Got my water tested... now what?

[petrolSpice]

I sent my water to Ward to have tested. I fill my kettle from the shower since it's by far the easiest way in my house.

pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 209
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.35
Cations / Anions, me/L 3.7 / 3.9

Sodium, Na 17
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 29
Magnesium, Mg 18
Total Hardness, CaCO3 148
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 15
Chloride, Cl 11
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 162
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 134
Total Phosphorus, P < 0.01
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

Anything to worry about here?

I've looked at a few water chemistry calculators and can see the recommended ranges. My water is a little short on Calcium and Sulfate. Looks like I can add Gypsum to get both in range. But some of the ranges are fairly wide.

If I wanted to brew an IPA for example, where do I find my target profile?

Also seems like my Mash pH will be a little too high, I guess I can just add lactic acid.

 

[LukeB]

If you're brewing a specific style, you can find out where that style originated and try to match that water chemistry profile. Brewer's Friend has a good Summary of Target Water Profiles. I also like MoreBeer's Guide to Brewing Water Treatment which goes into more depth on the chemistry and has a nice table at the end which I put into a spreadsheet with my own city's water profile for quick reference.

 

[55x11]

I sent my water to Ward to have tested. I fill my kettle from the shower since it's by far the easiest way in my house.



Anything to worry about here?

I've looked at a few water chemistry calculators and can see the recommended ranges. My water is a little short on Calcium and Sulfate. Looks like I can add Gypsum to get both in range. But some of the ranges are fairly wide.

If I wanted to brew an IPA for example, where do I find my target profile?

Also seems like my Mash pH will be a little too high, I guess I can just add lactic acid.

Your water is a bit like diluted Munich water.
You need more calcium for almost all styles. You need 50 ppm for most styles, so you are very low.

You do have quite a bit of bicarbonate already (very alkaline water), which may require dilution to reduce alkalinity - especially for lighter and/or hoppy beers.

Find a source of Reverse Osmosis water - many stores/pharmacy have automated machines that sell 5G of RO water for $1.25 or so.

I would get some gypsum, chalk and calcium chloride. You may need those addition most often for your water. Also lactic acid to lower pH.

Get a software package you like (like Brun'Water spreadsheet, or BeerSmith or Brewer's friend online) and use those to generate a few profiles. Don't go crazy - 2 or 3 will cover it.
Maybe pale and hoppy profile for IPA, dark stouts, etc. Read some books about basic water chemistry.

For light (and hoppy) beers, you may need to reduce bicarbonates by diluting with RO water, to below 70 ppm or so. So 1:1 dilution with RO water (5G each) and adding 4g of Gypsum and 1g of CaCl or so should get you to decent IPA profile - about 50ppm Ca, 80 sulfates and 80 bicarbonate.

For dark stouts you don't need to dilute but need to up your Ca still - so 2.5g of gypsum and 6.5g of chalk (for 10G of your water) will get you to 110ppm of Ca, 50ppm of SO4 and high enough alkalinity/ bicarbonates (over 250).

You can always adjust pH down a bit with lactic acid or acid malt.

 

[Subdivisions]

I would get some gypsum, chalk and calcium chloride. You may need those addition most often for your water. Also lactic acid to lower pH.

For the OP... I use a brand of spring water with about the same bicarbonate level as you. I cut my mash water with 20% of distilled water and use some lactic acid to lower the pH.

I agree with the above additions EXCEPT for the chalk, it doesn't dissolve very well in water. This quote is from Mr. Brungard himself:

You can use chalk, but unless you are dissolving it under high CO2 pressure to make a chalk solution, its otherwise useless in brewing water chemistry.

Use caution, my friends.

EDIT: I read this using "the most interesting man in the world" voice and it works out well.

 

[55x11]

For the OP... I use a brand of spring water with about the same bicarbonate level as you. I cut my mash water with 20% of distilled water and use some lactic acid to lower the pH.

I agree with the above additions EXCEPT for the chalk, it doesn't dissolve very well in water. This quote is from Mr. Brungard himself:



EDIT: I read this using "the most interesting man in the world" voice and it works out well.

true - you can raise bicarbonates for dark beers by using baking soda as well. Add 5g of baking soda and maybe 1-2g of CaCl to raise calcium a bit, and you should be close.

The general problem here is you need to increase Calcium to 50 or above, but without increasing Cl too much, so CaCl is of limited help. And you need to up bicarbonates for dark beers - but too much baking soda will add Na.

to quote Mr. Brungard from another post.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=235053

"Chalk is an iffy solution for alkalinity addition, but you can half-ass it...literally. A number of resources indicate that the limited solubility can be somewhat overcome by assuming that chalk adds about half the alkalinity and calcium as it is calculated to provide. To do this, calculate the appropriate amount of chalk using Bru'n Water and then add twice as much to the mash. That might work. "

 

[Subdivisions]

true - you can raise bicarbonates for dark beers by using baking soda as well. Add 5g of baking soda and maybe 1-2g of CaCl to raise calcium a bit, and you should be close.

The general problem here is you need to increase Calcium to 50 or above, but without increasing Cl too much, so CaCl is of limited help. And you need to up bicarbonates for dark beers - but too much baking soda will add Na.

to quote Mr. Brungard from another post.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=235053

"Chalk is an iffy solution for alkalinity addition, but you can half-ass it...literally. A number of resources indicate that the limited solubility can be somewhat overcome by assuming that chalk adds about half the alkalinity and calcium as it is calculated to provide. To do this, calculate the appropriate amount of chalk using Bru'n Water and then add twice as much to the mash. That might work. "

Interesting. There always seems to be many sides to every brewing topic. Even from the same sources. In the end what works for you is the best way.