Water Treatment Help

[fatbelly]

When I 1st started brewing AG someone on this forum said get some 'brews under your belt' & then ask about water treatment!
Well I am now on AG7 and ready to ask about whether & in what way I should be treating my Brewing water.
Here is an analysis of my local water, can you please give any suggestions whether I need to treat my water and if so what with.
Also with my current water profile what Beers do best & what not so good.
Many Thanks
FB

Hardness Level Very Soft
Clarke Hardness 1.750
Aluminium < 5.73
Calcium 8.42 of mg Ca/l
Residual Chlorine - Total 0.32 of mg/l
Iron 28.0 of µg Fe/l
Nitrate <1.75 of mg NO3/l
Sodium 5.65 of mg Na/l

[mabrungard]

You don't provide enough water information to make a good assessment, but it doesn't look bad. All reported ion levels are low. An important parameter that is missing is the alkalinity. I have the feeling that it is low also since the calcium is low. If the water company can't provide the following, you should consider having a sample tested. I understand that Murphy's performs that testing in the UK.

You need:

Calcium
Magnesium
Sodium
Sulfate
Chloride
Alkalinity or Carbonate or Bicarbonate (they are all related)

You have the Calcium and Sodium, you need the others.

If this water is relatively low in ions, then adding minerals to boost certain ions is useful. I recommend reading the Water Knowledge page on the Bru'n Water website to help decipher and learn what to do with your water.

[gnutz2]

+1 ions are low like my water, spot on for brewing, probably why your beer tastes good allready.

Get the alkalinity, add a few salts and your on your way to brewing heaven.

[fatbelly]

Thanks guys for the Replies (I'm a poet).

The Magnesium is 1.2 of mg Mg/l

I will chase down the PH value & post again.

[boingy]

Before you get too involved, consider whether you are happy with your beers as they are.
It might not be broke.

[fatbelly]

That's a really good point Boingy.
But I do want to drink the best Beer I can possibly brew, that said if its not broke then don't fix it.
Part of the problem is that I don't know enough about AG brewing to know if it is actually broke.

[barneey]

Before you get too involved, consider whether you are happy with your beers as they are.
It might not be broke.

+1

Try brewing 2 identical brews back to back, 1 with normal water & 1 with treated water, assuming your mash PH / conversion etc is OK then choose the one thats to your taste.

[mabrungard]

Before you get too involved, consider whether you are happy with your beers as they are.
It might not be broke.

That is mostly good advice, but a brewer has to understand that there is no single water supply that is suited to all beer styles. A person's water might make an outstanding Pale Ale, but it may not do so well with other styles. Knowing what is in your water is the first step to understanding the 'what and why' you need to adjust your brewing water. Tools like Bru'n Water help the brewer understand the 'how' of water adjustments. Proper water adjustment is the ONLY way to be able to brew a wide variety of beer styles.