Minneapolis Water

[Schenkel]

I am new to the area (& fairly new to brewing as well) and i am looking for information on Minneapolis, MN tap water. Here is a link to the 2011 water report.

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/water/docs/2011_Water_Quality_Report.pdf

Is there anything I should do to improve my beer?

 

[ajdelange]

Unfortunately, this is the typical consumer water report in which the city fathers try to convince you that your children will not become retarded (or whatever the current politically correct way of saying that is) by lead in the municipal water supply. It's not of much interest to brewers except for the sulfate and sodium levels.

You need to find out whether the "chlorine" is straight chlorine (unlikely) or a mix of chlorine and chloramine (likely) and what the alkalinity, hardness (magnesium and calcium), chloride and potassium levels are. The water authority has this data. The art is figuring out how to get it from them. Experiences range from cold shoulder to high levels of helpfulness and intersest. In desperation you can always send a sample off for analysis.