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Water Report, Thoughts?

breezybrew

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So I received the water report from the lab today, Whoohoo! Here's the rundown -

pH 8.1
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 331
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.55
Cations / Anions, me/L 5.8 / 5.8

The following are in ppm:
Sodium, Na 38
Potassium, K 1
Calcium, Ca 69
Magnesium, Mg 8
Total Hardness, CaCO3 206
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 31
Chloride, Cl 32
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 168
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 147
Total Phosphorus, P 0.61
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

Is there any particular style that this would be good for?
 
As far as classic brewing waters go, your's is not much different than the water of Munich, which would mean than your water is best suited for beers containing dark or roasted malts, such as Dark Lager, Bock, Porter and Stout. If you want to brew pale beers, you will need to reduce the high Bicarb component in your water to have the best results. You can do this by adding small amounts of Lactic or Phosphoric acid to your mash water, or small amounts of Sour Malt to your grain bill.
The goal is to get your mash pH down to the 5.3-5.5 range for best mash performance.
If you will be continuous(fly) sparging, you will also need to add some acid to your sparge water to reduce it's pH to the 5.8-6.0 range, or you might extract tannins during the sparge.

Investing in an inexpensive pH Meter will save you a lot of trial-and-error time in recipe construction.
 
170ppm of hco3 is hard to reduce with acid alone without having a noticeable flavor impact.  I have q20ppm and I find that to be true. When I'm making low srm beers I cut my water 50% with distilled water. Then I adjust calcium, magnesium, chloride, and sulfate back to where I want them.

Ymmv. 

 
Your still adding acid after the %50 dilution?

I wonder about blending acid types to keep any one flavor from overpowering.
 
It depends on the beer, but yes generally I still have to add acid after mash in.  I set it up that way on purpose.  I plan my mineral additions using ez water to mash in at about 5.6 ph.  Then use lactic to drop the last 10th or so.  The ml or so of lactic acid is well below the taste threshold.  If I end up too low, then I need to use either chalk or bicarbonate.  Chalk is barely effective for me, so I generally will use bicarbonate.  I don't like to use bicarbonate either, because it adds sodium, which definitely affects the flavor profile. But, a little can be a good thing, especially in a malty balanced beer.

Well, that was a bit of a ramble.

If rather use inorganic acids like hcl, and h2so4...but, those are almost impossible to get in food grade as a lay person. That's another story.
 
thanks, I've got about 200ppm bicarbonate, but haven't tried using acid yet. I figure it would take a couple different types to not taste so much. I currently have lactic and citric, and will probably get some phosphoric as well. I see Tartatric and Malic blends available as well, but not much discussion outside of wine-making.
 
Phosphoric is great for reducing pH on the sparge water.  My pH is usually 8.5 to 9.0 and one drop lowers pH by about 2.0 in four gallons.
 
Where do you get the phsophoric from? Would "technical grade" be ok?

http://www.sciencecompany.com/-P6660C670.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shop&utm_campaign=prod
 
Is there a specific Lab  to send water to for a detailed analysis such as this?

I would also like to have my water tested.

Cheers!
 
That looks like a report from ward labs. W-5

http://www.wardlab.com/FeeSchedule/WaterAnalysis.aspx
 
grathan,

Most LHBS and on-line suppliers have phosphoric acid. Here's a link to More Beer's selection: http://morebeer.com/search/102199///Brewing_Water_Modifiers
 
Ahh thanks. I haven't bought anything from morebeer yet. :)
 
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