A single reading of your own has as much value as a water company's sample readings, they may be right only if their supply is consistent.cc986 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:39 pmI bought a TDS meter when you replied to this last year and it has consistently been around the 250-290 level when I tested last year but today it was 158 but that was the first time I tested it this year.
Severn Trent are going to ring me on Thursday to discuss the water profile.
Water treatment for brewing isn't that complicated. If you want to be in control from the start, preadjust the level of alkalinity in your water to near that best suited for the type of beer you wish to brew. Pale beers require low, sometimes no alkalinity to avoid a too high mash pH, while beers with lots of dark and/or crystal malts will withstand or demand more alkalinity to avoid pH being too low.
Alkalinity in whatever form raises mash pH, and when mash pH gets too high, tannins and phenols will be extracted along with the sugars. If mash pH is too low, conversion of malt takes longer, potentially more than a standard period, and can produce a less fermentable wort to cause stuck fermentation.
Calcium has many beneficial influences like protecting enzymes from heat, depositing oxalates, phosphates and others while raising pH. Magnesium has similar influences to a lesser degree, but being more soluble is more influential during boiling than in the mash and also when little calcium is present. When used for brewing salts they will add sulphate and or chloride, both of which influence our perception of taste. Sulphate dries a beer which reduces the perception of malt type flavours, enabling hops to become more prominent, while chloride enhances malt type flavours, most especially kilned and roasted flavours. Pale ales are generally sulphate forward for hop influence and those with dark malts used for flavour rather than just a bit of colour are usually chloride forward. If you don't like the taste of beer, or prefer a softer taste, try calcium at 100ppm or less, otherwise get it above 100ppm.
It may be your supply is now ringed with other sources, this is becoming more commonplace. This can in some cases make it difficult to build exact profiles, but good brewing techniques will still produce a good beer.