Water Report help

[OswaldvW]

What would you do if you had this kind of water?

pH 8.3
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 94
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.16
Cations / Anions, me/L 1.5 / 1.7

(ppm)
Sodium, Na 2
Potassium, K <1
Calcium, Ca 19
Magnesium, Mg 6
Total Hardness, CaCO3 73
Nitrate, NO3-N <0.1
Sulfate, SO4-S 3
Chloride, Cl 2
Carbonate, CO3 <1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 90
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 75
Total Phosphorus, P 0.03
Total Iron, Fe <0.01

Thanks!

 

[AK7007]

If I had your water, I'd be pretty happy. It's not exactly soft, but it generally has lower amounts of everything, which means you'll rarely be cutting it with RO or distilled. I'd buy myself some brewing salts, acidulated malt, and get really acquainted with a brewing water calculator. I use brewers friend, but there are many.

After that, I'd just start messing with the dissolved ion concentrations depending on what I'm trying to brew. Mike Tonsmire has a good practical guide: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2008/09/i-think-that-water-treatment-has-made.html

 

[ajdelange]

I do have water like yours but with higher sulfate and put it through RO as I don't want that sulfate. You wouldn't have to do that. - in fact for many beers you would want to augment sulfate.

There are lots of beers you can brew with this water without doing anything to it other than adding a bit of acid or sauermalz to combat the modest alkalinity. Or you could cut with enough RO water to dilute that alkalinity down and follow the Primer here or undertake more specific treatment based on one of the spreadsheets.

I'd stay away from the Tonsmeir article. A lot has changed in the thinking on water treatment since it was written. Particularly troubling is the practice of coupling water chemistry to beer color.

 

[OswaldvW]

Thanks for the all the tips. I guess I have some reading and experimenting to do.

Just last week I had purchased a few pounds of Sauermalz specifically for the purpose of balancing my water. I have been playing with Bru-N-Water.

 

[Gavin C]

I'd do a small but artistically appropriate happy dance.

Your water has really low levels of all the important ions pertaining to brewing. Much easier and cheaper to augment these than to have to dilute your source water with RO/distilled.

I'm a tad envious if truth be told.