Reverse osmosis water filter

[Lunkerking]

I live in an area where the drinking water is quite good Louisville Colorado. The prior owners of my House installed a reverse osmosis water filter which we use for our drinking water since it is there.

It is a little more difficult to get the water from this filter in our kitchen than to use water via drinking water hose outback where I am brewing.

Should I make a point to use the water from the reverse osmosis filter even though our water is quite good here?
Thanks

 

[Redlantern]

quite good, unfortunately, is not enough for beer.

I learned that the hard way. My local water supply is very good, but the carbonates are high and the ph is high. Tastes great and local municipality has received awards for the water quality. Problem is - the items I mentioned above are not great for brewing an IPA.

Might need a water report with the important chemical values - Ward Laboratories can do that pretty well - https://producers.wardlab.com/default.aspx

Also, a simple but very good read from howtobrew might help...
http://howtobrew.com/book/section-3/understanding-the-mash-ph/balancing-the-malts-and-minerals

 

[Lunkerking]

Thanks, for point of reference here is a water quality report for the area I live. Any color that anyone can add would be appreciated.

http://www.louisvilleco.gov/home/showdocument?id=514

 

[acidrain]

That water report only tells you your alkalinity, so it's impossible to know if you should amend your water or not.
You'll need a full mineral report for that (Ward Labs).
I suspect that your base water is just fine with a charcoal filter to reduce chlorine, but impossible to say if you need mineral additions like gypsum of calcium chloride.

 

[dsaavedra]

That looks like pretty low alkalinity so that is a good start

 

[daksin]

You can choose to have your water tested, which isn't too expensive but takes a little effort. You could certainly install a bypass where you could get water pre-RO if you wanted, without too much trouble.

 

[mcl]

You have RO available which is what everyone wishes they had. Use it.

 

[tennesseean_87]

You have RO available which is what everyone wishes they had. Use it.

This. Add CaCl and gypsum according to the water primer or Bru'n Water. I wish I weren't paying $.40 per gallon and having to haul 50 lb Carboys from the store.

Also, your water people may be able to get you a more detailed report.

 

[acidrain]

You have RO available which is what everyone wishes they had. Use it.

Not true...
If you have good water, use that. No reason to start from scratch adding a few salts to try and get to a good naturally mineralized water. The fact is you can never get to good natural water from pure water like RO.

But Like others have said, you need to know where you're starting from in order to know where you're at.

Spend $25 on a water report, then add a little gypsum or calcium chloride if needed. It's way cheaper than buying a $150 RO system that you probably don't need.

 

[mcl]

150 on what? He already has an RO system.

Starting with RO and building up from there is very simple. You may never get "natural" water but there is a reason brewers have been treating water one way or another for a long time. It is because the source water isn't appropriate in one way or another. Granted some source water is much better than others but you usually have to deal with chloramines/chlorine anyway and most RO systems take care of that as well. We are fortunate to have such easy access to RO water now. The OP is lucky to have a system already in his house.