Well water?

Couple of questions for the test tube crew.

Looking at the report from my water district, it seems they occasionally purchase water from neighboring agencies, but not sure how often that happens, and can't tell if they're that much different anyway.

Also have a buddy around the corner who has a well. Was thinking about sending some in for analysis. Any downside with well water? Not having to deal with chloramine/chlorine seems big up side.

Here's district report if anyone wants to take a stab at decoding it for me
http://www.rlecwd.com/files.php?id=...edpqAecOBxc8u_SOKcdi9l336oDBA_J8dusdL4wdlaj6Q.

There are no inherent downsides to well water in general- it just depends on the mineral content. My well water is great for drinking, but I don't use it for brewing because it has a high iron content which seems to affect the flavor of the beer after aging in bottles for a few weeks (took a few batches to figure that out, unfortunately!). Just try your buddy's well water and see how it comes out. If the beer tastes good, keep using it!

Nice avatar, by the way.

For most places, well water tends to be higher in alkalinity and hardness. But it is also more stable throughout the seasons.

I'm getting 404 on the link.

As for detecting seasonal changes, I suggest you get a GH&KH test kit and/or a simple DO meter to keep track of mineral content changes in the water.

Kai

HeadyKilowatt said:

Nice avatar, by the way.

Click to expand...

Thanks, came with the user name:fro:

Kaiser said:

For most places, well water tends to be higher in alkalinity and hardness. But it is also more stable throughout the seasons.

I'm getting 404 on the link.

As for detecting seasonal changes, I suggest you get a GH&KH test kit and/or a simple DO meter to keep track of mineral content changes in the water.

Kai

Click to expand...

I like the idea of stable throughout the seasons.

Link still works for me and opens PDF, but might be cached. Link on this page.
http://www.rlecwd.com/view/27

I get DO, but GH&KH, not a clue.

Thanks, Dale

+1 on what Kai says. If you have a baseline knowledge of the major ions in the water and know that there can be seasonal variation, then using the test kits is a great way to at least enable you to keep the mash pH components in control.

MrNatural said:

I get DO, but GH&KH, not a clue.

Click to expand...

I don't see how a DO measurement is going to be very useful to you but the others can be.

GH = 'General Harte', the German term for what is called in North America 'Total Hardness'.
KH = 'Karbonat Harte', the German term for what is called in North America 'alkalinity'. Many people use kits made by a German aquarium supplier and so the GH & KH terminology is common. There are lots of kits made by US pool and water testing companies which use the more common nomenclature and more common 'ppm as CaCO3'.

You don't even have to buy a kit. You can put together what you need for alkalinity testing for a few $. See http://www.wetnewf.org/pdfs/measuring-alkalinity.html

Thanks AJ, a lot of good reading - bookmarked.

Probably put this on the parking lot, and just send buddy's well water to lab. Already pretty engaged with brewstand, control box, grain mill and hops garden projects.