Just got my water results. What do I have???

[brew2enjoy]

My plan is to brew BM's Blonde ale this weekend. I just got my water analysis results from Wards Labs. I have only recently started reading about water chemistry so I have no idea what I'm looking at here. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

pH 5.6
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 255
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.43
Cations / Anions, me/L 3.5 / 3.3
ppm
Sodium, Na 32
Potassium, K 4
Calcium, Ca 18
Magnesium, Mg 13
Total Hardness, CaCO3 99
Nitrate, NO3-N 21.0 (UNSAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 7
Chloride, Cl 32
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 28
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 23

 

[Grinder12000]

Best source I have seen is Palmers. How To Brew book. Good info there. Maybe later tonight I'll look at your numbers. Need more beer in me first.

Nice PH though. Close to 5.2

Calcium seems low if that 18 is ppm. Should be 50 to 150.

 

[tgmartin000]

pH 5.6? That doesn't make sense. You'll need massive additions of alkalinity to keep your mash ph in range. You sure It wasn't 7.6? Other than that, maybe a little gypsum to bring up your calcium, since your sulfate seems low.

Other than that, looks like you have moderately soft water with low alkalinity which is generally good for brewing.

 

[mabrungard]

There seems to be a serious problem with this water. The nitrate levels are extremely high. Converting the NO3-N level to straight NO3, the concentration is 93 ppm. Considering the MCL for nitrate is 10 ppm, that is a problem. The good thing is that the MCL is based on infants consuming this water. Adults are far less affected. But, this nitrate concentration could be getting to the point where the nitrate is getting converted to nitrite and that is injurous to yeast. I take it that the OP is located in an agricultural area and the water came from a well.

The rest of the parameters are relatively unremarkable and the water could otherwise work for brewing.

Might be time to re-think your water supply. The water report says UNSAFE for a reason. It is.

Regarding the water pH, it is in line with the water having very little alkalinity. Otherwise, the water pH has little meaning to brewing.

 

[brew2enjoy]

Sorry guys, I forgot a few details. This is water from a well. We just bought this house last June, but I have lived in this neighborhood for 25 years (grew up down the street). I have been told that this area used to be an apple orchard some 50-60 years ago. Could that be the source of the high nitrate concentration? I copy/pasted these results directly from the Wards Lab results they sent me this afternoon so they are the correct numbers. Is there anything I can do to make this water safe to brew with? I have already brewed an IIPA using this water that is currently aging and it tastes fantastic. But I'm not going to continue to use this water if it can't be "fixed"

 

[Yooper]

Sorry guys, I forgot a few details. This is water from a well. We just bought this house last June, but I have lived in this neighborhood for 25 years (grew up down the street). I have been told that this area used to be an apple orchard some 50-60 years ago. Could that be the source of the high nitrate concentration? I copy/pasted these results directly from the Wards Lab results they sent me this afternoon so they are the correct numbers. Is there anything I can do to make this water safe to brew with? I have already brewed an IIPA using this water that is currently aging and it tastes fantastic. But I'm not going to continue to use this water if it can't be "fixed"

I wouldn't even drink that water with the nitrate level like it is. That would kill my fish in my aquarium for sure.

But I'm a hippie and also don't use BPA lined cans, or cosmetics, or anything unhealthy.

 

[brew2enjoy]

I am a little shocked by the nitrate levels as well, but I didn't really know what it meant. After a little searching on the web, it seems to only be a problem for infants. Am I missing something there? Other than that, how does my water look?

I guess until I know for sure, I'll be brewing with distilled water and adding minerals as needed. I was hoping to be able to use my tap water and save some money.

 

[ajdelange]

I have been told that this area used to be an apple orchard some 50-60 years ago. Could that be the source of the high nitrate concentration?

Doubt it after 50 - 60 yrs though agricultural runoff is a common source of nitrate. But another is nitrate bearing rock and I expect that's what you have.

Is there anything I can do to make this water safe to brew with? I have already brewed an IIPA using this water that is currently aging and it tastes fantastic. But I'm not going to continue to use this water if it can't be "fixed"

I think it's safe for adults. Do you have an occupancy permit for the house? If you do that says the county considers your well safe (at least that's the case here in Fairfax County, VA). You should be able to brew with it but must be extra careful with sanitation such that no nitrate reducing bacteria get a whack at the NO3-. Were I you I would get a nitrite test too.

As for rendering it "safe" 1:1.1 dilution with RO would do that (getting the nitrate down to the 10 ppm level. This would also knock that sodium down and reduce sulfate to the levels you could do pils, helles... with. You would have to supplement calcium for many beers but you'd have to do that with the undiluted water too.

 

[Brulosopher]

I wouldn't even drink that water with the nitrate level like it is. That would kill my fish in my aquarium for sure.

But I'm a hippie and also don't use BPA lined cans, or cosmetics, or anything unhealthy.

I really like your style...

 

[brew2enjoy]

Doubt it after 50 - 60 yrs though agricultural runoff is a common source of nitrate. But another is nitrate bearing rock and I expect that's what you have.



I think it's safe for adults. Do you have an occupancy permit for the house? If you do that says the county considers your well safe (at least that's the case here in Fairfax County, VA). You should be able to brew with it but must be extra careful with sanitation such that no nitrate reducing bacteria get a whack at the NO3-. Were I you I would get a nitrite test too.

As for rendering it "safe" 1:1.1 dilution with RO would do that (getting the nitrate down to the 10 ppm level. This would also knock that sodium down and reduce sulfate to the levels you could do pils, helles... with. You would have to supplement calcium for many beers but you'd have to do that with the undiluted water too.

Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the RO dilutuin for my beer today since it's a light body ale (blonde). In the meantime, I guess I have some studying to do on water profiles and adding minerals. Man! I was really hoping my water would be good as-is but oh well. I don't feel comfortable keeping the nitrate level that high. I may actually look into a RO system for our house.

One more question. By diluting basically 50/50 w/ RO water, what is that gonna do to my PH and will I have to adjust anything to get the correct mash PH?

 

[ajdelange]

The low pH of your water is from dissolved CO2 respired by subterranean bacteria. When you posted that your pH was 5.6 that was sufficient - you didn't need to tell us you were on a well. Once your water reaches the surface it is supersaturated with CO2 (because atmospheric CO2 is at a much lower pressure than subterranean), CO2 will leave the water and the pH will rise over time. The RO water comes from the well also and also carries CO2. Some will be removed by the RO membrane. I don't know how much but whatever the CO2 content of the water post RO it will start to come to equilbrium with the atomosphere as well and eventually arrive at a pH probably in the low sixes. When you mix RO and well water the pH will shift but that is immaterial as the pH, especially in the blend, will be but slightly buffered since your alkalinity is already low and dilution will lower it further still.

Whether you have to do anything or not to adjust mash pH depends on the beer. For most beers you will need to add acid in some form. For some dark beers you will need to add base. For some beers the pH will be just right. You could start by looking at the Primer in the stickies at the top of this topic.

As for the safety: typical adults consume nitrate at the rate of 75 - 100 mg/d and vegetarians (Yooper take note) up to 250 as vegetables are the major dietary source. Depending on how many liters of beer you intend to drink in a given day you should have no problems with it. Is this well the source of your drinking water also? If it is and you are concerned I'd talk to the county health department and see what they have to say.

So I don't think you need to dilute just for the nitrate. There are other benefits. The lower the alkalinity the better and in fact IMO (not shared by all) low mineral water makes better beer. There are exceptions and when you encounter one you just dose in whatever is needed.

 

[brew2enjoy]

The low pH of your water is from dissolved CO2 respired by subterranean bacteria. When you posted that your pH was 5.6 that was sufficient - you didn't need to tell us you were on a well. Once your water reaches the surface it is supersaturated with CO2 (because atmospheric CO2 is at a much lower pressure than subterranean), CO2 will leave the water and the pH will rise over time. The RO water comes from the well also and also carries CO2. Some will be removed by the RO membrane. I don't know how much but whatever the CO2 content of the water post RO it will start to come to equilbrium with the atomosphere as well and eventually arrive at a pH probably in the low sixes. When you mix RO and well water the pH will shift but that is immaterial as the pH, especially in the blend, will be but slightly buffered since your alkalinity is already low and dilution will lower it further still.

Whether you have to do anything or not to adjust mash pH depends on the beer. For most beers you will need to add acid in some form. For some dark beers you will need to add base. For some beers the pH will be just right. You could start by looking at the Primer in the stickies at the top of this topic.

As for the safety: typical adults consume nitrate at the rate of 75 - 100 mg/d and vegetarians (Yooper take note) up to 250 as vegetables are the major dietary source. Depending on how many liters of beer you intend to drink in a given day you should have no problems with it. Is this well the source of your drinking water also? If it is and you are concerned I'd talk to the county health department and see what they have to say.

So I don't think you need to dilute just for the nitrate. There are other benefits. The lower the alkalinity the better and in fact IMO (not shared by all) low mineral water makes better beer. There are exceptions and when you encounter one you just dose in whatever is needed.

Wow that is great information. Thanks aj!! I will be reading up on water chemistry. Today will be only my 2nd all-grain so alot of this stuff is new to me. Yes we do drink this water after running it through a Brita filter, which I understand does not filter out nitrates. I'll have to contact the state and see what to do...