Understanding Water Report

[Smileyr8]

Have brewed a number of Bitters various recipes and kits they never seem quite right, I never tried altering the water, I am now wondering if my water needs something adding that will improve my outcome.

Generally may Pale Ales, Golden Ales and Stouts are fine.

I have found values for Ca, Mg, SO4, Na, Cl but can't find a value for HCO3

Calcium - mg Ca/l 83.2
Magnesium - mg Mg/l 6.8938
Sulphate - mg SO4/l 104.975
Sodium - mg Na/l 16.56
Chloride - mg Cl/l 29.6125

If the values I have found are not what I am looking for, don't hesitate to let me know.

I have attached my water report, could anyone who understands these take a look and maybe give me some advice.

View attachment Water Report.zip

 

[trueblue]

Please remember water authority reports are notoriously inaccurate. They tend to be a generic assessment for a whole area with a mean average over a period of time. You are better paying for your own report or testing a few easy parameters like alkalinity and calcium yourself.

 

[Smileyr8]

The attached water report is quite localised to my area but is not as current as I would like.

I suppose the question I am trying to get the answer to is does any one else make water adjustments & do they improve the outcome to make it worth while?

From the calculator I used I entered the following for a 22l brew:

Hardness As CaCO3 236.3
Calcium - mg Ca/l 83.2
Magnesium - mg Mg/l 6.893
Sodium - mg Na/l 16.56
Sulphate - mg SO4/l 104.975
Chloride - mg Cl/l 29.6125

I chose a Bitter Profile

The additions it gave me were:
Calcium Sulphate(Gypsum):6.16g
Magnesium Sulphate(Epsom Salt):0.69g
Sodium Chloride(Table Salt):1.31g

Does the above sound reasonable?

 

[terrym]

My view on 'water' is, for what it's worth, if you normally drink your tap water without a second thought then it's OK for brewing. If it's not OK then cheap bottled water may be the answer
Next if you are doing extract with a grain booster or AG then the water chemistry may affect the mashing and sparging processes and so modding the water may be worth trying. However most people would probably not notice the difference, since as home brewers the scale on which we brew introduces all sorts of other variables that affect the end result, not like commercial brewers. However if you think you get a better product its worth it.
For kits I wouldn't bother changing anything, it's not necessary.

 

[MyQul]

Any particular reason why you entered the CaC03 result so high (I had a quick look at our water report but couldn't find a CaC03 reading). 236ppm, for CaC03/alkalinity is quite high. For pale ales the recommended amount is <50 (and <30 for pilsners). This may be why your pales dont taste "quite right"

 

[BeerCat]

This whole subject is so confusing. Recently i have been adding 1g of Gypsum per 10l or RO PH7 water to all my beers, Stouts and Pale Ales and enjoying them all. I suspect i wasn't enjoying my beers before as much cos of my dodgy recipes rather than water treatment. I may be wrong though but just my gut feeling.

 

[Smileyr8]

Any particular reason why you entered the CaC03 result so high (I had a quick look at our water report but couldn't find a CaC03 reading). 236ppm, for CaC03/alkalinity is quite high. For pale ales the recommended amount is <50 (and <30 for pilsners). This may be why your pales dont taste "quite right"

My Pales, Stouts and Goldens all taste fine, it's the Bitters that never seem to be right.

The CaCo3 reading came from the Yorkshire Water website I now see I have made a mistake originally (took the default reading) the correct reading should be 208 and not 236ppm and was entered as a result of reading Note 1 paragraph 5.

Maybe I am missing something, I am going to be quite honest I feel like I am in way over my head....

 

[Smileyr8]

I plan to brew a batch of Bitter at the weekend, I am going to add 6g of Gypsum & 1g of table salt, I will report back in 6 weeks or so & let you know if it's improved things any.

 

[MyQul]

My Pales, Stouts and Goldens all taste fine, it's the Bitters that never seem to be right.

The CaCo3 reading came from the Yorkshire Water website I now see I have made a mistake originally (took the default reading) the correct reading should be 208 and not 236ppm and was entered as a result of reading Note 1 paragraph 5.

Maybe I am missing something, I am going to be quite honest I feel like I am in way over my head....

Originally I would have said, 'perhaps its you water'. But your pale and golden ales are fine so if the alkalinity is the problem then your bitters should be too.
I was trying to make pales/bitter/pseudo lagers etc with water (my tap water) that had too high alkalinity. Using bottled water (Eden Falls which has a bicarbonate level of 30ppm) fixed this for me.
So perhaps your tweeking of the flavour ions/salt will do the job?

 

[Smileyr8]

Originally I would have said, 'perhaps its you water'. But your pale and golden ales are fine so if the alkalinity is the problem then your bitters should be too.
I was trying to make pales/bitter/pseudo lagers etc with water (my tap water) that had too high alkalinity. Using bottled water (Eden Falls which has a bicarbonate level of 30ppm) fixed this for me.
So perhaps your tweeking of the flavour ions/salt will do the job?

So do you think 6g of Gypsum & 1g of table salt will do the job, I really don't know what else to try?

 

[MyQul]

So do you think 6g of Gypsum & 1g of table salt will do the job, I really don't know what else to try?

Not sure tbh. Try the gypsum and see what happens. Dunno about the table salt though. All it'll do is make you beer salty afaik

 

[Cqr]

Just checked my water hardness 289

 

[Cqr]

How would I ajust the hardness for ipa's and Belgium beers please

 

[chuffer]

Just checked my water hardness 289

What is the alkalinity though?

 

[chuffer]

I got my water tested at Murphy & Son's and they presented the following:

ph = 7 - Target for Bitters and Pales - N/A
Nitrate = 15 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 0 to 50
Total hardness (as CaCO3) = 220 - Target for Bitters and Pales - N/A
Calcium = 78 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 180 to 220
Magnesium = 18 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 0 to 50
Chloride = 34 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 150 to 250
Sulphate = 83 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 250 to 450
Alkalinity (as CaCO3) = 160 - Target for Bitters and Pales - 20 to 60

So you can see from that:

Total hardness and ph are irrelevant
Nitrate and magnesium are fine
Calcium, chloride and sulphate are low
Alkalinity is high

The lab recommend 18ml of AMS (or CRS) per 25l of liquor and 16g of DWB (or DLS) per 25l of beer to be added to mash. The AMS/CRS will reduce the carbonates (alkalinity) to the required range and the DWB/DLS will increase the calcium, sulphate and chloride content

 

[Cqr]

I've got this far but I'am stuck
Alkaline

 

[chuffer]

Can't get on with that one - baffles me.

Try this one, it's easier to use.....

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/water.php

I entered my values in (had to look up Sodium from a generic county Severn Trent water report though) and got roughly similar results to what the lab had recommended

EDIT....though you need to find out what your alkalinity is before proceeding

 

[Cqr]

What's this all about

 

[chuffer]

(bannatyne)"he's no listening, and for that reason, ahm oot" (/bannatyne)

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Have you tested the chlorine rates in your tap water? I have a carbon filter to filter all water to my pond and beer shed,i keep large Koi,and i know that on a Sunday chlorine levels are lower than on a weekday,and i always add water to my pond on a Sunday evening.