How's my water profile lookin'?

Hi All;

I just moved out to an acreage and I have received a complete analytical water profile from teh date when the well was drilled. the well was just tied into our house. The water is clear and tastes decent to me (my wife thinks it tastes a bit funny. the water does leave some very light orange residue (easy to wipe off) in the toilet bowls that I have been told is attributed to the iron content. We are having a softener installed this week and to have it de ironed.

I have attached a JPG of the water analysis.

My question is how does the water profile look for straight up use for brewing? Can one use softened water for brewing? I know you can drink softened water, but I think with the salts it's a completely different story for brewing. Should I use the untreated water or invest in an RO unit and then begin to fiddle? I just ordered Water from Kaminski and Palmer, but it has not arrivedyet and I want to unleash some brewing goodness here!

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

It's an interesting water report. The analysis dates to 2008, so I think you should have it renewed before installing any new processing equipment. The analysis says that your measured iron content is below their detectable (RDL) levels. In other words, effectively zero. This indicates that you may have rust issues in your pipes, which can usually be stabilized for less than a softener.

What type of softening method are you going to employ? A salt based softener isn't good for brewing. Ions taken out of the water (typically calcium and magnesium) are important yeast nutrients and are replaced by sodium (at twice the ion concentration) which inhibits yeast. Plus, the beer can taste salty.

A resin type softener will take care of iron because it's even more reactive than calcium and magnesium. But, a system that oxidizes the iron, then filters it will leave most of the other mineral ions in the water, which is good for brewing, maybe not so much for laundry.

Again, I think you need a new analysis.

For brewing with the water, what you have indicates a very high RA (Residual Alkalinity), which will make mash pH hard to achieve without some acidification.

Do a test mash.

What you want to do is make a mini mash with 100 gm of pale malt (that you'd typically use) and crush it to basically a powder. Mix it with 250 ml of 76oC water, cover and insulate it for 15 minutes.

Then chill the whole mixture to room temperature (still covered) and measure the pH. This is your "standing" or natural pH of your water. From the looks of the old report, it could be as high as 6.4 pH. From the RA, you could use on the order of 5 ml/L in the mash water. Sparge just needs to be buffered, which could be as little as 0.25 ml/L.

Once you know the current numbers, you can use a water calculator, like Bru'n Water, to get things in line.

Hey thanks for replying.

The analysis was done in 2008 right after the well was drilled and the well then was cased and capped until this year when we just tied it in. do you think that the composition of the water could change in a well over that period of time? I suppose maybe depending what is being cycled through the aquifer.

The water softener that was installed was this one

http://www.novowater.com/Uploads/Brochures/485HELaunch.pdf

So it is a salt based softener. That being the case, i guess i wont be able to use that water then for brewing.

But yes I will try the test mash too.

What are your thoughts on using an RO treatment on unsoftened water directly from the well? 

Thanks again,

markus

telemarkus said:

Do you think that the composition of the water could change in a well over that period of time? I suppose maybe depending what is being cycled through the aquifer.

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Absolutely, in the time since the first analysis. Water quality can change drastically if there's been substantial development in the area. Even natural changes in the water table can and often do occur due to weather. If you're serious about brewing often, getting two water samples analyzed per year would be insightful, even if they're identical (which would be best case).

What are your thoughts on using an RO treatment on unsoftened water directly from the well? 

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Hook up the RO post softener. Salt is much easier on an RO system than calcium. You can then control the minerals you add for both yeast health and flavor. A popular and highly simplified ratio is 5mg each of Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Chloride per 20 liters to start.

Google "Water Chemistry Primer" for the source of that ratio and an endless discussion of variations. However, if chemistry isn't your first love, be prepared to be thoroughly confused before becoming enlightened. It happens to everyone.  8)

Ok I will run a test again. In Canada for a full analytical test it is about $300 CDN (isnt that like $50US   ) But I wonder if I can get away with a cheaper analysis that does not check everything like in the one I attached. Really, I guess I just need to know the Ca, Na, Fe and Carbonates? hardness and Alkalinity and Ph?

Googles water chemistry....the can of worms is open. I will sift through it more.

Thanks again.

telemarkus said:

In Canada for a full analytical test it is about $300 CDN (isnt that like $50US   ) But I wonder if I can get away with a cheaper analysis that does not check everything like in the one I attached. Really, I guess I just need to know the Ca, Na, Fe and Carbonates? hardness and Alkalinity and Ph?

Click to expand...

Wow! That's a lot of money, especially with the current exchange rate. I'm not sure I'd spend for more than one of those, either.

Yes, the water report needed for brewing is a lot less detailed.

For Contaminents (mg/L or ppm):
Coliforms
Nitrate
Iron
Lead
Flouride

For Brewing (mg/L or ppm):
pH
Total Hardness (usually as CaCO3)
Total Alkalinity (as CaCO3)
Calcium
Magnesium
Sulfate
Chloride
Sodium
*Some of these can be calculated from CaCO3 total hardness.

Ok, Excellent. WIll try to get a dumbed down version.  ;D