Water Test Results

[stigs]

Got my water tested a couple weeks ago, have had no luck figuring out what most of this means...anything I should be concerned about (Extract & occassional Mini-Mash brewing):

pH 7.3
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est 419
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.70
Cations / Anions, me/L / 6.8 6.6

ppm
Sodium, Na 57
Potassium, K 3
Calcium, Ca 57
Magnesium, Mg 14
Total Hardness, CaCO3 201
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.3
Sulfate, SO4-S 60
Chloride, Cl 68
Carbonate, CO3 <1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 67
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 55
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

 

[ajdelange]

If you don't like what sulfate does with hops then you will have a problem with this water as it is quite high in sulfate (180 mg/L as sulfate). For some styles you will want 10 mg/L or less and as sulfate cannot be removed except by distillation, anion exchange or reverse osmosis, those will be your only option. If you think the hops in your brews taste harsh, then this is too much sulfate for you. Otherwise, the water looks OK. Plan to brew British ales with it rather than continental lagers.

 

[stigs]

I did notice with one batch I did, a Hoppy-wheat (along the lines of FFF Gumballhead) that the taste is a bit astringent, hop flavor still there but just a little off - though this was one of my first batches and I always thought my problem there was steeping grains at too high of a temperature.

My first IPA is going to be bottled this week, so guess that will be a good indicator of if these levels are too high for me. Could cutting (or strictly using) distilled water from the grocery store help bring those levels down to an "acceptable" level.

Thanks for your insight!