Mash PH question.

[lakedawgs]

Hello
Got my Ward Labs report, below, and have a question.
My PH is 8.0 from the faucet and my calcium is 358. Most mash additives I see, usually raise calcium while they lower PH. I know my PH will go down a bit in the mash.

Do I just need to start diluting my brewday water with distilled to bring some of these #s down?
Just starting to read the water primer and other resources but the calcium thing has me wondering.

Thanks
Lakedawgs

Ward Labs results
pH 8.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 690
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 1.15
Cations / Anions, me/L 11.9 / 12.7
ppm
Sodium, Na 107
Potassium, K 7
Calcium, Ca 91
Magnesium, Mg 30
Total Hardness, CaCO3 353
Nitrate, NO3-N 4.8 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 41
Chloride, Cl 124
Carbonate, CO3 12
Bicarbonate, HCO3 358
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 315
Total Phosphorus, P 0.12
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01

 

[ajdelange]

To be blunt: this isn't great water for brewing. Yes, you will have to dilute with RO water to the extent that you might as well use straight RO. The real enemy here is the alkalinity. There are things you can do to reduce that substantially but you are still pretty high in things like sodium and magnesium (decarbonation properly done will remove some of that) but RO is, IMO, a much simpler, if more expensive, way to go.

Yes, the calcium will pull mash pH back a bit but not nearly as much as the alkalinity will push it up.

 

[lakedawgs]

If I were to go with RO would I just make adjustment based on the PH?
Thanks
Lakedawgs

 

[ajdelange]

See https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/