Water Chemistry

[davebl]

So in the chat, PC and Tank were discussing water chemistry. I don't understand any of it right now, figure this will be a good time to get started.

I sent a sample of my water to Ward Labs and got back this report. This is my filtered, brewing water, caught on its way into the MLT and HLT.

So what does everything mean.... and I hate to ask such an ambiguous questions. Is there any measurement that is just WAY out of line?

pH: 7.4
Total Disolved Solids TDS: 66
Electrical Conductivity: 0.11
Cations/Anions, me/L: 0.8/0.6
Sodium, NA: 9
Potassium, K: 1
Calcium, Ca: 6
Magnesium, Mg: < 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3: 19
Nitrate, NO3-N: 0.3 (safe)
Sulfate, SO4-S: 5
Chloride, Cl: 7
Carbonate, CO3: < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3: 9
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3: 7


So... What do you think?

[Tankard]

Are those all measured in mg/L (ppm)? Some of those, like sulfate, seem kind of low.

I'm very, very new to this too. From what I understand, the important ones to look at are calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, sulfate, and the total alkalinity.

[Lerxst]

Palmer goes into mash pH here:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-2.html

..and the target brewing ranges for various ions:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-1.html

But taking a quick look at your report, you've got soft water that looks good for really pale brews as is.

[Tankard]

I'm using that EZ water adjustment spreadsheet from TBH. Is there a reason why you can select from either Bicarbonate (HCO3) and Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)? Choosing one over the other does produce different results in the calculations. Do certain water reports pick only one? I noticed that Beersmith only has a field for Bicarbonate, not calcium carbonate.

[mr x]

Very good water to work with. My brewing water is also very soft. You should notice differences in IPAs and stouts if you start making adjustments for those styles of beers. I use Beersmith to calculate my ppms. Palmer's spreadsheet bugs me because you can't use salt.

[davebl]

Alright, I plan to brew an IPA this week. I used my water report and the EZ Water Adjustment site to start screwing with the numbers.

My beer, an IPA has an IBU of of 64, OG of 1.064 (1:1 BU:GU ratio) and an SRM of 9.6 using Daniels to calculate.

Looking at the screen shot of what it spit out, does 4 grams of chalk and epsom salts in the mash (or 3.1 of each in the boil) sound fine?

Which would be better additions, mash or boil? Where do you get chalk for brewing?

What's the best calculator for color: Mosher, Daniels, or Morey with respect to brewing water calculations?

http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy325/weldlessfittings/waterchemistry.jpg