Hello from Minnesota.

Hman1962 said:
I work in the Maintenance Department of a Hospital, and I brought in a sample of water that I ran through the water filter slowly this time. The Engineer tested it and it came back .04 ppl. Would this be acceptable for when I move to All Grain?
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If "ppl" (parts per liter?) is correct then that is too high. If it's a typo that should be parts per billion then maybe it's ok. But as @Donoroto mentioned, PMB/SMB is so cheap and easy, I strongly recommend that approach.
 
I kind of have a different take on the whole water issue. I do agree that most processed city "tap" water does not make for good beer without attention, I am not sure that using purified, or reverse-osmosis does either - you then have to add things to get the water you want. The early brewers didn't have this luxury, they just used locally available spring or well water, and often situated their breweries to take advantage of the water (Coors and Bass are great examples). So, if you have access to untreated spring or well water, brew with that - and adjust what you brew to suit the water you have! That way you are making beer that is unique to you - not a copy of something a big brewery produces. If you want Modelo, or Fat Tire - go and buy it. If you make your own, it may taste a little like something else - but it is YOURS! I thought the whole idea of home brewing was to make stuff that was different!
 
I always believe that ANY chlorine or chloramine is too much. But go and try it, and if it has a medicinal or band-aid smell or taste, that’ll be chlorine or chloramine.

Chlorine is easily removed: filters, chemicals, or just let it sit out overnight. Chloramine, not as easy.

Old-timey brewers did not have to contend with chlorinated/treated water. In fact, one can brew well with lake or river water: it gets sterilized by the boiling. Indeed, unsanitary water causes illnesses that beer dies not, thus its popularity in ancient times. (Today, beware of industrial pollutants).
 
Hman1962 said:
I work in the Maintenance Department of a Hospital, and I brought in a sample of water that I ran through the water filter slowly this time. The Engineer tested it and it came back .04 ppl. Would this be acceptable for when I move to All Grain?
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A google search tells me that 0.04mg/L is a typical municipal dosage for chlorine.
Chlorine will give you an off flavor that you will not be happy with.
I would either use store bought water, or add a campden (sodium metabisulfite) tablet to eliminate the chlorine.
The quality of my beer took a quantum leap when I stopped using tap water...

Not sure about where you are, but we have bottled water available in stores here in larger volumes like 15 liters (3.962581 freedom units) for a relatively low cost. It is just "spring" water, well water really, and the typical ion levels would like something like this depending on your location. This would be totally fine for making beer.
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Limey said:
The early brewers didn't have this luxury, they just used locally available spring or well water
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exactly, they used well water, and the local water influenced their unique brews
If you want to replicate unique brews from all over the world, you can use RO and the various salts to get you close
Limey said:
I thought the whole idea of home brewing was to make stuff that was different!
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To me the whole idea of home brewing is to beer that is great, and to always try and make it greaterer
 
Dave Y said:
Back when I started brewing I used tap water. Large, urban county processed water with all the chemicals. While i was able to brew some good beers, I never got a correct or complete final gravity. Filtered water did better, but still wasn’t perfect. When I used store bought water, I was able to hit final gravity unless I made some other error. Moving out of the large, urban county with their ultra processed water improved brewing significantly.

I would say if you don’t have the space or infrastructure available, store bought water is a viable choice that will help you minimize at least that variable. You may have some variance in the water quality, but it should be minor and you shouldn’t have anywhere near the difficult chemicals.
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My first two batches I used store bought Spring water. I hit OG and FG. Since I started using water through the filter, both OG and FG have been low. Now I understand why! Okay I've been convinced... back to store bought spring water for me! Thanks everybody for your patients and persistence as I didn't listen and tried to see if my filtered water would work. This post I'm quoting and replying to was my Ah-Ha moment for the low gravity numbers I have been getting. I will probably in the future purchase a RO system, but not anytime soon.
 
Hman1962 said:
I will probably in the future purchase a RO system, but not anytime soon.
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I mean... it was only about $200 for mine- which is a dedicated hose to garage setup, so a few extra fittings and all, and I bought spare filters.
 
I have one picked out at Home Depot for that price.

I will at some point purchase one.
 
Hman1962 said:
My first two batches I used store bought Spring water. I hit OG and FG. Since I started using water through the filter, both OG and FG have been low. Now I understand why! Okay I've been convinced... back to store bought spring water for me! Thanks everybody for your patients and persistence as I didn't listen and tried to see if my filtered water would work. This post I'm quoting and replying to was my Ah-Ha moment for the low gravity numbers I have been getting. I will probably in the future purchase a RO system, but not anytime soon.
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You have to experiment to learn. Please continue to do that. Every experiment is successful, even if the beer came out awful.
 
If I buy Spring water to make sure there is no Chlorine how do I know the make up of other characteristics like calcium, magnesium, and sodium? I want some level of these in the water do I not? Or do I think of this like RO water, and add accordingly?

Or do I just relax knowing there is no chlorine or chloramine in the water and not worry about anything else?

If it sounds like I'm obsessing about water, I'm not.. I am just curious.
 
Hman1962 said:
If I buy Spring water to make sure there is no Chlorine how do I know the make up of other characteristics like calcium, magnesium, and sodium? I want some level of these in the water do I not? Or do I think of this like RO water, and add accordingly?

Or do I just relax knowing there is no chlorine or chloramine in the water and not worry about anything else?

If it sounds like I'm obsessing about water, I'm not.. I am just curious.
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The water supplier (e.g. Dasani, Poland Spring) will have a report online with the mineral info you need. Or most of it at least.

You do want minerals in your brewing water. Calcium is particularly important. The exact amounts are somewhat less important, but each does have an effect.

Here is a Dasani report as an example. A bit challenging to find, but not really hidden. Note that they do not give the exact concentrations, just whether it meets the standard (the first column) or not. “ND” means zero, and note that Dasani has no Calcium.

IMG_9655.jpeg
 
It is also normally right on the label, your typical spring (commercial well) water will make good beer. Just grabbed a water bottle, this is a good balanced profile.
20250917_123619.jpg
 
Donoroto said:
Not required in usa. Another reason I should move to Canada.
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We would love to have you, bring your Bad Dad jokes and lots of apologies. The apologies always come in handy...
 
Craigerrr said:
We would love to have you, bring your Bad Dad jokes and lots of apologies. The apologies always come in handy...
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Oh geez Craig. I’m sorry about the jokes…

:p
 
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