Idaho Falls Water (Fall water supply)
Ca 66ppm
Mg 20ppm
Na 24ppm
Sulfate 39ppm
Chloride 14ppm
Bicarb 307ppm
Total Hardness 247ppm
Alkalinity 254ppm
I have sampled my water throughout the year at different times with very little variance.
My bicarb/alkalinity sucks so i cut with store bought RO at $2 for 5 gal for most beers.
Use 88% lactic to adjust mash to desired PH with respect to the grist. acidify sparge if needed with 88% lactic.
I defiantly use water software (brunwater), its a must.
Adjust ion concentration as desired for style
Monitor PH with 2 pt calibrated meter of mash, sparge, pre boil, post boil and finial beer PH
Spokane Valley water
Sodium 6
Potassium 2
Calcium 35
Magnesium 12
Total Hardness 138
Nitrate 1.5 (SAFE)
Sulfate 4
Chloride 7
Carbonate < 1
Bicarbonate 151
Total Alkalinity 124
My city water supply has fairly high bicarbonate level, but it is still low enough to be acidified using 70% or 85% phosporic acid when required without causing off flavors. Also, this water does not contain chlorine or chloramines, so I usually brew straight from the tap. Hoppy, light colored beers typically get gypsum, calcium chloride and the phosphoric acid, dark beers might get a little pickling lime rather than phosphoric acid.
I do 50/50 with bulk purchased RO water for beers calling for soft water, such as Czech pilsner.
And I also use the paid version of Bru’n Water ;D. I haven’t lab tested my tap water different times of the year, but have talked with the water district who’ve told me it varies little throughout the year, which has been confirmed by my experience of hitting my pH year round based on the single water profile I use in Bru’n Water. I always check my mash pH with ColorpHast strips, estimating the actual pH as .3 higher than indicated per Kai’s and others’ tests.
Just started playing with water profiles. I found a water report that someone else posted from my city. I use the BeerSmith and adjust as needed for style.
Went a little crazy when I found my LHBS had additives in bulk. Like $.10-.25 an ounce. So I have more than I will ever use.
I think that, after mastering a few basic techniques like sanitation, mashing/sparging, hitting fermentation temps, etc, most brewers are producing “pretty good” beers. Improvement beyond that point will be subtler, and require smaller, more detailed changes - the brewing equivalent of the law of diminishing returns. That’s sort of where I am with water additions; my beer is pretty good (sometimes better than that), and I think I have the basics down, but further improvement may come from paying attention to mash pH, and making a few (minor) mineral and acid additions (to my municipal tap water). I have to admit, I’m excited just by the prospect of developing new expertise, but I also look forward to continually improving my beers. I guess at some point I’ll be satisfied, and if that’s where you are, that’s great. But, in the mean time, I’m enjoying the process as much as the results.
Agreed! I have really hard water in my area, so for dark beers I usually do 100% tap water with cambden tablets and open container overnight to evaporate the chloramines. If it’s an amber or golden beer, I will split my water with tap and distilled water. Sometimes I’m 50/50, other times I’m 80/20, and even shoot for 100% distilled if I’m rocking a helles. I also use Bru’n Water and it helps with putting in the local water profile and combating it with hitting your pH values without overdosing. I’ve dumped some of my first “salt-altered” beers that I added multiple minerals to because it tasted horrible. I suggest using a minimalistic approach and only starting with one or two types of different brewing salts. You’ll get tons of answers, but go with what you feel is best. If it doesn’t work, revamp and try again.
Assuming you can succeed at all or most of the other brewing and fermenting practices through study and practice, carefully adjusting your mash and sparge water often is the difference between ending up with a good beer or a great beer. A lot of the work has been done for you if you have good desired final water profiles as part of your water treatment software to choose from to match the style you are brewing. Then, if you have the necessary various salts, etc. on hand, the rest can be as simple as tinkering with your input, until you closely match the profile, hopefully a day or more before brew day. Until I really learned what salts work best for my water and the styles I like to brew, I just bought some of all of the various salts / additives. If I don’t use them, its nice to have them on hand in case sometime I do need them!
I always suggest that with few exceptions, people avoid using distilled water as your base water. You can add mineral-rich nutrients to provide the minerals that you need for a healthy ferment, but why not instead start with tap, well, spring or RO water that comes with those necessary minerals not found in the standard water treatment additives. And of those, tap water is the best since once you have that water tested, you have a constant or relatively constant existing water profile needed to then adjust to hit your desired final water profile. That is, you need to know your starting point!
Obviously not all tap or well water is good as a base water, but I honestly believe that many people who buy bulk / bottled water to brew with could instead do what is way easier, namely use their tap water with some minor adjustments, once they learned with the help of good software, what to add to hit their desired profile and pH.
I have stirred in potassium metabisulfite (or crushed campden tablets) to cool uncovered tap water containing chlorine or chloramines, and at the right dosage it makes the water ready for brewing in a matter of a few minutes. As I recall, one campden tablet will treat up to 20 gallons of water. IMHO, doubling the minimum needed is just good insurance and won’t hurt your final product one iota. Of course, you can instead carbon filter chlorinated tap water but it is more costly, work-intensive, and time consuming. My thought is that if an easier path exists that works satisfactorily, I will use it!
