Water analysis finally done!

[zero_gabe]

So after brewing two years with have RO and half tap water I finally decided to stop brewing blindly and get a water analysis done. I have a basic understanding of the results. I know that my sodium levels and total alkalinity are a higher than the recommended brewing levels. I want to know how to appropriately adjust my water for brewing. Any tips, ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. Heres the report


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[zero_gabe]

Anyone?

 

[ajdelange]

There is only one 'good' brewing water and that is very low ion content water and it is good in the sense that it is easily supplemented with salts to obtain any water profile you want with the desired profile suited to the style of beer you are brewing and your personal taste. There is, thus, nothing I can say about what to do to this water to make it 'good' other than to throw it away and use RO or dilute it down with RO until all the numbers are under, say, 25, and then use it like RO water. Other than that there are things you can do for certain styles of beer one of which is nothing. You should be able to make a pretty good dark beer with this as is.

 

[PlinyTheMiddleAged]

Another way to say the above is - it depends on what kind of beer you are trying to make. Plug that information in to Bru'n Water along with your grain bill and select your desired profile and that will help you understand how good your tap water is for making your desired beer. I'm no expert, but I'd say if you're shooting for a Pale Ale, you'd have a pretty rough go of it. But something dark like a stout might lead to better results - but I think your sodium is still pretty high.

Of course, the other thing you have to consider is variability with time. If you checked your water every month, how consistent would it be? Another benefit of using RO or distilled is that you know what you are starting with (essentially zeroes across the board) and you can always get to the right combination of pH and salts via mineral additions.

 

[mabrungard]

Even with a 50/50 dilution, that water still presents problems. But it is not out of the question to use. Just recognize that using a significant percentage of that water introduces a low of ionic content that may not be appropriate in all beers. A big issue that needs to be addressed is the high alkalinity. Using a program to assess the effects of your water and estimate mash pH can be a big help.

 

[zero_gabe]

Thanks everyone for your input. So my water alone is not ideal and will either have to dilute a lot or just start off with RO water and adjust from there. Im also using ez water calculator and bru n water spreadsheet to help me adjust for certain styles.