Help with Water Test Report - Modesto, CA

[DerekS]

Hello everyone. I have been cruising these forums for some time now and can usually find an answer by just reading past threads. However I now have a question of my own that I just need to ask myself.

I am looking to go all grain but want to make sure I fully understand water profiling before I jump all in. I have spent hours on reading all about water chemistry but I'm not too sharp when it comes to all the science behind it. I got my 2012 Water Report for my town but there just seems to be a lot of missing information. I don't know if it's just that those elements are not even traceable, if they just decided to exclude them from the water report, or if they just report it as some other type of element.

I know the main elements that you are looking for when it comes to water but can't seem to find any of them in the report. Calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and chloride all seem to be missing. Also, is this too low of a sulfate level?

Could someone please take a look at my water report and give me some advice. Is this good water in general? Bad? I know that all styles require different water, but do I need to add anything to just have a good general baseline water? Thank you very much for all advice!

I hope a link to the PDF is ok? Starts at page 8.
Modesto Water Report

 

[ajdelange]

The problem with this water is the variability - from no nitrate to the EPA max and chloride whose maximum can be 200 times its minimum. To use this source you would have to test every time you brewed to see where in the wide spectrum of range you are on the particular day you draw the water. And you will have to adjust depending on the particular state of the water and the style you are brewing. A much more practical approach is to process the water through an RO system which removes almost all the ions and, therefore, their variability. The water is the same every day (more or less).

Further investigation may reveal that the water quality is predictable seasonally or that it is constant in quality over long periods of time in which case testing a few times a year may be sufficient. Testing yourself is not that difficult but few home brewers seem willing to do more than alkalinity and hardness tests.

 

[DerekS]

The problem with this water is the variability - from no nitrate to the EPA max and chloride whose maximum can be 200 times its minimum. To use this source you would have to test every time you brewed to see where in the wide spectrum of range you are on the particular day you draw the water. And you will have to adjust depending on the particular state of the water and the style you are brewing. A much more practical approach is to process the water through an RO system which removes almost all the ions and, therefore, their variability. The water is the same every day (more or less).

Further investigation may reveal that the water quality is predictable seasonally or that it is constant in quality over long periods of time in which case testing a few times a year may be sufficient. Testing yourself is not that difficult but few home brewers seem willing to do more than alkalinity and hardness tests.

Would you say the easiest and most cost effective way to go about AG brewing in this case would be to just start from scratch with 100% distilled water and then build upon it with brewing salts?

 

[ajdelange]

Definitely yes on the easiest and probably on cost effective too though, as noted in #2, it might turn out that the extreme values are extremely rare. An RO system will cost you a few $.

 

[DerekS]

Definitely yes on the easiest and probably on cost effective too though, as noted in #2, it might turn out that the extreme values are extremely rare. An RO system will cost you a few $.

Yeah I just did a quick search on amazon for one and runs at about $170. Not really sure how long it takes to pay itself off; I'm renting anyway and not sure if I really feel like setting that up in the kitchen. I'll also have to check the local store here and see if they are good about keeping their RO water filters fresh. Thanks for all the help!