My Water (Oshawa,ON)

[mhermetz]

So I'm starting to dive into altering my water when I brew.
I couldn't find any places locally that will test water from out my tap. I did however find the regional drinking water report that had most of the mineral amounts.

Calcium : 34
Magnesium: 9
Sodium: N/A (wasn't listed... Would this really matter? the limits are from 0-150)
Choride: 26
Sulfate: 30
Alkalinity: 84

EST PH: 5.57

My only question is how reliable the report is. Would the water gain enough mineral content between the water treatment plant and my kettle that it could alter my profile?

Also is there some resource online that shows what my PH and Residual Alkalinity should be for certain styles?

 

[ajdelange]

So I'm starting to dive into altering my water when I brew.
I couldn't find any places locally that will test water from out my tap. I did however find the regional drinking water report that had most of the mineral amounts.

Calcium : 34
Magnesium: 9
Sodium: N/A (wasn't listed... Would this really matter? the limits are from 0-150)
Choride: 26
Sulfate: 30
Alkalinity: 84

EST PH: 5.57

My only question is how reliable the report is. Would the water gain enough mineral content between the water treatment plant and my kettle that it could alter my profile?

If that pH value is real (unlikely) then the water will outgas CO2 and, possibly precipitate chalk once released from the distribution system but 5.57 is a very low pH value unless you are drawing directly from a well and even then it's pretty low.

Also is there some resource online that shows what my PH and Residual Alkalinity should be for certain styles?

If you mean the pH of your water there is no requirement. pH is never given in the profiles reported for particular styles. If you mean mash pH it should be 5.2 - 5.5 irrespective of style. There is no requirement for RA. It is true that darker beers initially came out of cities where the water was carbonaceous but with proper management you can brew any style of beer with almost any water. The chart at http://www.pbase.com/agamid/image/57446374 will give you some historical data on the waters associated with many of the styles including RA values. You should check the sticky at the top of this topic.

 

[mhermetz]

Oh shoot. Yeah that PH is wrong I typed in the Mash PH EZ calulator gave me without making any adjustments.

If I were to just render a guess I'd say my PH is higher since I tend to brew ambers- darks alot better then I do lighter SRM beers.

Although after reading your post I feel like PH doesn't matter as much as my mineral content does.