How does my water report look?

[fendersrule]

I've been brewing non-stop...done 6 double batches thus far plus about 10 gallons of cider. Efficiency for beer has been slightly lacking at 55-60%, but likely due because I "rinse" grains from muslin socks and I mill pretty coarse (corona mill). This is all about to change soon due to my new cereal killer mill (set at .023"), and my new BIAB setup which doesn't restrict the grains from flowing. I bet I'd get an easy 70% without trying.

I'd like to think that my water is just fine to brew with....I've received a lot of positive comments on my brew, but I'd like to know what you guys think as the experts. All I can say is that my tap water tastes good.

 

[day_trippr]

Looking at the maximum readings that water is screaming for an RO system. The average readings...not so critical.
On the peak side the iron and manganese readings are killers, I wouldn't brew with that water just from that...

Cheers!

 

[Cape Brewing]

What he said...

Iron and Manganese are a kick in the num-nums (trust me... I have some real experience with them) and getting rid of it is even worse.

Filtration only goes so far and then you’re looking at either RO... which has a list of downsides or an oxidation treatment and subsequent filtration process.

With Iron that high, my strong suspicion is there is a material amount dissolved in solution that “regular” filtration alone won’t touch.

 

[fendersrule]

So what do I do on brew-day?

 

[Cape Brewing]

Buy spring water

 

[fendersrule]

Would I get by OK buying 50% spring water and using 50% tap?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

That's the most un-useful water report I've seen. Sure, maximum levels of Iron and Manganese are high, but minimum levels are not-detected. Averages are reasonable - but how do you know when they're high? Alkalinity is from 39 to 214 - that's somewhere between quite good for brewing and really bad! I suspect they're using water from two (or more) sources, that vary dramatically. I'd suggest either using all RO water, or buying a TDS meter to see when water source changes (if that is what causes the variation).

Edit: post this in the brew science forum - I'd be interested to see some responses.

 

[cire]

That's the most un-useful water report I've seen. Sure, maximum levels of Iron and Manganese are high, but minimum levels are not-detected. Averages are reasonable - but how do you know when they're high? Alkalinity is from 39 to 214 - that's somewhere between quite good for brewing and really bad! I suspect they're using water from two (or more) sources, that vary dramatically. I'd suggest either using all RO water, or buying a TDS meter to see when water source changes (if that is what causes the variation).

Edit: post this in the brew science forum - I'd be interested to see some responses.

In almost complete agreement with the above, just that before investing in an RO system it might be worth buying a cheap TDS meter to find if your supply does vary as much as in that report. If your beers have been consistent, so might be your supply for most times.

The variations in my water can be similarly significant, but for over 95% of days the variation is too small to be of importance. Accordingly, with an analysis at the most common level and others taken at differing levels of TDS measurements, it has been possible to determine mineral levels with sufficient accuracy for brewing purposes in all cases. This might or might not be the case for your supply, but a TDS meter is handy to have and are available at much less cost than an RO system.