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New House - New Water - Not Good!

philm63

Grandmaster Brewer
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Jul 6, 2012
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Location
Plain City, OH
Ok so I've moved from really nice soft water to really not so nice not so soft water (Atlanta, GA to Columbus, OH) and I'm facing a huge expenditure of installing an RO system (Wife wants whole-house if we're gonna do this) BUT... I want to get brewing in our new house NOW!!

LHBS guy tells me to just use spring water which would work fine, I'm sure, but I'm that guy that measures and adjusts everything during every step of the brew day and if I don't have some base numbers to go by, I'm at the mercy of that particular batch of spring water.

I can control the pH, at least, as I do have a nice meter and 10% phosphoric so I can get my sparge water down to where I want it, but the salts! How do I know how much of this or that to add if I want a specific number for my calcium and such?
 
Most companies that sell bottled water have an analysis available if you look at their web site or call them.  I would try that before blindly adding minerals.
 
Your water consultants should be able to tell you your waters profile before installing RO systems or softener, and again after to show results. After should be close to zero mineral content except maybe sodium if a softener is used. Once you have the analysis you can start brewing. There are public charts of water profiles available as well for every area / city. Use as a guide.

Get them to leave you at least one water outlet - garden hose or outside tap,  untreated-  before the softener /filters to provide regular city water.
Use the hard one for high mineral brews, adjust if required depending on analysis and use the soft one for brews requiring less minerals and add your own calcium /gypsum/ minerals depending on the desired profile you are aiming for, using Beersmith or any of the water profile tools that are available.  CHEERS!
 
Guess I should've mentioned the sodium - Ward Labs measured 140 ppm! This water cannot be used for any style I can think of, unless Saltzbier is a style...  ???

Oh, and there's the TDS coming in at a whopping 532 ppm! You could stand a spoon up in this stuff! (ok, not really, but you get the picture).
 
I make primarily german lagers and usually use a mix of filtered tap water and Ozarka 1 gal. spring water (approx. 50/50 mix) without any chemicals as I prefer to adhere to the German Purity Law.  I and my German friends think my lagers are pretty darn good....  Since your water seems to be unusable, I personally wouldn't hesitate to use 100% Ozarka spring water if I had to..  I haven't done it, but I hear many just use Walmart water or a mix of store water and spring water..

That is if you want to brew now and not wait...  Just my opinion.  You could learn a lot and then decide how much you want to spend.

I am meticulous as possible though on sanitation and maintaining proper mash, cooling, fermentation and lagering temp ranges... 
Here is a link to the Ozarka water purity specs:
http://www.nestle-watersna.com/asset-library/Documents/O_ENG.pdf

Check the one under Mineral Analysis (Full) Page 19
 
When I lived in the city I just bought bottled water (Poland Springs of course, I'm in Maine) when I made beer. Even for an all-grain batch we're talking about ten gallons or so. In the grand scheme of things it's not that big of an expense.
 
See if you can find a local spring. I once found a spring in the hills near guelph ontario, bubbling water coming out the side of a forested hill. My friend who lived near there suggested it as all the locals swear by it's good hard taste. I filled up a few 5 gallon jugs and used it for brewing it was fantastic.
 
Getting a residential scale RO system is really not that big of an expenditure.  Depending upon the features you get, you'll likely be under $200 to produce water more pure than the expensive bottled water at the store.

You must be on well water, right?

Russ
 
philm63 said:
Guess I should've mentioned the sodium - Ward Labs measured 140 ppm! This water cannot be used for any style I can think of, unless Saltzbier is a style...  ???

Oh, and there's the TDS coming in at a whopping 532 ppm! You could stand a spoon up in this stuff! (ok, not really, but you get the picture).

The TDS sounds about like my water, but my sodium 210ppm. Before buying a whole house RO system, be aware that with TDS in that range you may very well be sending 7 or more gallons down the drain for every gallon of output from the RO system. Also, filters and membranes will need to be replaced more often that they would with decent water.

We use a Brita Stream for the coffee maker and cooking where water is an ingredient. Changing the filter every 2 months makes it inexpensive and the output is very drinkable even just before changing. For brewing I get RO water from a dispenser at Walmart for $.37/gallon and add minerals as needed. Most Supermarkets have the dispensers. RO water is almost always close enough to being mineral free to consider it a clean slate to build upon. I use a cheap TDS meter to double check it. Calcium Chloride, Gypsum and Epsom Salts plus sometimes lactic or phosphoric acid for pH adjustment using the Bru' water spread sheet. Pretty simple really. You can buy a boatload of RO water and Brits Stream filters for what a whole house RO system costs to purchase and maintain, let alone the waste water.

Just some food for thought.
 
philm63 said:
Guess I should've mentioned the sodium - Ward Labs measured 140 ppm! This water cannot be used for any style I can think of, unless Saltzbier is a style...  ???

Oh, and there's the TDS coming in at a whopping 532 ppm! You could stand a spoon up in this stuff! (ok, not really, but you get the picture).

The sodium seems outta whack. Is this treated with a softener? What did Wards report for the alkalinity?
 
It always sucks having bad water, my current water is well water from a well that's 350 feet deep. With a TDS of 275 with a decent amount of copper naturally. It's great water very drinkable and soft right out of the well. Makes good beer it's great for English style beers and okay for pale ales.y tap water is City water though at least the kitchen is. But my spare building for brewing is hooked up to the well.
 
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