Water chemistry question

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drat12

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Hi all. We recently moved from the metro Milwaukee area to Fredericksburg, VA. This move created a change in my water chemistry from a water treated at the treatment facility as well as run through a water softener in Milwaukee, to well water in Fredericksburg. The water in Fredericksburg is slightly acidic.

As I am new to water treatment (not having worried about it in Milwaukee), can anyone tell me what I may be missing if I have noticed the lack of a robust fermentation in my brews as well as in my kombucha? Specifically in my kombucha, I have noticed that I don't get the carbonation I used to get and it seems to be the same with early visual inspection of my first beer being made here.

Thank you in advance!
 
I looked up a recent Fredericksburg water report, and it seems like your permanent hardness is extremely high. My theory is that it's high enough to lower enzymatic activity in your mash especially if you're brewing low SRM beers, but someone smarter than me would have to confirm that. I'm not sure how it would affect kombucha.
 
Wells can vary quite a bit over a fairly small region but you probably have something that isn't too far from typical east coast ground water. All well water, in mesic regions, is going to be acidic as subterranean bacteria respire and CO2 enters the ground water. The fact that the water is acidic does not matter. What does matter is that the dissolved CO2 dissolves limestone leading to alkalinity. That typically runs from 1 to say 3 mEq/L (50 - 150 ppm as CaCO3) and is probably what is eating your lunch. You need to find out. Follow the advice given in an earlier post and get a Ward Labs report.
 
Got it! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I may come back on here and ask some further questions after I get my report back.
 
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