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Over The Cliff Brewing

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Do you test your own water? If so what test kit do you use? It's time to send mine out for another analysis and I was wondering if buying a test kit is worth it. I have read where with some kits, the solutions expire way before they are used up.
 
I've used the API brand GH & KH Test Kit that sells for under $10 at amazon. GH is total hardness in German dH units, and KH is Alkalinity (as CaCO3) in German dH units. 17.848 x dH = mg/L (ppm).

You can infer Calcium and Magnesium ppm from total hardness by applying this 'ballpark' method:

Total Hardness (as CaCO3) = 2.5(Ca++) + 4.12(Mg++) (this, with the constants rounded, is a formula truism)

~70% of Total Hardness comes from Ca++ (on a loose average/approximation for fresh water)
~30% of Total Hardness comes from Mg++ (on a loose average/approximation for fresh water)

Example: Lets say your GH x 17.848 = 312 ppm Total Hardness

0.70 x 312 = 218.4 = the ~hardness that comes from Ca++ ions
0.30 x 312 = 93.6 = the ~hardness that comes from Mg++ ions

218.4/2.5 = 87.4 ppm Ca++ (calcium ion)
93.6/4.12 = 22.7 ppm Mg++ (magnesium ion)
 
When I eventually got my well water tested by Ward Labs, the results I had gotten from the API 'GH & KH Test' Kit proved to be within 15%, with both Alkalinity and Total Hardness on the high side of Ward, so indeed the kit's accuracy is not tremendous, but it's not horrible either. I'd call it workable. ~15% high of lab analyticals is better than guessing.
 
OTOH, the test kits that use test strips instead of liquid titration drops are generally 'claimed' to be terrible for accuracy. But having never used them, I can only parrot what I've heard, right or wrong.
 
OTOH, the test kits that use test strips instead of liquid titration drops are generally 'claimed' to be terrible for accuracy. But having never used them, I can only parrot what I've heard, right or wrong.
If you're testing tap water, you're getting a snapshot. It changes based on where the water works is getting its water. Wells are less variable, deep wells the least. Best approach I found when using tap water was dechlorinate and keep acid/bicarbonate handy in case I needed to adjust. Now that I'm using RO, it's even more sensitive due to lack of buffers. Craft over science here: Science gets you close, craft gets you were you need to b.
 
I use RO water from the store and a TDS:)

hasn't Let me Down yet
 
I use RO water from my dedicated filter. I have to watch my pH due to low buffering power.
 
I had mine tested ages ago by Ward Lab and it did confirm what I thought. I ended up buying my own RO system and after that I do spot checks with a cheap ($6) aquarium kit that measures kH and gH. If my hardness is under 17 ppm (the lowest it can give me), it's working well and I just carry on.
 
No one mentioned Brew Labs water test kit by LaMotte. A little more pricey-- i think it was $130 but I got it as part of the BYO water analysis class with John Palmer. It is very accurate and when used with his beer app (or Brewers Friend water calculator) does a great job planning/predicting final analysis with the various acid and salt additions. My only frustration being new to water adjusting ( I use to just take for what it was worth out of the tap, -filtered of course) is the common name versus the compound chemical/mineral and its effect on final outcome. i.e. Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulfate or MgSO4 and it lowers pH and adds those mineral. But how much to add for what change???. So --more research every time I brew--UNLESS some one has an excellent resources where all this explained!!!
 
No one mentioned Brew Labs water test kit by LaMotte. A little more pricey-- i think it was $130 but I got it as part of the BYO water analysis class with John Palmer. It is very accurate and when used with his beer app (or Brewers Friend water calculator) does a great job planning/predicting final analysis with the various acid and salt additions. My only frustration being new to water adjusting ( I use to just take for what it was worth out of the tap, -filtered of course) is the common name versus the compound chemical/mineral and its effect on final outcome. i.e. Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulfate or MgSO4 and it lowers pH and adds those mineral. But how much to add for what change???. So --more research every time I brew--UNLESS some one has an excellent resources where all this explained!!!

this three part series could help: https://www.brewersfriend.com/2017/11/19/brewing-water-basics-part-1/
 
No one mentioned Brew Labs water test kit by LaMotte. A little more pricey-- i think it was $130 but I got it as part of the BYO water analysis class with John Palmer. It is very accurate and when used with his beer app (or Brewers Friend water calculator) does a great job planning/predicting final analysis with the various acid and salt additions. My only frustration being new to water adjusting ( I use to just take for what it was worth out of the tap, -filtered of course) is the common name versus the compound chemical/mineral and its effect on final outcome. i.e. Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulfate or MgSO4 and it lowers pH and adds those mineral. But how much to add for what change???. So --more research every time I brew--UNLESS some one has an excellent resources where all this explained!!!
1 Just use ez water. simple and have Always had Good Results
 
Does RO water adjusted with salts provide better beer than using the results from any water test results (Ward, Brew Labs etc.) adjusted for the type of beer you are trying to brew?
 
RO gives you a more certain starting point, because unless you are testing your house water before every brew, you can never be sure that your mineral levels haven't changed. Many source waters can be inconsistent throughout the year.

So I wouldn't necessarily say better beer, but more consistent.

FWIW, I don't use RO.
 
I'm looking onto one of those portable RO systems for this reason. Just not sure it's worth the $$. But then again, the beers I'm making could be much better. Ahhh there's the trap:mad:.
 
Brewing salts alone won't make ok beer into great beer. And great beer is made all the time without salts. But salts can be a contributing factor to great beer...or at least 'beer that fits the style guidelines'.

One can buy a lot of purified water for the cost of a RO system. One can also just use one test result and guess the tap water is about the same, always.

In your part of the country, water typically comes from surface sources (lakes, rivers) and so can vary more than well water. 2 or 3 tests, winter, spring and fall, will tell you all you need to know about your water. It changes, but almost certainly not a lot.

The water here near Atlanta is very low in mineral content. Two tests a couple years apart were within a few percent of each other. That is a good situation, because it's easy to add minerals but really hard to remove them.

I add salts to every brew. A friend never does. We both turn out pretty good beers, but some are better than others.

The bottom line is: don't obsess over it. Throwing in a little calcium probably won't hurt, and it might really help, but you can't know until you try it. The stuff is relatively cheap.
 
RO gives you a more certain starting point, because unless you are testing your house water before every brew, you can never be sure that your mineral levels haven't changed. Many source waters can be inconsistent throughout the year.

So I wouldn't necessarily say better beer, but more consistent.

Given that Calcium Chloride prills can range from about 5% water to about 40% water, and you can't know where they are at in this regard by looking at them (until at some juncture they turn to a slushy mush), building from RO may actually be less consistent.
 
Brewing salts alone won't make ok beer into great beer. And great beer is made all the time without salts. But salts can be a contributing factor to great beer...or at least 'beer that fits the style guidelines'.

Yes, the myth of a mystical transformation from mediocre to great beer simply through water adjustment is just that, a myth. And it is the greatest and most persistent and long lasting myth in all of beer brewing.
 
The beers I have brewed have been very good to me and my test tasters. Some I use salts and some I just fill up the brewzilla and go for it. All have come out fairly decent. I'm not overly concerned with BJCP taste guidelines for beer styles since I'm not entering any contests. I'll just do another Ward test and see how it differs from the last one.
 
The beers I have brewed have been very good to me and my test tasters. Some I use salts and some I just fill up the brewzilla and go for it. All have come out fairly decent. I'm not overly concerned with BJCP taste guidelines for beer styles since I'm not entering any contests. I'll just do another Ward test and see how it differs from the last one.
Good! Try for a different time of year for the sample. Also, a friendly call to your local water utility might get you some insight on how variable your water really is. They test (Unfortunately for different things than what we are interested in) probably every day. See if you can get their testing dept. to speak with you, explain why you ask, they will likely be very helpful and eager.
 

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