Question for Water Report

[IloveWorts]

What main things should I be looking for in my water report? I am brewing a pale ale this weekend and from what I have read brewing with hard water is going to be a good thing. I do carbon filter and adjust ph of mash to 5.2 when I brew. I wouldn't want to really mess around with water too much just the basics. Any help or info is appreciated!

 

[cyanmonkey]

This would be a good place to start:

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-3/understanding-the-mash-ph/reading-a-water-report

 

[Homercidal]

What main things should I be looking for in my water report? I am brewing a pale ale this weekend and from what I have read brewing with hard water is going to be a good thing. I do carbon filter and adjust ph of mash to 5.2 when I brew. I wouldn't want to really mess around with water too much just the basics. Any help or info is appreciated!

So you already do pH adjustments, but don't' want to mess around too much? You're already there!

There are some really good ideas on what constitutes a good Pale Ale water profile, but unless you know where you stand with regards to alkalinity, calcium, sulfate, and chloride, it's going to be hard to recommend any particular course of action.

That said, I don't think it would hurt to add a tsp or two of Gypsum provided you can target your pH to be within range.