Thoughts on my water report?

[Wolfhound180]

Hello, I just got my Ward Labs water report back. Does it look like a good base? Recommendations?

PH 8.0
Dissolved solids. 193
Sodium. 13
Potassium. 1
Calcium. 37
Magnesium. 9
Total hardness. 130
Nitrate. <0.1
Sulfate. 12
Chloride. 18
Carbonate. <1.0
Bicarbonate. 122
Total alkalinity. 101
Total Phosphorus. <0.01
Total Iron. <0.01

Thanks for looking.

 

[dmaddox]

That's a pretty high PH - but then again depending on the fermentables (which add acidity) it should bring it down. I am seeing that brewers like to see 5.2 to 5.5 in PH for optimal brewing. So, I'd check your ph while mashing to see what it comes down to. The sodium, calcium and other bits will likely come out with a charcoal canister-type filter if you are worried about it impacting flavor.

 

[day_trippr]

I do believe there are folks here that would kill for that water...

Cheers!

 

[Begin2Brew]

I do believe there are folks here that would kill for that water...

Cheers!

Ya, me! This is what my water would look like if I cut my tap water with 80% RO.

This is a great base for just about any style you want to brew. If you brew a hoppy beer add some sulfates, malty beer add some chloride.

 

[laredo7mm]

Hello, I just got my Ward Labs water report back. Does it look like a good base? Recommendations?

PH 8.0
Dissolved solids. 193
Sodium. 13
Potassium. 1
Calcium. 37
Magnesium. 9
Total hardness. 130
Nitrate. <0.1
Sulfate. 12
Chloride. 18
Carbonate. <1.0
Bicarbonate. 122
Total alkalinity. 101
Total Phosphorus. <0.01
Total Iron. <0.01

Thanks for looking.

Your numbers are close to my water. My tap water is:

Ca: 31
Mg: 13
Na: 13
SO4: 4
Cl: 18
Bicarbonate: 149
Total alkalinity: 122

When brewing light beers I have to use acid (I use 85% Phosphoric Acid) to bring down the mash to a PH of around 5.4. You will probably not have to use as much acid as I do since your alkalinity is lower than mine. For dark beers I don't have to adjust for PH at all to get around a 5.6. I also add whatever salts that are needed to match the style of beer that I am making.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Sounds like all good news. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

That's still a reasonably high bicarbonate level - it's definitely usable, but not perfect for pale beers. For lighter beers, especially lagers, you might need to consider cutting your water with RO. I say 'might' need to, because it will depend on your personal taste threshold for the acids (actually, the anions of the acids) you'd be adding if you don't cut with RO.

For example, a 5gal all pils malt brew at normal mash thickness will give you a mash pH of about 5.9 (using Bru'n water), which is too high. To bring it down to 5.4 you would need approximately 3mL of lactic acid for the mash, and another 2mL of acid to get the sparge water pH to 6.0 (actual volumes would depend on your actual grain quantity, boil off etc.) That's 5mL of lactic acid in total for a 5 gal batch, which is borderline 'OK' for beer - i.e. it will depend on your personal taste. Phosphoric may be a better option, or using some RO water for the sparge.

Your Calcium is at the lower end of good. You might also want to add some sulphate (depending on your preference for a richer/chloride finish versus a dry/sulphate finish). So it would probably best to add your Calcium as gypsum rather than Calcium chloride.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kerrbrewer]

+1 on bringing down that bicarbonate. The lighter beers that I brewed before I got the bicarbonate below 65 all had astringency if I sparged. THe BIAB beers were OK. YMMV

 

[Wolfhound180]

Wow thanks for the great breakdown. I will figure out a way to get the bicarbonate down.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Try brewing with your existing water first and see if you can taste the acid. 5mL in a 5gal batch is probably OK - you'll need even less in a beer with some crystal or roast malt. Adding some acid to your sparge water to get a pH of around 6.0 will prevent astringency.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Try brewing with your existing water first and see if you can taste the acid. 5mL in a 5gal batch is probably OK - you'll need even less in a beer with some crystal or roast malt. Adding some acid to your sparge water to get a pH of around 6.0 will prevent astringency.

I can do that. I use 85% phosphoric acid usually so we will see how that goes. Thank you very much for the help, it sounds like you are very experienced with water composition.