Water Chemistry

[Kapooya]

Hey everyone, I have been home brewing for a while but I want to take the next step with water chemistry. Up until now I’ve been using ph 5.2 buffering solution. I just got a ph meter and discovered my well water ph is 7.3 which is pretty good, although a friend of mine in the commercial brewing industry told me adjusting ph is just part of the battle, and understanding and adjusting other minerals like calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium are also important for mastering conversion in the mashing process. I would like to have a proper water analysis done on my well water, but I’m sure it’s profile varies as the seasons change and to do numerous tests through the course of the year could prove to be costly. I’ve been reading about titration tests, and I suppose that’s an option, but I wouldn’t consider myself a real chemistry buff so I don’t know if this is my best option. Any recommendations? Thanks

 

[Rob2010SS]

I don't know anything about titration tests. I know that when I first got into water chemistry I went to brewing with distilled water and built up the water from there using Bru'n Water. I eventually got sick of going to the store and buying 15 single gallon jugs of distilled and went to a 100gpd reverse osmosis system.

Not sure how much you're looking to spend, if any. It sounds like you don't want to go the route of testing your water. You want to continue using your well water or are you willing to switch to distilled/RO?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I would like to have a proper water analysis done on my well water

I don't know much about this, but I always had the impression that well water was fairly consistent throughout the months. The water is always filtering through the same basic ground where surface water could change and municipal service may use different supply sources. A Ward Labs report seems like a decent starting place.

 

[mabrungard]

Yes, groundwater often has a consistent water quality as long as its not closely connected to a surface water source, like a well that's near a stream or river.

Assuming that the groundwater is relatively constant and doesn't have metallic flavors, then it should be a good idea to have it tested to assess whats in it. It could be a good brewing water source if its not too mineralized.