Ward Labs Water Profile Laurel Springs, NJ

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Chorgey

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I'm trying to decide the best type of beer to brew with this water.

I was building up from distilled water but I did want to see what I could do with my tap water.

pH 8.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 115
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.19
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.1 / 2.3 ppm
Sodium, Na 18
Potassium, K 7
Calcium, Ca 17.7
Magnesium, Mg 3
Total Hardness, CaCO3 58
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 4
Chloride, Cl 27
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 77
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 63
Total Phosphorus, P < 0.20
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01 "<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
 
Anything you want.

That’s reasonably low-mineral water. Maybe you’ll want to add a little acid to get the right mash pH, maybe you’ll want to add some chloride or sulfate for particular styles, but this is a blank enough slate to draw just about anything you want.
 
Add 3.8 mL of 88% Lactic Acid to every 10 gallons of your water to adequately address the waters Alkalinity and Bicarbonate.

Alternatives to this are:
---------------------------------
40 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid
3.45 grams of Anhydrous Citric Acid
2.9 mL of 85% Phosphoric Acid

I would likely additionally add 3.5 grams of Gypsum and 2.5 grams of fresh Calcium Chloride Prills to every 10 gallons of this water.
 
Last edited:
I should have added to the above that I consider fresh Calcium Chloride prills to be nominally 94% CaCl2 and 6% water.
 
If you only acid treat it to reduce Alkalinity/Bicarbonate, and do not add any additional calcium salts, it will be fine water for the Czech Pilsner style. If you add the calcium salts I suggested it will be a good foundation for German Pils, and many other Lager and Ale styles. Some British ales such as Bitters may benefit from even more added minerals, at up to double my initial recommendation.
 
For the likes of Porters and Stouts, do not acidify the water, and add 5 grams of fresh CaCl2 to each 10 gallons, with no Gypsum addition.
 
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