Newb looking at water profiles. Warning on online calculator

[Silver_Is_Money]

Scrounged water supplies looking unlikely to be any better than ours...
Sisters water chart says 275, ours 284, dads 320, best friend & mum 346 and best friends 378. Where we go on hols in Wales is just 19.

Are you referring to Ca++ (calcium ions) or to Total Hardness as CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Don't need a chart, just divide micrograms by 1000 to get milligrams. Ppm is mg/L.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

I'm trying sooo hard to get this. I made a chart of each of our water profiles by copying a Ward lab results list and trying to get the same information off each set of water area lists..
I think I've done it right but not positive.

I'll run it through a beer water site and see whose water needs the least additions. I presume that will tell me what beer to make with whose water. I think I need to go back to school and do some more chemistry lessons.

 

[Miraculix]

You probably wanna brew really dark beers with water like that.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Calcium - 284ppm

From what I can tell, you must be getting this value from the following...which other have pointed out is not the correct value.

• Hardness (Total) as CaCO3 284

 

[Mumathomebrew]

Yes. I hope post #33 is more accurate but not sure. It's a minefield to learn.

I'm going to make a suitable stout next and see what happens.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Just a clarification on your labels so you don't mess yourself up.

The linked report has 37 for "Sulphate as SO4"
In your table you labeled this as "Sulphate as SO4-S"

Wards lab reports "Sulphate as SO4-S", which you then have to multiply by 3 to get the real Sulphate/SO4 value.

Good luck with your Stout!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Not buying in water as it almost defeats the object of making beer at home.

FYI you could also distill water yourself or put in a RO purification system if you don't want to buy purified water or sacrifice control (quality) of the beer.

Of course it's your brewery and you decide what's worthwhile.

Cheers

 

[Mumathomebrew]

Got as far as filtering it as a beginner... but do have a small old fashioned distiller, so that is a possibility. A side by side on a simple recipe with some ideal water V our tap water will soon test if we can taste the difference. I'm not entirely sure my/our untrained beer testing palate is sophisticated enough just yet.