Plumbing Supplier Water Test

[Gunnerer]

I've been brewing for 4 years with local mountain spring water that flows 1 gpm year round. 70 batches and ~400 gallons later I have made a wide range of styles [most of the Belgians, most of the Brits, various Euro lagers, stouts, porters, scotch ales, kolsch, IPAs, IIPAs, APAs...] and I've never paid any attention to water chemistry and have never measured the pH of anything anywhere.

The brews are luckily turning out very close to what I am targeting. I usually use a couple of tsps of gypsum in my mash and batch sparge water when making a hoppy brew and a few times I have only added a Burton salts packet for a hoppy IPA. Not sure, but I think using only the Burton packet produces the better IPA.

After recently joining this forum and reading a lot, I took some spring water to my plumbing supplier who has a HACH drop test kit with the following results: pH 6.5, Total Hardness: 0-1 ppm Iron:0 ppm

They did the 3 tests right on the counter while I watched and said "ain't no problems with your water."

So I am of the opinion, IIABDFI, but I was wondering if you think I should mess with more testing and buying a pH meter or should I just assume my spring water is very soft "RO like" and experiment with some adjustments from that assumption.

Has anyone done a DOE study of mash chemistry that you could point me to?

 

[Jayhem]

http://www.wardlab.com/WardInfo/Water.aspx

Send a sample to them. Pay $21-27. Get the complete analysis within a few days.

No more guessing.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are trying to make adjustments to your water to brew to style for different beers you need a report that gives a lot more information than just pH, hardness and iron.

Water by John Palmer would be a good start as well as a good water analysis from Ward Labs. Then use a calculator like Bru N Water.

I use a charcoal filter and my local tap water with excellent results. I plan on getting an analysis and looking into additions in the future.

 

[ajdelange]

pH 6.5, Total Hardness: 0-1 ppm Iron:0 ppm

They did the 3 tests right on the counter while I watched and said "ain't no problems with your water."

At this point the indications are that you have soft, low alkalinity water. You should send off a sample to Ward Labs to confirm that it isn't laden with sodium chloride or sodium sulfate and that the actual hardness and alkalinity are indeed low. Assuming they are what you have is essentially RO water and you can proceed on that basis.

Has anyone done a DOE study of mash chemistry that you could point me to?

I thought DOE was more concerned with things like running the Nevada Test Site but the answer to your question is clearly: DOE.

 

[Gunnerer]

Don't you mean "doh"?

Seriously though, I was kinda looking for a "Design of Experiments" study where there would be baseline water, with constant grist, qts/lb ratio, strike temp for the control and examine the effects of different levels of selected key mash input variables like pH, additive concentrations, you name it on the key qualitative response variables, and maybe some quantitative measurements given constant downstream processing [boil, ferment, carb etc...]

 

[ajdelange]

Ah, different matter. There are tons of data on things like this in textbooks and the literature. Each batch of malt is subject to a series of tests in which its hot and cold water extract are compared in fine and coarse grind, its diastatic potential, the color of the test wort etc. are determined. These data are often available from the maltster if not by lot number (there one one outfit that used to make that available) then at least data for a typical lot are sometimes offered. With respect to water and malt the most important ones are
1) The pH of a wort made with distilled water
2) The titratable acidity/alkalinity of the test wort

The former is pretty standard and DI mash pH data are available for many malts. The latter is less so but some of it is starting to appear. These subjects are discussed in this thread quite extensively.

 

[Gunnerer]

You should send off a sample to Ward Labs to confirm that it isn't laden with sodium chloride or sodium sulfate and that the actual hardness and alkalinity are indeed low.

AJ,

If I am not tasting any saltiness, sourness, astringency or harsh bitterness in any of the brews, would you think it reasonable to presume that sodium chloride or sodium sulfate are not that prevalent and that alkalinity is also not an issue?

 

[ajdelange]

Statistically speaking you are on solid ground. You have very low hardness and thus probably low alkalinity but you could have sodium which could mean sodium bicarbonate (alkalinity), sodium chloride and/ or sodium sulfate. You can further reassure yourself that you don't by doing a TDS test (testers very inexpensive) but a Ward labs test is the best way to really know what's coming out of your tap.

 

[Gunnerer]

Hmmm...I don't know if I really want to venture down the testing rabbit hole because I would have trouble trusting a single lab test over years of experience with this water source. I think I would just end up brewing the way I have been all along...however there is always the hope for better beer.

 

[Gunnerer]

I just did the API GH/KH home test and got the following results in drops of reagent to attain the appropriate color

GH 1 drop = 1 dGH = between 0 and 17.9 ppm GH
KH 2 drops = 2 dKH = between 17.9-35.8 ppm KH as CaCO3

The GH result is similar to the plumbing supplier test, where they said 0 ppm

Since these are ranges, do I calculate RA as a range?

Using the estimation: RA = 35.8-17.9/4 = 31.3 ppm CaCO3
RA[l] = 17.9-0/4 = 17.9 ppm CaCO3

so RA is between 17.9 and 31.3 ppm as CaCO3?

 

[ajdelange]

If the test measures alkalinity at 2 drops and it's 17.9 ppm as CaCO3 per drop I'd call the alkalinity 35.8 ± 8.9 Similarly, if the hardness is 1 drop I'd call that 17.9 ± 8.9. As RA = alk - hardness/3.5 (assuming that the hardness is all calcium hardness) we could estimate that as 35.8 ± 8.9 - (17.9/3.5 ± 8.9/3.5) = 30.7 ± 9.3 all of which is sort of interesting but RA really doesn't tell you much except how this water might compare to another water supply.

 

[Gunnerer]

At this point the indications are that you have soft, low alkalinity water.

Would you consider "30.7 ± 9.3" to be low alkalinity water and that I should have a small pH rise in pH = 0.00168 * RA (as CaCO3) =~ 0.05?

 

[ajdelange]

Yes, I would. Also be aware that the pH rise number formula is referred to knockout. You would doubtless see something less of an increase in the mash.

 

[Gunnerer]

I am consistently getting 82% mash efficiency when I use the following adds to 5 gallons water:

1 gram baking soda
1 gram sea salt
3.5 grams Epsom salt
9 grams gypsum.

But when I add nothing or just add the 9 grams gypsum my mash efficiency is consistently 77% for the same IPA recipe using the exact same process.

Does it make sense that I would get a bump in efficiency by adding 1 gram baking soda, 1 gram canning salt, and 3.5 grams Epsom salt to 5 gallons of water?

 

[ajdelange]

That would depend on what it is you are adding it to i.e. what's already in the water and the composition of the grist. In general, no, it doesn't make sense and I would look for an explanation beyond the addition of modest amounts of salt. Even though the baking soda would push the pH higher than desired in an IPA a small change in pH is usually not enough to influence the efficiency.

 

[Gunnerer]

I am baffled by this. Water and grains were from the same containers in the same quantities, same mill, gap and speed, same mlt, same amounts and temps of strike and sparges, mash temps were are all 150 to 151. The only difference I can see are the mineral amounts over and above the base water, hmmmmm