Brewing water analysis (Brighton, MI well water)
Introduction
This post is meant to help other homebrewers who are in the Livingston county, Michigan area by giving a sort of baseline for some well water analysis for brewing. Water analysis was done by Ward Laboratories, Inc through the W-501 Brewer's test option with an arsenic test added on. At the time the analysis was done, this was $64 per water sample including shipping and a sample collection kit
Results
The raw results from ward lab's are as follows.
Tap water
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| pH | 8.1 |
| Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm | 320 |
| Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm | 0.53 |
| Cations / Anions, me/L | 6.5 / 6.2 |
| Sodium, Na (ppm) | 150 |
| Potassium, K (ppm) | < 1 |
| Calcium, Ca (ppm) | < 0.1 |
| Magnesium, Mg (ppm) | < 1 |
| Total Hardness, CaCO3 (ppm) | < 1 |
| Nitrate, NO3-N (ppm) | < 0.1 (SAFE) |
| Sulfate, SO4-S (ppm) | 5 |
| Chloride, Cl (ppm) | 29 |
| Carbonate, CO3 (ppm) | < 1.0 |
| Bicarbonate, HCO3 (ppm) | 306 |
| Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 (ppm) | 254 |
| Total Phosphorus, P (ppm) | < 0.01 |
| Total Iron, Fe (ppm) | < 0.01 |
| Arsenic, As (Total) (ppm) | 0.0200 |
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
Berkey filtered tap water
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| pH | 8.3 |
| Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm | 319 |
| Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm | 0.53 |
| Cations / Anions, me/L | 6.1 / 5.9 |
| Sodium, Na (ppm) | 140 |
| Potassium, K (ppm) | < 1 |
| Calcium, Ca (ppm) | < 0.1 |
| Magnesium, Mg (ppm) | < 1 |
| Total Hardness, CaCO3 (ppm) | < 1 |
| Nitrate, NO3-N (ppm) | 0.1 (SAFE) |
| Sulfate, SO4-S (ppm) | 4 |
| Chloride, Cl (ppm) | 31 |
| Carbonate, CO3 (ppm) | 3.0 |
| Bicarbonate, HCO3 (ppm) | 282 |
| Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 (ppm) | 235 |
| Total Phosphorus, P (ppm) | < 0.01 |
| Total Iron, Fe (ppm) | < 0.01 |
| Arsenic, As (Total) (ppm) | 0.0057 |
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
Analysis
Major changes
There are three parameters that changed by more than +/- 10% between the tap water and the berkey filtered tap water. They were:
- Arsenic, -71.5%
- Sulfate, -20%
- Carbonate, +200%
The arsenic was the main target of this before/after analysis. The current EPA limit for safe drinking water is to have an Arsenic level of 10 ppb. Based on this analysis the Berkey filter with the white fluoride filters installed successfully brought the arsenic past the EPA limit as it went from 20 ppb to 5.7 ppb. The decrease in sulfate and massive increase in carbonate were not items that I expected to see. The carbonate increase suggests that the water in the Berkey was 'harder' than the water from the tap. My best guess to why this would be is that the water softener in my house was running low when the Berkey was filled, but not when the tap water sample was taken.
Brewing profile
The water profile I have is deficient in a few ways from the suggestions given by John J. Palmer in How to Brew. Firstly, based on table 8.1 from that book, a good minimum for Calcium is 50 ppm and for Magnesium is 5 ppm while both of my samples have levels below the laboratory detection limit. Luckily these are commonly adjusted by Calcium or Magnesium sulfates or chlorides, and my water is also low on sulfates and chlorides (although Palmer does not give a suggested minimum for either).
Secondly, and more critically, my water has a high level of sodium relative to Palmer's suggestions. This can not be adjusted by any chemical additions and would have to be addressed by mixing in water with lower sodium. There is also a silver lining in the form of other brewer's exbeeriments which suggest both a higher sodium limit of 150ppm and that high sodium water beers can still taste very good.