Heavy rains and water changes

[BaylessBrewer]

We have had over 8" of rain the past 4 days here in St.louis ,mo and I am wondering what to expect my water to be like when I brew later today? I brew BIAB but I mash with 1.5qt/lb and add "sparge" water to mash to get to my pre boil volume prior to pulling and draining the grains.
I have a water report from back in September that I use but I'm wondering if those numbers will be even close considering the weather?
Anyone have any knowledge they would like to share? I'll be brewing a APA/IPA with a simple grist of:
90% Pale Ale malt 3.5L
5% Victory
5% Crystal 60

 

[ajdelange]

It's reasonable to assume that if runoff gets into the municipal supply and that in making its way into it it does not pick up minerals at the same rate that the water ordinarily picks up minerals and if the utility does not adjust mineral content (to protect distribution mains for example) that the concentrations of some or all the minerals will go down. But I have no way of knowing if any or all of the above factors apply. Someone with detailed knowledge of the way St. Louis processes its water may have a better idea.

You could call the water company and ask if the heavy rains have had any impact on the quality of the water they are supplying. You could test the water for hardness and alkalinity at least and also for chloride and sulfate using simple and readily available kits. At a minimum you could obtain a simple conductive TDS meter and use that as a crude means of detecting dilution.

 

[GrogNerd]

AJ: I know you're more familiar with NoVA; Fairfax &/or Loudoun counties' water supply. Don't they dump more chloramine in the water during heavy rains?

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Sounds like lots of variables can come into play here. I think I'll just treat with Campden as usual, add 1tsp of gypsum and 1tsp CaCl and monitor ph.
Hate to take the simple and unknown road but I'm sure I'll make drinkable beer in the end.
My finished basement flooded yesterday and I got all my belongings out to the garage in time thankfully but I had 12lbs of pork belly curing that needs to be smoked and grain crushed for my beer so I'm going to clear my head with a little brewing and smoking today. I'll get back to life tomorrow

 

[ajdelange]

It's been a long time since I've visited a Fairfax County water plant. I believe they now (since my last visit) ozonate or are building plant to do that in the near future. Many jurisdictions (and DC is one) will hyperchlorinate in the spring for a week or so in order to start the warm weather with a 'clean' set of pipes (some of which in DC are apparently still wood). In such cases they usually publicize this in advance.

 

[Spartan1979]

This is one of the reasons I bought an RO system. A couple of years ago after heavy rains, the water tasted terrible. Safe to drink (or so we were told), but not good for brewing.

 

[JasonG]

I live in St. Louis as well. Although I do not have specific info about the effects of our recent deluge on the water stats, I will say that there are notable major swings in the water quality during the year. It is very obvious when they have been dreging the rivers near by, for example, as my morning shower smells like silt, even though the water looks clear.

For this reason, I switched to purchasing distilled H2O for each batch, and building up my water from that. It adds some cost and time to the batch, but I think it has made a major difference in the end product. An alternative is purchasing an RO system - I've thought about it but have yet to jump in given the costs.

JG

 

[Spartan1979]

I live in St. Louis as well. Although I do not have specific info about the effects of our recent deluge on the water stats, I will say that there are notable major swings in the water quality during the year. It is very obvious when they have been dreging the rivers near by, for example, as my morning shower smells like silt, even though the water looks clear.

For this reason, I switched to purchasing distilled H2O for each batch, and building up my water from that. It adds some cost and time to the batch, but I think it has made a major difference in the end product. An alternative is purchasing an RO system - I've thought about it but have yet to jump in given the costs.

JG

The costs for an RO system aren't really that high. There are plenty of options on eBay in the $100-125 range. Isn't distilled water around $1/gal? After 10 batches it would be paid for.

 

[JasonG]

The costs for an RO system aren't really that high. There are plenty of options on eBay in the $100-125 range. Isn't distilled water around $1/gal? After 10 batches it would be paid for.

Ya, I know. The last time I looked I remember seeing higher numbers - closer to $300 for a system, but maybe I wouldn't need anything that expensive. I do spend $10-12 on water per batch. Do you have any systems you recommend?

JG

 

[Spartan1979]

Ya, I know. The last time I looked I remember seeing higher numbers - closer to $300 for a system, but maybe I wouldn't need anything that expensive. I do spend $10-12 on water per batch. Do you have any systems you recommend?

JG

This is the one I bought:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Reverse-Osm...157123?hash=item19daa0da43:g:uZkAAMXQAx9RVjGW

The vendor didn't assemble it correctly, but they took care of the problem very quickly. Good service.

The biggest decision is if you want a small tank and faucet to go with it, I like having one. If I want a liter for a starter, there's no waiting. Rinsing my pH probe, no waiting. Otherwise, I think all the vendors on eBay pretty much use the same components so I don't think it matters who you buy it from. I recommend that the first three filters have clear canisters so you can see how dirty they are. A five stage system is sufficient. This system takes my Total Dissolved Solids from over 200 ppm to 7.