is my well water suitable for brewing?

[twd000]

I'm preparing to resume brewing after a long hiatus. My tap water is from our well, which I had tested when we bought our house 3 years ago. Is this water profile suitable for brewing with some adjustments? I don't see sulfate #'s on the test, so do I need to send out a Ward Labs test? Do I want W-5A Brewers's, or W-5 Household Complete test? https://www.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.php

I also downloaded the Bru'n Water spreadsheet and started playing with that. On Tab 1. - what are the two blue columns B and C for? Aren't mg/L and ppm the same thing? Do I enter values in both columns or just one?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Looks reasonable, but you do want to know the sulfate level if you plan to use that water (brewer's test).

I'm a big fan of using RO water and building the mineral levels manually.

I don't have brun water in front of me but there should be only one cell to enter each value. Perhaps the other is to select the unit.

 

[day_trippr]

You're looking at the Ion conversion calculator. Typically you don't need to use it (I didn't) but it depends on your water report format.
From the instructions:

"2. Water reports can be difficult to understand and they sometimes have errors. A warning will display on the Water Report Input sheet if the ion inputs are out of balance. If the warning is displayed, double check the reporting units from the water report and convert any quantities that are not reported in actual ppm or mg/L units for each ion. Sometimes, water reports provide information in units other than ppm or mg/L and those values need to be converted. For example: (not as ppm as CaCO3, or not as Sulfate as Sulfur (SO4-S), or not as Nitrate as Nitrogen (N03-N) ). There is a Conversion tool at the bottom of the Water Report Input sheet to aid the brewer in converting reported values to their actual ionic concentrations. For accurate results, the ionic content of your water must be known and entered properly. The ion balance warning will disappear when the input is reasonably balanced. Be sure to dechlorinate your brewing water if you get your water from a municipal supply!"

Cheers!

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

You will need to know within reason how much Ca++ and Mg++ your water has, but alas they are not present for your water report. We can make a fair first guess though. Kai Troester studied a bunch of different waters and concluded that a fair first guess is that 70% of a waters total hardness comes from calcium and 30% of its total hardness comes from magnesium.

Your waters total hardness is 137 PPM.

We know that:
Total Hardness = (2.5 * Ca++) + (4.12 * Mg++)

We surmise that 137 * 0.70 = 95.9 : wherein this 95.9 ppm of hardness is surmised to be due to Ca++
We further surmise that 137 * 0.30 = 41.1 : wherein this 41.1 ppm of hardness is surmised to be due to Mg++

For Ca++:
2.5*Ca++ = 95.9
Ca++ = 38.36 ppm

For Mg++:
4.12*Mg++ = 41.1
Mg++ = 9.98 ppm

Proof:
137 = 2.5*38.36 + 4.12*9.98 = TRUE (within rounding error)

So if you water is typical of many other waters, on first approximation your calcium is ~=38.36 ppm, and your Magnesium is ~=9.98 ppm

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Lastly you can solve for the unknown sulfate content in ppm by doing a cation/anion balance test and varying the SO4-- ion until full cation/anion balance is achieved. This will get you pretty close on the unknown SO4. Then you will have a complete water analysis.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

And if you happen to be using software that requests bicarbonate instead of alkalinity, then (for all practical purposes):

61/50 * Alkalinity = Bicarbonate

 

[mabrungard]

It would be wise to obtain that testing on your water. The one thing that might be slightly problematic, is the iron content. Its approaching the limit and it might affect beer flavor.

 

[twd000]

thanks for the comments. I now realize that the two columns are cations on the left and anions on the right, not a unit conversion. (I got a D in undergrad chemistry)

While waiting for my Ward Labs results, I played with the sulfate to get a balanced result, 30-90 ppm cleared the error, so I guess 60 ppm to split the difference. This gives me

Ca = 38 ppm
Mg= 10 ppm
Na = 15 ppm
Bicarb = 124 ppm
Sulfate = 60 ppm
Alkalinity = 102 ppm

I'll start playing with the other spreadsheet tabs for a test recipe

 

[twd000]

Got my test results from Ward Labs. Iron was below detection limits. Only major difference from previous report is that sulfate was 4*3 = 12 ppm, quite a bit lower than my guess at an ion balance. Any input given the low sulfate levels? Are there styles that would be suitable for my un-treated water?

 

[twd000]

does this mean I have a ~0.1 sulfate:chloride ratio, meaning I will be making extremely malty beers (almost no bitterness) unless I modify my water?

 

[mabrungard]

That ratio has no bearing on how malty a beer is. Especially when the concentrations are that low.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

That looks like nice water there. I'd knock out the alkalinity and brew with it as is.

 

[twd000]

That looks like nice water there. I'd knock out the alkalinity and brew with it as is.

how do I knock out the alkalinity?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

how do I knock out the alkalinity?

Most of us do it with either Lactic or Phosphoric acid. Most mash pH assistant software (with mine included) will give you quantity guidance for your chosen acid and its percent concentration, in conjunction with how much water you require. Your sparge water should be acidified to a pH of ~5.4. Your mash water may need to be acidified more than that or less than that, and this will depend upon your grist (your recipes malts/grains, and their quantities).

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

how do I knock out the alkalinity?

1) For 91 mg/L (ppm) of alkalinity you will need to add roughly 2.7 mL of 88% Lactic Acid to every 5 gallons of your water.
2) For 10% phosphoric acid you will need to add roughly 29 mL of Phosphoric Acid to every 5 gallons of your water.

This should get your water to approximately 5.4 pH. If you are brewing a light colored recipe you may need to acidify further.

 

[hilts]

how do I knock out the alkalinity?

I use dry citric acid.....about 3/4 tsp per 5 gallon batch. It's cheaper and a one pound bag will last forever.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I use dry citric acid.....about 3/4 tsp per 5 gallon batch. It's cheaper and a one pound bag will last forever.

Do you taste it in the final beer? How high is your alkalinity in ppm? What pH is achieved by this acid addition?

 

[hilts]

Do you taste it in the final beer? How high is your alkalinity in ppm? What pH is achieved by this acid addition?

I tested my water many years ago, and adjusted from there. My well water changes so much from week to week, I just target a mash ph of 5.2. I add 1/2 tsp per 5 gallon batch in strike water , test after dough in, and add another 1/2 tsp if still over 5.4. I also add 1/2 tsp to sparge water.

As for taste...I can't notice it. I sprinkled a few grains into a glass of water and it's unnoticeable. I also like citrusy hop varietals, so maybe it just blends in.

Also, I've heard that citric acid is the stuff that coats 'sour patch kids' candy.

 

[couchsending]

Do not waste your money on 10% phosphoric acid!

You can buy 1 gallon of food grade 85% phosphoric acid from Duda Diesel for $29.95. THAT will last a lifetime.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

For 91 mg/L (ppm) of alkalinity you will need to add roughly 2.1 mL of 85% Phosphoric Acid to every 5 gallons of your water to bring it to pH 5.4.

But beware that 85% phosphoric acid is leagues more dangerous to handle than 88% lactic acid (which itself is dangerous enough).

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Do not waste your money on 10% phosphoric acid!

You can buy 1 gallon of food grade 85% phosphoric acid from Duda Diesel for $29.95. THAT will last a lifetime.

Just curious. Do they present the food grade classification directly on the label, or is it perhaps only seen on their website?

 

[mabrungard]

I believe that strong acids have to be shipped as Hazardous when they are shipped in a quantity greater than 1 quart. Of course, that means that the shipping cost goes way up. Buying only a quart of strong acid is probably enough for most homebrewers.

Always make sure that the acids or minerals you use in brewing are food-grade or reagent grade to avoid potentially hazardous impurities.