Water mill express water

[SlobberinDog]

Hey guys any recommendations on this water report that water mill express gave me? I used a ward labs report for my tap water as I don’t trust the city tap so I started paying for the mill water. Included are both my home tap water as well as the water mill express reply

Water mill express:
The following is in regard to your question about home brewing and the approximate levels in our water:



Contaminant Results

- Calcium ND*
- Magnesium 0.10 mg/L
- Sodium 1 mg/L
- Sulfate ND*
- Bicarbonate unknown**
- pH 6.0



* ND is an expression that the contaminant was Not Detected above the minimum detection level.



** Bicarbonate is alkaline and the level of alkalinity of our water is typically ND.



We hope this information is helpful and if we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.


Ward labs:

 

[SlobberinDog]

Also, fwiw I use Brewfather and haven’t figured out how to correctly add my water information without the calculations going nuts. I’m a mess lol

 

[Bobby_M]

If I'm understanding you, water mill express is an RO water dispensing company and the Ward Lab is your home tap water?

If so, your tap water is close enough to RO that you can just about consider it so. Just pick a water calculation tool and stick to it. I like brewfather's water tools. Just create a new profile and fill in your ward lab data.

 

[SlobberinDog]

If I'm understanding you, water mill express is an RO water dispensing company and the Ward Lab is your home tap water?

If so, your tap water is close enough to RO that you can just about consider it so. Just pick a water calculation tool and stick to it. I like brewfather's water tools. Just create a new profile and fill in your ward lab data.

Yea the water mill express thing is like a little kiosk type dispensing place. You pull your car up, bring your five gallon jugs with you and throw in 1.50 for five gallons. Is my home water really that “bland” lol I suppose that’s better than having all kinds of issues. I do know that our tap water smells horribly of chlorine so that’s why I didn’t like brewing with it.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I do know that our tap water smells horribly of chlorine so that’s why I didn’t like brewing with it.

Adding 1/2 of a Campden Tablet into your brewing water (for a 5 gal batch) should effectively remove the chlorine and chloramine. If you can smell it, then it is likely chlorine (as chloramine is used because it is more stable). If your water service only uses chlorine, you can let the chlorine off gas over night, or filter it with a charcoal filter. Chloramine won't off gas and is harder to filter out. A Campden Tablet is a cheap and easy way to address both types. It also sounds like you have a cheap source of RO water.

 

[SlobberinDog]

Adding 1/2 of a Campden Tablet into your brewing water (for a 5 gal batch) should effectively remove the chlorine and chloramine. If you can smell it, then it is likely chlorine (as chloramine is used because it is more stable). If your water service only uses chlorine, you can let the chlorine off gas over night, or filter it with a charcoal filter. Chloramine won't off gas and is harder to filter out. A Campden Tablet is a cheap and easy way to address both types. It also sounds like you have a cheap source of RO water.

Awesome thank you for the advice! I think I’ll stick with the 3.00 added to every batch. It’s only a couple blocks from my house and is available 24 hours a day for me. I’d much rather build water up then worry about trying to take things out of it.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

This water looks a lot like RO water.

 

[SlobberinDog]

The first from the water mill company or from the ward labs report I got for my tap water?

 

[Bobby_M]

I wouldn't complain about bland tap water too much. So many of us would kill for that directly out of the tap. One campden tablet can take chlorine and chloramines out of 20 gallons of water instantly. You may want to just get it as powdered potassium metabisulfite instead of the tablets. A pinch is enough for 5 gallons.

If you're brewing extract, just remove the chlorine and brew. If you're brewing all grain, you're only going to need a couple grams each of calcium chloride and gypsum and then a mL or two of lactic acid for the very pale beers. It's great water to start with.

 

[SlobberinDog]

I wouldn't complain about bland tap water too much. So many of us would kill for that directly out of the tap. One campden tablet can take chlorine and chloramines out of 20 gallons of water instantly. You may want to just get it as powdered potassium metabisulfite instead of the tablets. A pinch is enough for 5 gallons.

If you're brewing extract, just remove the chlorine and brew. If you're brewing all grain, you're only going to need a couple grams each of calcium chloride and gypsum and then a mL or two of lactic acid for the very pale beers. It's great water to start with.

Awesome!!! This makes me excited for my next brew day. I’ve been all grain for 13 years. It took two batches of extract to fully catch the all grain bug lol

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

Looks like water from an area underlain by granite rather than limestone

 

[SlobberinDog]

Looks like water from an area underlain by granite rather than limestone

Northern colorado so I’d probably image so

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

The first from the water mill company or from the ward labs report I got for my tap water?

Either one.

 

[SlobberinDog]

Either one.

Thanks, I’m pretty excited about having such good water. I honestly didn’t know that it was that good lol. Brew night on Saturday! We are having a little get together and everyone wants to see what all goes into the beer that they all drink. I think I need to buy a fake dead rat or some crickets from the pet store haha!!!

 

[VikeMan]

Thanks, I’m pretty excited about having such good water. I honestly didn’t know that it was that good lol. Brew night on Saturday! We are having a little get together and everyone wants to see what all goes into the beer that they all drink. I think I need to buy a fake dead rat or some crickets from the pet store haha!!!

The good news is that you have great water to start with, i.e. it's a blank slate to build from. But as mentioned, you'll need to add some CaCl2 and/or CaSO4, and (usually) some lactic (or phosphoric) acid. And sometimes baking soda or other salt to increase pH (typically with stouts or other beers with lots of roasted malts). Which additions and how much of each will depend on beer style, grain bill, and your own preferences.