Water Chemistry and Making Adjustments

I purchased a homebrewer's water analysis from Ward labs. I use this as my base water in the Bru'n water spreadsheet, which I use to calculate adjustments. For what it's worth, when I went all grain, I just decided that my water tasted good and it was probably good enough. I brewed for several years without making water adjustments and everything seemed OK. Now that I know more about my water, I find I only have to make minor adjustments to hit the suggested marks for most recipes. Unless you know your water is bad (e.g., iron taste, build up of mineral deposits around your taps, etc) it probably does not need to be an immediate concern. (And if you know your water tastes bad, there is probably a good chance you should be buying your water or investing in an RO system).

 

I posted here before I responded to your question about partial mash. That jogged my memory, and the statement above where I imply that I didn't worry about chemistry is not quite accurate. As I explained in the partial mash post, I used that first partial mash to hedge my bets on whether my water was probably good enough.

Eventually, I became more interested in chemistry when I moved to a place with a well and thought there might be iron concerns, but it turned out not to be the case. My need to adjust water is minor.

 

I agree with pweiss909, if your water tastes good, then don't worry about water chemistry when first moving to all grain, with one exception. You should definitely treat tap water to get rid of chlorine/chloramines. 1/4 Campden tablet per 5 gallons will get rid of the chlorine/chloramine. This will make a big difference (in my experience, it did anyway.)

Before you do any more treatment of your water, it is imperative that you know the levels of Ca, Ma, Na, Cl, SO_4, and HCO_3 that are present in your water. Without knowing the levels of these ions, you will have no idea how you should treat your water. Get your water tested by Ward Labs.

Once you know these ions you can focus on getting your mash pH where is should be (~ 5.4). There are several calculators out there -- Brun Water, EZ water, MpH Water Calculator (my personal favorite ), and one on the Brewer's Friend website -- that will predict mash pH based on your water, grain bill, and any salts and/or acids that you might add. The models used in these calculators are all slightly different, but they will all get your mash pH in the ballpark. The exact salts and/or acids that you use can also help you tailor the flavor profile of your beers.

 

This gives you some basic information on what you need for water adjustments:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-4.html

That aside, do you have well water or municipal water? If the former, then buying a kit from Ward Labs is your best bet. Otherwise many municipal water companies will provide the information you need, just shoot them an e-mail or call.

You may also be able to find some information regarding water in your area from other brewers, as many people have posted their water report online.

As to your MLT and HLT needs, it will most likely be cheaper to build it yourself...which is absurdly easy. I would also suggest getting all SS parts, as there is some concern of lead leach from brass. It should be noted that the risk is quite low, and there are ways to "pickle" brass to make it even less of a concern. I choose to remove the possibility completely, but it will be a bit more expensive initially.

 

Agree with almost everything 'cept the part about your water tasting good and was probably good enough.

My east coast plain (well) water tasted good.
No iron.
No sulphur.
Not very hard.

Beers tasted OK but no where near as good as they did after adding salts and minerals per Bru'n Water.

OP:
The basic Bru'n Water .xls spreadsheet is free.
Ward Lab's $29 W-6 Household water test is all most home brewers need.

 

Oh, yes, I agree with you. I did not mean that the OP should ignore water chem forever if his water tasted good. Just that it may not need to prevent him from brewing all grain. I do think you can make a beer pop just right with water adjustment.

 

Agreed.
Not accounting for one's water chem is definitely no reason not to mash your own grains.
All else equal...it's more better than extract.

Given the OP is from MD:
MD's water could come from a chlorinated municipal source...a shallow well on the coastal plain...a well on the eastern piedmont...or a deep well in the mountains. One thing is more or less certain...the water 'tain't alkaline.