My water report. Your thoughts

[Chris7687]

Hey guys,
Just got my water report back and wanted to share it all with you and get some feedback.

I don't see anything too out of the ordinary or detrimental. A minor flag went up with the imbalance between Cations and Anions, what do you all think?

My water seems to be "middle of the road" regarding hardness and RA, which means I'm better off brewing darker beers, especially with my high bicarbonate, correct?

Sodium levels are high, but I believe that's due to the makeup of our South Florida groundwater.

I am currently using a single Chloramine filter on my water, but doubt it's removing all the Chloramine. So I will start using Campden tablets as well. Brun states that the addition of these minerals can be ignored, but should I be worried as my chloride levels are already so high (64 ppm)?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449688137.268243.jpg

In the overall picture, I think I seem ok to brew amber to dark beers. All light beers I need to get the RO water from the store dispenser for $1.50/5 gallons.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

It does seem a bit unbalanced, but that could be because the test was not super comprehensive and some ions were not tested. Ca at 20 is a little low, generally I tend to target around 80ppm to ensure there is enough Ca to facilitate enzymatic activity in the mash, and to aid in flocculation once fermentation is complete. Your water is also much heavier on chlorides than sulfates, which will tend to favor a more round and full malt character in the finished beer. To up the Ca level (and manipulate the sulfate/chloride balance), you can use gypsum (CaSO4) and calcium chloride (CaCl2). Doing this will lower your residual alkalinity (RA) and I'm willing to bet once the Ca level is sufficient, this water will be best suited for pale ales. Another way to increase the Ca level is to use pickling lime (Ca(OH)2). Pickling lime will also raise your RA, which is the way you want to go to brew something like a brown ale, porter or stout. The sodium is a little high, but I do not believe it is so high that it will be noticeable in the finished product. I hope this helps!

 

[Chris7687]

I think that is pretty close to prior information. A report I was provided directly from my water plant gave the following:

Cations:
Ca - 11.9 (current report 20)
Na - 30.2 (current report 33)

Anions:
HCO3 - 1.0 (big swing from the 51 on my current repot. Assuming a different reporting unit)
SO4 - 6.3 (current report 9)
Cl - 46.3 (current report 64)

Alkalinity - 48mg/L (current calculation 51)
pH - 9.0

 

[mabrungard]

The relatively low ionic content is typical for water coming out of the Everglades. Its rain water flowing over surficial limestone. The sodium content is still modest by my experience and not a concern for any brewing.

I know that many cities in South Florida employ lime softening. I've worked on many of them. However, I don't recall that Palm Beach Gardens does. Most of the water supply in that area comes in via the SFWMD canals from the Everglades. There are often wells, but the limestone is so porous that the water is essentially coming directly from the canals.

There is little need to use RO since this water is fine for brewing. You will need to learn to acidify the water for brewing use.

 

[Chris7687]

Thanks for the advice Martin!