Received my water report from Ward Labs.

[Rahahb]

I've moved and my last few beers that I've made with strictly my water here have been lacking. Suspecting a water issue, I had a brewing water test done by Ward labs.

Would you think I'd be getting an off flavor based on the water results? What recommendations would you suggest? Thanks for any help!

 

[Brewskey]

Your water looks similar to mine. What's lacking in your beer?

 

[Sammy86]

Water reports look pretty solid. Youve got some nice soft water. As @Brewskey said what seems to be the problem with the beers?

 

[day_trippr]

If there's a problem with that water it isn't shown in that Ward's assay. Super soft water...

 

[DBhomebrew]

Great water to start with, but not to brew with. Are you adjusting with brewing salts?

 

[dmtaylor]

You've basically got water that is extremely soft like RO water or almost distilled. You'll need to use a calculator to add salts back in treating this as if it were RO water.

 

[Rahahb]

Great water to start with, but not to brew with. Are you adjusting with brewing salts?

I know nothing about water modification. I'll be studying up on the subject soon. I add nothing, as I don't even know where to start. Do you have a recommendation on how I should tweak this water?

And to other questions, I shouldn't have said "lacking" I suppose. They just seem to have an off flavor but I can't really describe it. Almost astringent or salty even? Other people seem to like them but I just get something I'm not a fan of. It's apparent to me in both the saison and hefe on tap.

I'm going to slow down my grain milling(I didn't realize you could grind too fast) next time around.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[DBhomebrew]

I know nothing about water modification. I'll be studying up on the subject soon. I add nothing, as I don't even know where to start. Do you have a recommendation on how I should tweak this water?

You've got your answer, beware the rabbit hole. It doesn't need to be as difficult or complicated as some threads on the subject may suggest.

With calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, you can adjust your water for proper mash pH, yeast function, and flavor.

Bru'n Water is a solid calculator and reliable source of information.

 

[bwible]

Holy cow, I thought my sulfate level was low on my report - you have even less. I’m pretty sure you multiply by 3 to convert that, but its still very low. Lack of sulfate is going to affect anything hoppy you try to make in a negative way. Thats the same issue I ran into when I moved and had to get a water test.

Your numbers all around are low, as others said, almost like distilled or RO water.

I echo getting a water calculator program, there are a few out there.

Gypsum will raise your sulfate level and your calcium level. Thats one place to start, especially if you want to make pale ale or IPA.

 

[VikeMan]

I know nothing about water modification. I'll be studying up on the subject soon. I add nothing, as I don't even know where to start. Do you have a recommendation on how I should tweak this water?

How you need to tweak it depends on what you'll be brewing (grain bill, style, and preferences). Here's a slide from my old Water Treatment Primer about building from distilled/RO water, which is effectively what you're doing.

Out of context, it probably seems a little daunting, but the rest of the presentation can help. It ain't rocket surgery.
Intro To Brewing Water Treatment

 

[rallenhall]

I'd love to have that water! My last Ward tap water report showed TDS-486, Total Hardness-293 and SO4-S of 92. Therefore, I schlep RO water from Culligan for brewing. For an easy approach to salts and acids with your very soft water take a look at Gordon Strong's technique in "Modern Homebrew Recipes."

 

[IslandLizard]

Let me add...
Aside from adding "brewing salts" along style guidelines, you also want to treat your brewing tap water for Chlorine (or Chloramines).
1/16 of a teaspoon* of Sodium (or Potassium) Meta Bisulfate ("Meta" or "Campden") will treat 5 gallons of water. Stir well or add while filling the container.

* Measure out about a 1/4 on a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon.
You can use a little more (even 1/8 of a teaspoon) for all security, it won't harm anything.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I'd love to have that water! My last Ward tap water report showed TDS-486, Total Hardness-293 and SO4-S of 92. Therefore, I schlep RO water from Culligan for brewing. For an easy approach to salts and acids with your very soft water take a look at Gordon Strong's technique in "Modern Homebrew Recipes."

Same here. Are you my neighbor?

 

[mabrungard]

That water is a great starting point for brewing, but that doesn't mean that you can ignore the water and brew any beer with it.

Over grinding your grain could be a source of astringency, but I find that over-sparging can also contribute. If you're batch sparging or BIAB, you probably aren't oversparging. But pay attention to when you end wort runoff, if you do sparge the bed.

If you've been brewing paler beer styles, I can tell you that the mashing water would need a dose of acid (either in the water or via acid malt) in order to bring the mashing pH down to a desirable level and reduce tannin extraction. This shouldn't be a problem if you've been brewing darker styles.

I invite you to read about the "why" and "how" about brewing water on the Water Knowledge page of the Bru'n Water website. It will help.

 

[Rahahb]

Let me add...
Aside from adding "brewing salts" along style guidelines, you also want to treat your brewing tap water for Chlorine (or Chloramines).
1/16 of a teaspoon* of Sodium (or Potassium) Meta Bisulfate ("Meta" or "Campden") will treat 5 gallons of water. Stir well or add while filling the container.

* Measure out about a 1/4 on a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon.
You can use a little more (even 1/8 of a teaspoon) for all security, it won't harm anything.

I have well water so no chlorine present. Also, I'm very surprised to learn I have soft water. I assumed being in the mountains with well water, it would be the opposite. Before I had the water test done, I tried a quick and dirty method of testing water hardness by using castille soap in my water. Hard water is supposed to return cloudy without many bubbles, whereas soft should give clear water with lots of bubbles. My at home test suggested I had hard water as my water turned cloudy and did not have persisting bubbles.

I reached out to ward labs to see if my sample could have gotten mixed up! The fella who analyzes the samples checked and verified the sample bottle was indeed the one I sent in. I don't know what to make of it...

Thanks for all the replies. I have not had time to get into this yet but will be taking a look at the posted resources soon.