Water Profile

That report doesn't really have the info you need. You need to know the exact (not ranges) ppm (or mg/l) for the following...

Ca
Mg
Na
Cl
SO4
Alkalinity as HCO3 or as CaCO3

I suppose you could take the ranges and use some value from the middle of each range. But the test sample for each ion seems to be dated (with a single date), so I don't know why they would be giving you a range. The report also doesn't seem to list Total Alkalinity.

 

If you really want to dial in your water chemistry, you should send off a sample to Ward Labs. The city reports point you in a general direction, but I wouldn't dare call them accurate for the water coming out of your tap.

You should get a sample every month or so to see how consistent the levels are. Profiles will change moderately over the course of months or even weeks depending on where you live.

Once you have a clear understanding of your water profile, I suggest using Bru'n Water for the following (cited from their website):

• The reported quality of [your] water source and water report,
• Calculate acid additions for sparging water adjustment,
• Calculate how to adjust the mashing and brewing water to meet a particular water profile, and
• Accurately assess if the mash water chemistry will produce an appropriate mashing pH

 

I started down the water profile path a while ago. My local water reports only test for "bad stuff" and don't test for the ions needed for brewing. I also confirmed this with the water quality engineer at the water company. Even if they did include the results for what brewers need, they are inaccurate since they change frequently over time in my area due to environmental variations and obtaining water from several sources.

Ward Labs as VikeMan said is a good source for water testing. The local lab in my area charge a lot of money for each test, and would total over $300. Ward Labs only charged $42 for a brewers test. After that I bought a BrewLab water test kit which came with enough materials to perform many tests. I compared my results to those from Ward Labs and they were close. It's all I use now. My brews have improved a lot due to adjusting the water profile.

 

If you get an alkalinity test kit for aquariums for about $15 then you can test your liquor for each batch and get your alkalinity right {the most important thing}

 

Then start with RO and make it easy on yourself

 

I do the Brewer's test. I typically send in my own sample vs. ordering the kit... saves a few bucks.

Hope you find the results beneficial. Cheers!

 

Not trying to hijack this thread but figured I wouldn't start another "water profile" thread with this one on top.

I just got my report from Ward labs, entered it into Brewcipher and did notice much change. I did see on one that had the mash pH go orange. But was at a lose for what to do. I put in random numbers into what appear to be spots for what you will add and started to notice things change. But I guess I am hung up on having to guess to figure out what to add. Is it really just add stuff until Brewcipher says your good?

Also is there any benefit to one salt or acid addition over the other? I noticed on one brew, I could add acids (was thinking acid malt would be best) or salts and reduce the pH, so does it matter which I choose?

Just trying to figure out the best way to get the most out of my water report.
For reference this is what I got:
-pH: 7.1
-TDS mmho/cm: 70
-Electrical conductivity: .12
-Cations/Anion, me/L: 1.3/1.2
-Na: 5
-K: <1
-Mg: 3
-CaCO3: 50
-NO3-N: .6
-SO4-S: 2
-Cl: 3
-CO3: <1
-HCO3: 57
-CaCO3: 47
-P: .02
-Fe: <.02

 

@Granitebeard, when you are adjusting your water you are trying to get several different variables into acceptable ranges. Since the variables are interconnected, this can be tricky. Here is how I do it.

The very first thing is to make sure the water is pure and good-tasting. Chlorine will degas over time, so you can measure out your water a day in advance and then it should be ready to go on brew day. Chloramines are used precisely because they don't degas (or at least, not nearly as quickly), and so for those you will need to filter (use a carbon block filter or something like that, not a Brita-type filter). Another option is to add campden tablets, but I prefer to add ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Even a tiny amount is effective to remove chlorine and chloramine - I often use 1/8 teaspoon.

[Edited to clarify: chlorine and chloramine are not a problem for everyone. For instance, many cities don't use chloramine, in which case you don't have to worry about it. I mention it here because these are commonly found in tap water and they can reportedly have a very negative effect on the flavor of the beer.]

Next you should figure out your target for the flavor ions (sulfate and chloride). A lot of recipes will indicate roughly what they are aiming for, and if not, you can look up numbers that are appropriate for the style you are brewing. On a very general level (with important exceptions), malty beers tend to call for a higher level of chloride, while hoppy beers tend to call for a higher level of sulfate. (I urge you to delve deeper into the appropriate levels for your chosen style, though.)

Now go to your water spreadsheet. Fill in the data for your tap water, and also fill in your recipe. Go to the water adjustment page and adjust the additions of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate (gypsum) to achieve your desired levels of chloride and sulfate. One thing to consider is whether there is sufficient calcium in your beer (most people aim for a minimum of 40 or 50 ppm, although for some styles you can get away with less). I typically adjust my additions of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate upward, keeping the ratio within the style guidelines, until I have at least 45-50 ppm of calcium.

You now know how much calcium chloride and calcium sulfate you are going to add, and that variable won't change throughout the rest of the process.

Now refer to the predicted pH of the mash. Is it above the recommended level or below? Or is it just right?

If it is just right, then you are done! Congratulations on designing your first water adjustment!

If the predicted pH is too high, then you need to bring it down to the appropriate level. One way to do that is to add a few ounces of acidulated malt to the mash. You can also simply add lactic acid. There should be somewhere on the spreadsheet that allows you to do this. Lactic acid won't affect the levels of flavor ions, so you don't need to worry about going back and revisiting the salt additions.

If the predicted pH is too low, then you have a few options. Calcium chloride and calcium sulfate lower the pH of the mash, so one thing you can do is add them directly to the kettle (post-mash) instead. Write down how much you are going to add and then remove the additions from the spreadsheet. If this pushes your pH into the correct range, then you are all set. Just remember to add the salts to the boil instead of to the mash.

If your pH is still too low, consider steeping some/all of your roasted grains, rather than mashing them. (Roasted malts and crystal malts tend to push the mash pH downward.) Again, write down how much you want in total, and then remove a portion of the roasted malts from the recipe in the spreadsheet (bearing in mind that you will still add them to the beer, having separately steeped them).

Following the steps above, I think you should be able to come up with appropriate water adjustments for your recipe. I'm sure this is not as clear as it should be, so feel free to ask questions.

 

Some pretty good advice from @minderbender above. Here's an approach I've recommended before...

- Take care of mash pH first, by adding salts up to and including (but not exceeding) the levels of Chlorides and/or Sulfate (flavor ions) you want for flavor.
- If mash pH is still too high after maxing your flavor ions, add acid
- If mash pH is still too low after maxing your flavor ions, add Pickling Lime or Baking Soda
- If pH is good, but you want higher levels of flavor ions, add more salts in the kettle after the mash

 

O_O

Have to say the small step towards making better beer looks more like a large leap after reading that....

Delving deeper. Is there a good source for the flavor ions for different styles or is that built into brewcipher too?

 

BrewCipher does have at least one style appropriate recommended profile for each style. You can pick it from the dropdown in the last row of the Water Results box. If you want to use a recommended profile, then it's a matter of adding salts to get the attained ion concentrations close.

 

This book has been immensely helpful: https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993

 

@Granitebeard, I know the length of my post is a little intimidating, but I think you'll find that conceptually it's not as bad as it looks. A lot of the costs are front-loaded. Once you have your water profile entered into your spreadsheet, you'll probably never have to do it again (some people find that their water varies seasonally, but unless you find it to be a problem, you can probably ignore this). And once you have the hang of the salt additions, you will find that they are trivially easy. For instance, let's say you want to brew a style like a New England IPA, which is known for its aggressive chloride content. So let's say you aim for 150 ppm chloride and 80 ppm sulfate, as recommended here. [Errrr sorry, I think I meant here.] It's no problem at all to figure out how much calcium chloride and calcium sulfate that will require - just plug numbers into the spreadsheet until you've dialed it in.

And then it's just figuring out pH. That can be a little trickier, but it needn't be all that intimidating. I tried to lay out the most basic options for adjusting pH, but as @VikeMan pointed out, it can be as simple as adding acid or base to the mash.

Anyway I guess what I want to emphasize is, please don't mistake my verbosity for actual difficulty in the process. I was trying to be as clear and simple as possible, which (I thought) required a lot of words. The process itself will take you maybe 30 minutes the first time, then maybe 10 minutes for each subsequent batch (and 0 minutes when you repeat a recipe, unless you have some desire to change the salt balance).

 

I think it is more the aspect of "flavor" from salts that seems to be the daunting thing to me. Yea I get it seems easy, I guess I would be worried about adding too much or something and messing up. I'm pessimistic you see. Never really thought of beer that way so it just seems like much.

 

For a flavor perspective, you can read up on it on Bru'nWater's water knowledge page, or in the Water Book. Or in "How To Brew." If you haven't done that, I highly recommend it. If you have, but are still uncertain, plenty of people here can help clarify anything you've read in one of those sources. (There's also @utahbeerdude's white papers, but I'd read them after the other online sources. His stuff is excellent, but a bit more technically oriented.)

You could always post your contemplated water profiles here for comment, just like a recipe critique. A common mistake is to load up with additions that are serving no real purpose and are fighting against each other (from a pH perspective). It probably happens to everyone at first. But if you post here, you can avoid that.

 

I bought the kit from MoreBeer.
https://www.morebeer.com/
https://www.morebeer.com/search?search=water+test+kit

I purchased the LaMotte - BrewLab Basic Water Test Kit 7189-01 since I already had a pH meter.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/lamotte-brewlab-basic-water-test-kit-718901.html

The BrewLab Plus Water Test Kit 7188-01 has the same tests but includes a pH meter.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/lamotte-brewlab-water-test-kit-718801.html

Manufacturers website with details:
http://www.lamotte.com/en/food-beverage/7188-01.html

The kit comes with enough materials to perform ~50 tests and the following results are obtained:

Total Hardness (CaCO3 ppm)
Calcium Hardness (CaCO3 ppm)
Calcium Ca+2
Magnesium Hardness
Magnesium Mg+2
Chloride ppm
Sulfate ppm
Total Alkalinity (CaCO3 ppm)
Residual Alkalinity
Sodium ppm
Bicarbonate (HCO3)

I'm not a water chemistry expert and would be interested in what those with more knowledge have to say about these tests.

 

The list you posted certainly covers the ions of interest. If you're going to use the test kit long term (up to 50 times it seems), and if nobody can tell you for sure how good it is, it might be worth getting a single Ward Lab report using a sample split between the Ward test and the home kit test, to find out how good the home kit actually is.

 

I did compare the results between Ward Labs and the BrewLab home kit and they were close (can't find the results now else I'd post them). I may redo the comparison again sometime just to verify. My brew quality has improved a lot since adjusting the chemistry, and since I'm not doing anything as serious as splitting atoms I feel there's no rush.