Tell me about my water

[SookeBrewing]

Hi there,

I live on an acreage with a private well. It's a deep drilled well (700+ ft) and we drink the water right outta the ground - no treatment. I happen to know what the mineral analysis is, since this is required when you drill a well here, and is a good thing to know so you're not drinking anything hazardous (a property nearby here has high arsenic!)

So here is how it breaks down:

Ca: 2.5ppm
Mg 0.1ppm
Sodium: 112ppm
S04: 3.1 ppm
Chloride: 127 ppm
HC03: 7 ppm

What can you tell me about my water? My beers have been good, but could they be improved with additions to my water? I brew mostly pale ales, IPAs, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nateo]

That's unusual water. For all beers I'd up the Ca, for hoppy beers I'd up the SO4 too. You could up the Mg too. I think 5-10ppm of Mg is good for yeast health. So a small amount of epsom salt would be a reasonable addition. You could also add gypsum too.

I recommend using a calculator like Bru'n water or Kai's water spreadsheet.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

 

[leeinq]

Water can have an effect on your beer, but if it safe and tastes good, then the impact of playing with the water is small compared to things like hops, grain and yeast.