Why not softened water?

[shambolic94]

I'm about to try my first all grain (BIAB) batch and I'd really like to continue to use my well water. Unfortunately, there are obstacles: First, the well water goes through a filtration system that includes a sodium ion-exchange softener. Second, bypassing the system (which also includes a calcium carbonate filter and a radon filter) is not an option as the raw water is over 20 ppm in iron and would presumably produce beer that tastes like blood (and contains a carcinogen to boot!).

Despite the many admonitions that using softened water is a bad idea, it at least appears from the Bru'n spreadsheet that I can make it work. I'm hoping that more experienced brewers can warn me if this is a stupid idea before I try it.

This is the profile of my softened, filtered water:
Na: 102
Ca: 0
Mg: 0
SO4: 15
Cl: 125
HCO3: 103
Total Alkalinity (CaCO3): 84

According to the Bru'n spreadsheet, I can use 0.7 g/gal Calcium Chloride, 0.4. g/gal Epsom Salt, and 0.2 g/gal Gypsum to get: Ca 62.6, Mg 10.4, SO4 86, Cl 214, and Na 102.

My mash ph would likely still be way off after these additions because of the bicarbonate, so I would add the appropriate amount of 85% phosphoric acid to nuke enough of the bicarbonate to get the mash ph between 5.3 and 5.5.

This obviously results in a lot of different salts (SO4, Cl, and Na) in the water, but all of them are within Palmer's recommended levels. It also gets me enough Ca and Mg to keep my yeasties happy. So...what's wrong with this plan?

 

[pcollins]

I use softened water and my advice to anyone that is asking about water chemistry vis a vis the water that comes from their tap is to just brew a batch with what they have and see how it tastes. If it's bad then make adjustments. It it's good then count yourself lucky that you have good brewing water that comes straight from your tap. There's nothing wrong with that.

There are generally very wide margins of error when it comes to making beer wrt temps, ph, volumes, %, etc. Some people make it out to be a very "precise" science which in some regards it is but there is still a very wide margin of error.

 

[Demus]

As long as you're adding in the minerals shown you should be good. The salt is an issue but actually isn't that high for "softened" water. Must be a pretty good system. Cheapo depot ones can put 200 ppm or more salt I here. I have a similar issue brewing in Florida, and my system puts out 80 ppm of salt. I tweak it similarly to your brewin water plan but cater it to the malt bill so I need no acid additions for ph. Works great. Just make sure your numbers are accurate. If you're unsure, check out www.wardlabs.com for a water test...

 

[chickypad]

Not a water expert but I agree with Demus, sounds like you're addressing the 2 main problems with softened water which is too much NaCl and the removal of the other minerals esp. calcium. One thing I did notice is it seems like your Cl to SO4 ratio seems pretty skewed toward the malty. For a beer where you want to accentuate the bitterness you might want to drop down the CaCl and up the gypsum.

 

[shambolic94]

Thanks for the responses. I set the Cl and SO4 the way I did because the Bru'n water spreadsheet recommends that SO4 be kept under 100ppm if Cl is over 100ppm--a recommendation I don't think I've seen anywhere else. My base water is already over 100ppm in Cl, so keeping the sulfate low seemed the only way to follow this recommendation. But maybe to start out it's better to get them closer to 1:1 and adjust from there in future brews.

As far as forgoing the acid, I've played around with the various spreadsheets, but it seems like my high levels of bicarbonate (which I believe is caused by my calcium carbonate filter) make it difficult to hit an appropriate mash ph without using acid.

 

[mabrungard]

An ion-exchange softener only replaces divalent cations (Ca, Mg, Fe, etc) with Na or K cations. It does not affect the chloride level of the finished water. When you add NaCl or KCl to the softener, that brine regenerates the ion exchanger and the wastewater is typically very high in those divalent cations along with chloride anion. The amount of Na or K that is added to the water is in direct proportion to the amount of the divalent ions they replace. Cheap machines add just as much Na as an expensive machine. It depends on the water supply, not the machine.

Apparently this water source also has high chloride and that carries through to the finished water. This is not ideal for brewing, but I understand the OP's predicament. The tap water is out. There is no question. But the softened water isn't great either. I'd suggest that including RO water in your brewing plans is the best way to produce great beer. You might benefit from small portions of the softened water in brewing (primarily for adding alkalinity for some mashes), but it needs to be somewhat minor. Bru'n Water will help you decide what that dilution should be.

PS: do try high sulfate with high chloride. It will help you understand why you don't want it in a great beer. It is the recipe for 'minerally' beer flavor.