Essex Tap Water

[Javalian]

Does anyone know of any problems using Essex Tap Water for brewing ?
We are in Essex and Suffolk Water company area. I always drink the tap water and I think it tastes fine, but been reading stuff on here about using bottled water to brew but I am guessing if ok to drink on its own doesn't seem a lot of point of buying bottled water for brewing.:whistle:
That said I am willing to part with more cash to get the best beer I can.

 

[TartanSpecial]

if it tastes fine to drink it should be fine to brew with. ..you may want to add a campden tablet to the brew water before you start to get rid of the chlorine.

 

[SiWHU]

I live in Billericay and i won't use the tap water to brew with. It's very hard and you can taste the Chlorine. (If you add a campden tab its ok for stout and porter I suppose) I buy 6 or 7 5litre bottles at Asda for each brew, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Simonh82]

You should be able to get a fairly generic water report from your water supplier. Search for Suffolk water quality report. They usually do it by post code but the report could apply to a very large area.

This might give you some (but maybe not all) of the important minerals for brewing. If you are lucky it also might include a figure for alkalinity. This is a starting point but the water coming from your tap can be quite different from the water they report on.

The main issue for brewing is having very hard, high alkalinity water, particularly if you want to make pale beers. With alkaline water the grains used in a pale ale might not be enough to get your mash pH into the ideal range and this can lead to low efficiency.

I paid about �£25 for a water report from Murphy and Sons http://www.brewuk.co.uk/water-analysis.html which was really useful. For instance my generic water report suggested I had magnesium levels which were really high and would definitely impact on the taste of the beer but when I got my individual report it turns out to be 20 times lower than suggested.

 

[TartanSpecial]

Does anyone know of any problems using Essex Tap Water for brewing ?

I should have asked first time but.. is it kit brewing or all grain?? My answer was assuming kit brewing.
If its all grain you really want to understand what's in the water (esp the alkalinity, Calcium, Sulphate and Chloride) and if its hard water adjust the alkalinity if nothing else.

 

[Javalian]

Just checked website it says
Your water is
"Hard at 109mg/L as calcium"

Soft 0-19
Moderately Soft 20-39
Slightly Hard 40-59
Moderately Hard 60-79
Hard 80-119
Very Hard 120-130

 

[Javalian]

Website also says the following, of which I understand none of
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
WATER SUPPLY ZONE UPMINSTER
Essex & Suffolk Water : Period 01-JAN-2014 to 31-DEC-2014 incl.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+--------------------------------+
| Parameter |U/A | No. of | No. of | PCV | No. Of | % of | Concentration or value |
| | & | samples |samples | | samples | samples | (all samples) |
| |Freq.| planned |taken in| |contraven|contraven+----------+----------+----------+
| | |per annum| year | Relaxed |ing PCV |ing PCV | Min. | Mean | Max.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
| asulam ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| boron mg/l B | AS | 12 | 12 | >1.0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.052 | 0.066 | 0.077 |
| chlormequat ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 |
| chloride mg/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >250 | 0 | 0.000 | 54.000 | 63.750 | 68.000 |
| cyanide (total) ug/l CN | AS | 12 | 12 | >50 | 0 | 0.000 | 1.000 | 3.862 | 11.000 |
| E.coli /100ml | S | 180 | 180 | >0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| fluoride mg/l F | AS | 12 | 12 | >1.5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.093 | 0.316 | 0.380 |
| glyphosate ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.006 | 0.034 |
| mercury ug/l Hg | AS | 12 | 12 | >1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.013 | < 0.017 | 0.055 |
| metaldehyde ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 2 | 16.667 | 0.033 | 0.070 | 0.110 |
| chlorthalonil ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.010 | < 0.010 | < 0.010 |
| pendimethalin ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| metazachlor ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.005 | 0.006 |
| clopyralid ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 |
| dicamba ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.012 | < 0.012 | < 0.012 |
| MCPP ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.004 | 0.013 |
| MCPA ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| dichlorprop ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| triclopyr ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| MCPB ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| fluroxypyr ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.005 | < 0.005 | < 0.005 |
| 2,4-D ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.005 | 0.016 |
| 2,4,5-T ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| 2,4-DB ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| pentachlorophenol ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.018 | < 0.018 | < 0.018 |
| bentazone ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.002 | < 0.008 | 0.014 |
| propyzamide ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.010 | < 0.013 | 0.029 |
| picloram ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.011 | < 0.011 | < 0.011 |
| pesticides total (calculated) ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.057 | 0.108 | 0.174 |
| quinmerac ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.011 | 0.015 | 0.024 |
| sulphate mg/l SO4 | AS | 12 | 12 | >250 | 0 | 0.000 | 65.890 | 71.806 | 83.650 |
| tetrachloromethane ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >3 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.025 | < 0.025 | < 0.025 |
| benzene ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.013 | < 0.013 | 0.014 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >3.0 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.025 | < 0.025 | < 0.025 |
| ethenes (total by calculation) ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >10 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.022 | 0.260 |
| total organic carbon mg/l C | AS | 12 | 12 | | 0 | 0.000 | 2.900 | 3.508 | 4.200 |
| atrazine ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| metamitron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| carbetamide ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.002 | < 0.003 | 0.013 |
| monuron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 | < 0.004 |
| tebuthiuron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| chlortoluron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.002 | < 0.002 | < 0.002 |
| isoproturon ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.002 | < 0.002 | < 0.002 |
| diuron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 | < 0.003 |
| linuron ug/l | AS | 12 | 12 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 | < 0.006 |
| residual disinfectant - total mg/l | S | 180 | 180 | | 0 | 0.000 | 0.140 | 0.517 | 0.900 |
| total coliforms /100ml | S | 180 | 180 | >0 | 1 | 0.556 | 0.000 | 0.011 | 2.000 |
| colony counts after 3 days at 22C /ml | S | 52 | 52 | | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 3.558 | 62.000 |
| colony counts after 48 hours at 37C /ml | S | 52 | 52 | | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 3.904 | 76.000 |
| colour mg/l Pt/Co scale | S | 52 | 52 | >20 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.930 | < 1.215 | 2.600 |
| electrical conductivity uS/cm 20C | S | 52 | 52 | >2500 | 0 | 0.000 | 560.000 | 621.154 | 820.000 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
WATER SUPPLY ZONE UPMINSTER
Essex & Suffolk Water : Period 01-JAN-2014 to 31-DEC-2014 incl.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+--------------------------------+
| Parameter |U/A | No. of | No. of | PCV | No. Of | % of | Concentration or value |
| | & | samples |samples | | samples | samples | (all samples) |
| |Freq.| planned |taken in| |contraven|contraven+----------+----------+----------+
| | |per annum| year | Relaxed |ing PCV |ing PCV | Min. | Mean | Max.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
| hydrogen ion (pH) pH units | S | 52 | 52 | 9.5 | 0 | 0.000 | 7.160 | 7.578 | 7.760 |
| odour (quantitative) DN | R | 26 | 26 | >0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| taste (quantitative) DN | R | 26 | 26 | >0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| turbidity NTU | S | 52 | 52 | >4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.066 | 0.119 | 0.240 |
| ammonium mg/l NH4 | S | 52 | 52 | >0.5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.037 | 0.154 | 0.220 |
| aluminium ug/l Al | S | 52 | 52 | >200 | 0 | 0.000 | < 6.600 | < 6.857 | 9.916 |
| antimony ug/l Sb | S | 8 | 8 | >5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.249 | 0.299 | 0.361 |
| arsenic ug/l As | S | 8 | 8 | >10 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.389 | 0.903 | 1.767 |
| benzo(a)pyrene ug/l | S | 8 | 8 | >0.01 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | 0.001 |
| bromate ug BrO3/l | S | 8 | 8 | >10 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.300 | < 0.606 | 1.900 |
| cadmium ug/l Cd | S | 8 | 8 | >5 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.002 | < 0.005 | 0.014 |
| chromium ug/l Cr | S | 8 | 8 | >50 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.032 | 0.046 | 0.055 |
| copper mg/l Cu | S | 8 | 8 | >2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.006 | 0.024 | 0.115 |
| enterococci (confirmed) /100ml | S | 8 | 8 | >0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| iron ug/l Fe | S | 52 | 52 | >200 | 0 | 0.000 | < 1.200 | < 9.299 | 49.134 |
| manganese ug/l Mn | S | 52 | 52 | >50 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.180 | < 0.411 | 1.428 |
| nickel ug/l Ni | S | 8 | 8 | >20 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.806 | 1.514 | 1.885 |
| nitrate mg/l NO3 | S | 52 | 52 | >50 | 0 | 0.000 | 3.500 | 13.687 | 25.000 |
| nitrite mg/l NO2 | S | 52 | 52 | >0.5 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.003 | < 0.032 | 0.220 |
| total PAH ug/l | S | 8 | 8 | >0.1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| selenium ug/l Se | S | 8 | 8 | >10 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.249 | 0.394 | 0.611 |
| sodium mg/l Na | S | 8 | 8 | >200 | 0 | 0.000 | 37.955 | 42.871 | 47.757 |
| total THM ug/l | S | 8 | 8 | >100 | 0 | 0.000 | 23.500 | 34.163 | 40.800 |
| clostridium perfringens /100ml | S | 52 | 52 | >0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| nitrite/nitrate formula | S | 52 | 52 | >1.00 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.081 | 0.284 | 0.501 |
| lead (total - 10) ug/l Pb | S | 8 | 8 | >10 | 0 | 0.000 | < 0.014 | < 0.360 | 2.353 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
WATER SUPPLY ZONE UPMINSTER
Essex & Suffolk Water : Period 01-JAN-2014 to 31-DEC-2014 incl.
+---------------------------------------------------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+---------+---------+--------------------------------+
Commentary on Water Quality:
A: Supply point authorisation for pesticides and related products.
Population of zone = 71058
PCV Exceedences:
Sample failed 09-JAN-2014 (HERSUP) metaldehyde = 0.11. Sample 695395 taken 09/01/14. Result Metaldehyde = 0.11µg/l. Failure most likely due to the
increased use of this pesticide in the catchment & conventional water treatment processes are unable to remove it from the final waters. The company is
liaising with stakeholders & other interested parties to find a catchment management solution to this issue.
Sample failed 06-MAR-2014 (HERSUP) metaldehyde = 0.11. Sample 725883 taken 06/03/14. Result Metaldehyde = 0.11µg/l. Failure most likely due to the
increased use of this pesticide in the catchment & conventional water treatment processes are unable to remove it from the final waters. The company is
liaising with stakeholders & other interested parties to find a catchment management solution to this issue.
Sample failed 25-JUL-2014 (EXZ634) total coliforms = 2. A swab sample collected the same day before the compliance sample also confirmed the presence of
coliform bacteria. All subsequent resamples were satisfactory, therefore there is sufficient evidence to attribute the failure to the condition of the
customer’s tap.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
PCV = Prescribed Concentration or Value
U = Undertaking
S = Standard Sampling Frequency
R = Reduced Sampling Frequency
A = Authorised Supply Point

 

[Javalian]

I should have asked first time but.. is it kit brewing or all grain?? My answer was assuming kit brewing.
If its all grain you really want to understand what's in the water (esp the alkalinity, Calcium, Sulphate and Chloride) and if its hard water adjust the alkalinity if nothing else.

It is for kit brewing, i see the water is hard as SWMBO complains about it with the shower tiles !

 

[TartanSpecial]

If its for kit brewing you should be OK...but if you have any doubts buy some bottled water since its only £1 per 5 ltrs from the supermarket.

 

[Javalian]

If its for kit brewing you should be OK...but if you have any doubts buy some bottled water since its only �£1 per 5 ltrs from the supermarket.

Thanks, and onto another matter, I have read somewhere that the cheapest Supermarkets still water IS tap water !!

 

[SiWHU]

Thanks, and onto another matter, I have read somewhere that the cheapest Supermarkets still water IS tap water !!

If that's true, then it would be the stuff that's 13p for 2 litres. Go for the Ashbeck at Tesco - costs a little more, but it does have a breakdown on the side of the bottle

 

[Simonh82]

I think the Asda value water is just tap water, the Sainsbury's equivalent is actual mineral water.

In general the soft water requirement is for people making all grain beer so for kits you should be fine.

One area where bottled water can be useful is in making up sanitizer. If you've not invested in some Star San then do so. It is a no rinse sanitizer and really easy to work with, especially if you use a spray bottle.

Star San needs the pH of the mixture to stay below 3 to be effective. Very hard water can cause the pH to rise above 3 and also leads to the minerals in the water precipitating out making it cloudy. A lot of people use either Tesco's Ashbeck water or Asda's Eden Falls when making up Star San. They are both from the same source apparently and are very soft so good for this purpose.

 

[Javalian]

If that's true, then it would be the stuff that's 13p for 2 litres. Go for the Ashbeck at Tesco - costs a little more, but it does have a breakdown on the side of the bottle

From looking at their website Ashbeck is sparkling water !

Aldi do Scottish Natural Still Water 4x2L £ 0.99 = 1.2p per 100ml !!

 

[Javalian]

I think the Asda value water is just tap water, the Sainsbury's equivalent is actual mineral water.

In general the soft water requirement is for people making all grain beer so for kits you should be fine.

One area where bottled water can be useful is in making up sanitizer. If you've not invested in some Star San then do so. It is a no rinse sanitizer and really easy to work with, especially if you use a spray bottle.

Star San needs the pH of the mixture to stay below 3 to be effective. Very hard water can cause the pH to rise above 3 and also leads to the minerals in the water precipitating out making it cloudy. A lot of people use either Tesco's Ashbeck water or Asda's Eden Falls when making up Star San. They are both from the same source apparently and are very soft so good for this purpose.

My tap water is pretty neutral PH 7.2 , I have bought some Star San but not used it yet, but, I did make up a strong solution of it and it did not cloudy which I read is ok !
Do you think if I continue using tap water I would benefit from using campden tablet ?
Do I just chuck em in the wort before my big stir up ?

 

[darkbright]

I have the same problem here in Southend. Have done a few brews. Some fine, but the last one tastes horribly medicinal and think I forgot the Campden tablets.

I am going to try the Tesco Ashbecks and see if that makes a difference.

 

[SiWHU]

From looking at their website Ashbeck is sparkling water !

They do both mate. Go for the stuff in the clear bottle. Blue lid, blue label, that's the still water.

 

[darkbright]

For the sake of £1.12 for 5L I will give this a go.

 

[Javalian]

I have the same problem here in Southend. Have done a few brews. Some fine, but the last one tastes horribly medicinal and think I forgot the Campden tablets.

I am going to try the Tesco Ashbecks and see if that makes a difference.

Have your brews been ok before using the campden tabs ?
When and how do you use them ? Been looking everywhere and cannot see if you its ok to add to wort or do you dissolve them in water ?

 

[darkbright]

Have your brews been ok before using the campden tabs ?
When and how do you use them ? Been looking everywhere and cannot see if you its ok to add to wort or do you dissolve them in water ?

My first brew was a Hobgoblin clone which turned out great. Definitely used 2 campden tablets in that. Second, I may have forgot but not sure as I had had a few home-brews by that point :whistle:

I heat all the water first so just added it as crushed tablets straight to that. It takes about an hour to heat all the water so assume thats enough time for the chlorine and chloramine to be dealt with. I will start to look more closely at water and ph once I have my brewing area sorted a bit more.

 

[Javalian]

Just been to Aldi, 99p for 8 Litres, so only 2.72 Pounds added to 22 litre kit !:thumb: