The recent discussions about water on the Brewing Network have given me the idea to collect water reports from around the country or world. Lots of us have contacted our local water companies, or have sent to Ward Labs for an analysis, but many brewers haven't had the chance. It's easy enough to find data for Dublin or London, but what about Topeka or Cleveland?

I think we should compile our data, and I'll put them onto my web page for everybody to reference. Of course, this will just be a starting point as water can change with the time of year and even neighborhood. But it would certainly be better than just guessing.

So everybody who knows something about their water, please take a second and send what you know to water;)brewing.schmidt-house.com. Please send me the ZIP code for the sample (country/city if your international), the date it was analyzed, the source of the analysis (Ward or city), the data itself, and any comments you think are appropriate. Once (If?) I get 10 or 12 samples as a start, I'll put together a database on my site and add further samples as they come in. For now, just email. Please do not post your data in this thread, though I welcome comments. If there is enough response, I'll put together a web form for entry as well. It goes without saying that I will not use any of your information for anything else than this database.

Mods, any chance we could pin this thread for a while?

Ok. I like the idea. When I get around to sending mine to ward I'll send it to ya.

Travis

It's looking good. I had ten responses today, plus the links people have send. I'll get to work on the database.

Keep 'em coming.

P.S. In the address, replace the smiley face with a @ I was trying to be cute.

Kick ass George, I just send a 10oz sample to Ward Labs for test w-6 last wednesday. Expecting the results any day now. The only problem is I sent my sample in post filtered with a Whirlpool Gold two stage encapsulated system. I figured I'd rather have my report at brewing state rather than raw.

Alright I'm going to send a sample to ward lab in the next week or so. Couple of questions: Is the W-6 test good enough or should I get the W-5 done? Also what kind of container do you use to send the sample in? I was thinking I would just use a 20oz plastic pop bottle.

The plan is to send in two samples. One pre filter and one post filter.

Travis

W-6 should suffice. The main chemicals to be concerned about in brewing are : calcium, magnesium, sodium, chlorine, suphates, chloride, and bicarbonates. The only difference between w-6 and w5 is that w-5 add florides and iron. I got test w-6 because those two are in my city water report.

I sent my sample in in a 20oz pop, but ward labs say they need only 4oz as a minium sample. In retrospect I wish I'd sent a pre-filtered sample also.

Okay, the basic coding is done and the database is ready to go. Here's the page. Currently, you can enter your water data yourself instead of sending it to me (which I'd prefer, actually) and you can see all the data that has been entered so far. I will probably add a search function later if the number of entries exceeds one page. I still need to enter all the data that people have emailed me; hopefully that will be done tomorrow.

Enjoy and keep those water reports coming!

I shipped my samples today. I'll get you the results as soon as I get them.

Travis