Manganese in Brewing Water

[ferm.adventures]

Is there any resources that folks can point me to with regards to Manganese in the brewing water?

My new house has a great well for brewing water, aside from testing slightly elevated iron (.06 ppm) and more concerningly manganese at .26 ppm. I'm not getting any metallic flavors from my water or beers, but I am seeing some other odd things.. sluggish/stalled fermentation in a couple of batches, and a couple of batches with a slightly phenolic flavor that I wouldn't expect based on the yeast being used.

 

[VikeMan]

Is there any resources that folks can point me to with regards to Manganese in the brewing water?

http://www.********************/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Metals-and-Beer-Stability.pdf

 

[myndflyte]

Seems like Manganese would give some metallic flavors. This is taken from Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers.

 

[ferm.adventures]

yeah, that is the puzzle.. based on the test from last august, the water should taste metallic, but it doesn't. I probably should see black deposits on the plumbing fixtures too, but I don't. I'm planning on testing again, and maybe look at testing stripes to test more frequently.

Also, there is a oxygenating system (BIRM) and whole house filter that may be working at different levels... I mean that the BIRM filter back flushes and resets every 3 days.. I wonder if based on when the water is drawn post back flush.. on day 1 or 3 whether I'm getting differing levels of Mn.

 

[mabrungard]

Are you sure of the testing source and the reporting units? That level would likely be notable in staining and taste.

 

[ferm.adventures]

Are you sure of the testing source and the reporting units? That level would likely be notable in staining and taste.

I'm wondering that. The test was done by a water company as part of the well testing, etc. before we purchased this house. The only thing I can think of was that they bypassed the BIRM filter when taking the sample.. they subsequently tried pretty hard to sell me a softener.

But I know there is a level of iron in the water still.. we do get a little bit of rust stain in our hot tub around the filters, but I assumed that was due to the increased chlorine etc. But no black staining in the hot tub either.

I'm getting another test done, but I'll be sure to take the sample myself.

 

[ferm.adventures]

Here is a screenshot of the report.

 

[ferm.adventures]

Took another test... it’s about a year later. Basically identical results. Again puzzled by the manganese levels. Water doesn’t taste metallic. So I don’t know. Few batches since the original post, no fermentation issues, no phenolic character that I mentioned above. So move on I guess.

 

[mabrungard]

The 0.3 mg/L level is based on aesthetics and that's where most tasters pick up a metallic taste and staining may be apparent. If you're OK with the water taste, then its OK. Just be aware that you're water is on the edge.