My water report?

[manisfive]

Hello fellow home brewers,

I recently decided to try my hand at water adjustments. I now feel like I am in over my head. I have beersmith 2 and have monkey'd with a couple spreadsheets and what not. I have not paid to have my water tested yet but I do have my cities water report. I live in Oak Grove, MO and our water comes from Independence, MO (Shout out to APEX brew wares in Independence). I have both of these reports. I am confused about what the report says though.

ALKALINITY, CACO3 STABILITY: 5/9/2012 62.7ppm
ALKALINITY, TOTAL: 3/8/2011 272ppm
CALCIUM: 5/9/2012 14.6ppm
CHLORIDE: 5/12/2009 28.1ppm
HARDNESS, CARBONATE5 : 5/9/2012 90.6ppm
MAGNESIUM : 5/9/2012 17.5ppm
PH : 5/9/2012 9.49
SODIUM: 5/9/2012 40ppm
SULFATE : 5/9/2012 93.7ppm
TDS 5/9/2012 276ppm

So do I have hard water or soft. I don't know what number to enter into the software and spreadsheets for alkalinity: do I use the ALKALINITY, CACO3 STABILITY or do I use the ALKALINITY, TOTAL. If I use the lower one I was thinking that adding Calcium Chloride to my mash would suffice. If I use the higher one then I guess I need to cut it with RO or distilled. Can some one please help me out? I realize that these readings aren't current but I was wanting to trial an error with salt additions to try to improve my beer. At least untill I get around to sending my water off for a water test. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[mabrungard]

Whether the water is hard or soft has little to do with its suitability for brewing. The main concern in brewing is if there are ions or other constituents that make the water taste bad AND if there is much alkalinity to deal with.

In the case of this water, all the other ion concentrations are easy to see, but its the Total Alkalinity that you will want to use to estimate what the water's bicarbonate content is.

Yes, this water does have a lot of alkalinity, but the other ionic content is not crazy high for some styles. However, there will be some lighter and delicate styles that will benefit from dilution with RO or DI water.

 

[manisfive]

Can you explain the difference between the to alkalinity numbers? Which number should I use to figure my bicarbonate content?

 

[mabrungard]

I would have to look up what the Stability value is. I've not heard of that one before. But bicarbonate content in ppm is equal to 1.22 times the Total Alkalinity (ppm, as CaCO3). This assumes that the pH is at 8.4, but it doesn't really matter.

 

[ajdelange]

ALKALINITY, CACO3 STABILITY: 5/9/2012 62.7ppm
ALKALINITY, TOTAL: 3/8/2011 272ppm
CALCIUM: 5/9/2012 14.6ppm
CHLORIDE: 5/12/2009 28.1ppm
HARDNESS, CARBONATE5 : 5/9/2012 90.6ppm
MAGNESIUM : 5/9/2012 17.5ppm
PH : 5/9/2012 9.49
SODIUM: 5/9/2012 40ppm
SULFATE : 5/9/2012 93.7ppm
TDS 5/9/2012 276ppm

So do I have hard water or soft.

Soft: 50*(14.6/20 + 1.5/12.15) = 43 ppm as CaCO3 total hardness.

I don't know what number to enter into the software and spreadsheets for alkalinity: do I use the ALKALINITY, CACO3 STABILITY or do I use the ALKALINITY, TOTAL.

The latter i.e. the total alkalinity (the other number is the difference in alkalinity between the sample water and a sample which has been saturated with CaCO3) which is quite appreciable to the extent that this water is not suitable for brewing unless something is done about this.

Another significant factor here is that this report, being made up of numbers obtained at times several years apart, is not a valid report. A quick check of the ion balance shows that it is way off.

If I use the higher one then I guess I need to cut it with RO or distilled. Can some one please help me out?

You do and you should.

I realize that these readings aren't current but I was wanting to trial an error with salt additions to try to improve my beer.

You can do that but use 100% RO water. Follow the advice in the Primer if you like: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

At least untill I get around to sending my water off for a water test. Thanks in advance for any advice.

The gross imbalance in a report composed of temporally separated measurements suggests that your supply is widely variable. The Ward test is a good idea as a snapshot but you should probably get hardness and alkalinity test kits and monitor those parameters over time. The alternative is to use RO for everything and not worry about supply variations.

Can you explain the difference between the to alkalinity numbers? Which number should I use to figure my bicarbonate content?

I did that above. The alkalinity of the sample is measured. A second sample has chalk added to it, is stirred, and the pH monitored until it stabilizes and the alkalinity of that solution measured. The stability alkalinity is one measure of the stability of the water WRT calcium carbonate i.e. as to whether it will dissolve CaCO3 from the utilities mains or precipitate it in the utilities mains. This is of no concern to brewers.

Which number should I use to figure my bicarbonate content?

The total alkalinity and the correct method is given at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/calculating-bicarbonate-carbonate-473408/. Your pH is too high for the simple bicarb = 61*alk/50 approximation. As most spreadsheets don't handle the carbonic/bicarbonate/carbonate chemistry robustly, use bicarbonate as a proxy for alkalinity... and, especially as the alkalinity number you have is very suspect (as it doesn't fit with the other reported numbers), this is probably moot.

 

[manisfive]

Independence, Missouri (Jackson County)
Courtney Bend Well Field by Missouri River
41 wells from Missouri River Alluvial Aquifer (groundwater source, primarily Limestone and other sedimentary bedrock)

2013 Water Confidence Report by Independence City Utilities

Alkalinity, Total (mg/L) 65
Calcium (mg/L) 21
Chloride (mg/L) 24
Hardness, Total (mg/L as Calcium Carbonate) 120
Magnesium (mg/L) 20
pH 9.75
Potassium (mg/L) 6.6
Silica (mg/L) 15
Sodium (mg/L) 50
Sulfate (mg/L) 160

This is the report from where my city buys its water. Does this make more sense? Hypothetically, if this is my water, would it be acceptable for brewing and if not could it be adjusted with salts and/or acid to make it brew-able?

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this.

 

[Hermit]

Independence, Missouri (Jackson County)
Courtney Bend Well Field by Missouri River
41 wells from Missouri River Alluvial Aquifer (groundwater source, primarily Limestone and other sedimentary bedrock)

2013 Water Confidence Report by Independence City Utilities

Alkalinity, Total (mg/L) 65
Calcium (mg/L) 21
Chloride (mg/L) 24
Hardness, Total (mg/L as Calcium Carbonate) 120
Magnesium (mg/L) 20
pH 9.75
Potassium (mg/L) 6.6
Silica (mg/L) 15
Sodium (mg/L) 50
Sulfate (mg/L) 160

This is the report from where my city buys its water. Does this make more sense? Hypothetically, if this is my water, would it be acceptable for brewing and if not could it be adjusted with salts and/or acid to make it brew-able?

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this.

Your sulfate is high so it would be good for hoppy beers if you like that sort of brew. For maltier beers you will probably have to dilute with RO or distilled water and bring up the chloride levels. Calcium seems a little low.

You would learn a lot by plugging these numbers into one of the numerous resources available along with a recipe. It will be time well spent. There is no one water that will suit all beer styles.

 

[ajdelange]

Independence, Missouri (Jackson County)
Courtney Bend Well Field by Missouri River
41 wells from Missouri River Alluvial Aquifer (groundwater source, primarily Limestone and other sedimentary bedrock)

2013 Water Confidence Report by Independence City Utilities ....

Alkalinity, Total (mg/L) 65....
....
pH 9.75
Potassium (mg/L) 6.6
Silica (mg/L) 15
Sodium (mg/L) 50
Sulfate (mg/L) 160

This is the report from where my city buys its water. Does this make more sense?

Much more in that this report is electrically balanced. Note that the total alkalinity here is much less than in the other report. This again suggests, given the note that the source is a blend from 41 wells, the possibility of appreciable variation over time. I would definitely want to monitor alkalinity at least and hardness as well (just because it's such a simple test). A Ward Labs test could serve as a comparative snapshot.

Can you brew with this water as is? Absolutely. It should be fine for British ales and beers derived from them. For other beers the sulfate is high as has been noted. That can be eliminated/reduced by dilution with RO water but the larger motivation for RO might turn out to be as a mitigator for variation.