pH.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Thanks... other than assuming i had a decent amount of carbonate in my water and diluting a few beers in the past I've never touched my water. Always been pleased. I'd like to try diluting my water to get in the "proper" range for a few pale beers now that I've had 100 plus brew days under my belt. I've never thought my beers were harsh and can easily get a soft profile by adjusting yeast or ingredients to suit the style or taste I'm going for.

Maybe I get some tannins sparing or mashing my pale beers. Definately not to the extent that it hurts them significantly.