Why Test Brewing Water?

Many brewers struggle with making consistent, great beer. They accredit this to hops selection, brewing techniques, temperature control, and many other factors. But one that is often overlooked is their water quality and consistency. Water quality is constantly changing and is the main component of beer, making up over 90% of it.

By testing your water, you have a starting point to know how to adjust it properly. Whatever your target water profile is, you know exactly how much of each additive or brewing salt to add. And you know if there are any problems with your water quality to avoid having a batch destined to be ruined from the start.

There are two categories of water test testing kits, DIY and In-Lab. Both are valuable tools that can be used together to manage your water quality when brewing beer.

DIY Brewing Water Testing

DIY brewing water test strips are a quick and affordable way to check multiple water quality parameters at home.

They are very easy to use. Simply collect your sample, dip the test strip into the sample, and compare the results to the included color chart.

DIY test strips are especially useful for routine checks of your water. They allow you to quickly see whether your water is still within the range you expect before you start brewing.

Benefits of DIY Testing

DIY Brewing Water Test Strips like the ones we produce at CraftPro Test Kits have several benefits that make them worth using for any brewer.

The main benefit is that they give you nearly instant results. Because water chemistry can change day-to-day, it’s useful to be able to see your results directly before brewing. This helps ensure there was no sudden shift like a spike in chlorine or a major change in alkalinity.

Laboratory testing gives you a baseline of your water chemistry with exact concentrations, but it’s impossible to use laboratory testing on brew day. That’s why DIY Test Strips can give you more up-to-date information even if it is not exact concentrations.

They also allow you to test every time you brew due to the affordability of each strip. Costly only about $1 a piece, it is well worth it to ensure a batch isn’t ruined due to poor water quality. When you are brewing small test batches or using something like a 1 gallon brewing kit, it makes more financial sense to test with a DIY kit instead of incurring the cost of laboratory testing.

What DIY Testing Cannot Tell You

While DIY Test Strips are a great screening tool for testing your brewing water, they don’t provide the same level of detail as a laboratory test kit. They are limited by which parameters they can accurately test. Some parameters such as Sodium can’t be reliability tested with at home testing so they aren’t included on CraftPro Test Strips.

DIY brewing water test strips also can not give you exact concentrations of your results, they instead will give you a general range of each parameter. For precise calculations you will need to purchase the CraftPro In-Lab Test Kits such as the Brewmaster test kit.

How Trustworthy are CraftPro Test Strips?

One of the main concerns beer brewers have about test strips are the trustworthiness of test strips compared to lab testing. CraftPro test strips are different because each batch is quality controlled at our EPA-Certified laboratory against known standards. Helping give you results you can trust.

In-Lab Brewing Water Testing

Laboratory testing is the most comprehensive way to analyze your brewing water. It provides exact concentrations for the parameters included in the test and can provide information that cannot be obtained from DIY test strips.

The process is simple. You order an in-lab test kit from CraftPro Test Kits, and we send you everything you need to collect and ship your sample. You then send your sample to our laboratory, where it is analyzed by our laboratory team. Your results are provided in a detailed electronic report.

The CraftPro Brewer Kit tests 9 critical water parameters, while the Brewmaster Kit tests 15 essential parameters and includes two brewing-specific calculations: Residual Alkalinity and Sulfate-to-Chloride Ratio.

Having these exact results gives you a much more detailed understanding of your starting water and can help you make more precise decisions about brewing salts, filtration, and your target water profile.

DIY vs In-Lab: Comparison for Brewers

DIY and laboratory testing should not be thought of as competing methods. They are designed for different purposes and can work together.

Why Brewers Should Use DIY and In-Lab Water Test Kits Together

The CraftPro In-Lab Test Kits, such as the Brewmaster Kit, give you a detailed breakdown of your water profile so you can understand what you need to adjust to reach your target water profile.

But every CraftPro In-Lab Test Kit also includes 10 DIY CraftPro Test Strips.

That’s intentional.

The in-lab test gives you a detailed baseline of your water chemistry. The DIY test strips can then be used before each brew to monitor your water and make sure it has not changed significantly since your laboratory test.

This gives you a complete brewing-water testing system:

Use laboratory testing to understand your water.

Use DIY testing to monitor your water.

When to Use In-Lab Testing

In-lab testing should be used when you first begin testing your brewing water so you can establish a baseline for your water profile.

After establishing that baseline, you can use CraftPro DIY Test Strips to monitor your water quality and make sure it has not changed significantly.

Other good times to use an in-lab brewing water test include:

• Quarterly testing for breweries or competitive beer brewers
• Yearly testing for homebrewers
• After making changes to your filtration system
• After changes to the local water system, such as flooding or other disruptions
• When you notice changes in the taste, smell, or appearance of your water
• When you want to establish a new baseline for your brewing water

When to Use DIY Brewing Water Test Strips

CraftPro DIY Test Strips are best used to monitor your water quality on brew day. Testing before you start a new batch allows you to make sure your water chemistry is still within the range established by your baseline testing.

For brewers who want to closely monitor their water, we recommend using DIY test strips every time you brew.

Other useful times to use CraftPro DIY Test Strips include:

• Between laboratory tests to monitor changes in your water
• After adjusting your filtration system or water softener
• When you want to quickly check whether your water has changed
• When you need an affordable way to test your water frequently

What happens after you get your results

Once you have your brewing water test results, you can compare them with your target water profile and make adjustments to your brewing water as necessary.

For example, your results can help you determine how much you may need to adjust your brewing salts or filtration to reach your desired water profile.

To track your water profile over time, you can also use CraftPro’s Craft Tracker. It allows you to record your results, compare them to your target water profile, and track your DIY test-strip results over time.

This gives you a record of your water chemistry that you can refer back to when brewing future batches.

Which CraftPro Brewing Water Test Kit Should You Use?

Small Batch DIY – 10 Strips

The Small Batch DIY kit is a good option for brewers who want an affordable way to test their water occasionally or before their brews.

Large Batch DIY – 30 Strips

The Large Batch DIY kit is a good option for brewers who test frequently and want more tests at a lower cost per test.

Brewer Kit – 9-Parameter In-Lab Testing

The Brewer Kit is designed for brewers who want laboratory analysis of 9 critical brewing-water parameters and exact concentrations for those results.

Brewmaster Kit – 15-Parameter In-Lab Testing

The Brewmaster Kit is designed for brewers who want the most comprehensive CraftPro laboratory water profile, with 15 parameters plus Residual Alkalinity and Sulfate-to-Chloride Ratio calculations.

FAQ

Are CraftPro DIY Test Strips Accurate?

CraftPro DIY Test Strips are quality controlled at our EPA-certified laboratory against known standards. They provide results within defined testing ranges rather than the exact concentrations provided by laboratory testing. For Example, if your pH is 5-6, 6-7, etc.

Do I need a lab test if I already use test strips?

Test strips are a great way to monitor your water, but laboratory testing provides exact concentrations and additional information that DIY strips cannot provide. We recommend using laboratory testing to establish your baseline and DIY test strips to monitor your water between laboratory tests.

Can I use DIY strips for every brew and get a lab test occasionally?

Yes, this is how we recommend using CraftPro Test Kits. That is why we include DIY Test Strips with every In-Lab Test Kit.

Where is my in-lab sample tested?

All in-lab CraftPro Test Kits are tested at our EPA-Certified Lab in Madison, Indiana.

When it comes to testing your water, brewers and homeowners are looking for completely different things. Most homeowners care about safety and maybe some aesthetic issues like hardness causing scale on appliances. Brewers care about whether their water will support a healthy mash, clean fermentation, and the right balance of hop bitterness and malt character.

This article breaks down the difference between drinking water test kits and brewing water test kits, and why brewers need a purpose-built solution.

Why Water Matters to Brewers

Water is about 90% of your beer, meaning it’s not something you can ignore.

Your water needs to be free of contaminants like herbicides, heavy metals, and bacteria. But once safety is covered, brewers shift their focus to performance. You’re trying to control mash pH, yeast health, mouthfeel, and hop expression.

Your mineral profile directly affects the mash, how efficiently you extract sugars, and how your finished beer tastes.

Drinking Water Testing Needs

Drinking water test kits are built around health. They’re designed to answer one question: Is this water safe to drink every day?

They usually focus on things like:

• Lead
• Nitrates
• PFAS
• Herbicides
• Bacteria

There will be some crossover with brewing parameters like hardness, pH, or chlorine. But it’s not for the sake of brewing chemistry, it’s for preventing scale or corrosion in your plumbing and appliances.

The goals are totally different. A homeowner might want soft water to protect a water heater. A brewer might need a certain level of hardness to stabilize mash pH.

So while a drinking water test might give you a few useful numbers, it won’t give you a full brewing profile.

---

What Brewing Water Test Kits Actually Measure

A real brewing water test needs to cover the minerals that impact mash chemistry and flavor, some of these include:

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Sulfate
• Chloride
• Total alkalinity
• Total hardness
• pH
• Total chlorine

Some examples include:

• Pilsners need a very soft, low mineral water
• West Coast IPAs need higher sulfate for sharper hop bitterness
• Malty styles need higher chloride for a fuller mouthfeel

Another key difference: brewing test kits can be used on wort and finished beer. Most drinking water kits are designed for clear potable water and won’t work with alcohol or colored samples.

---

DIY vs. In-Lab Testing for Brewers

For drinking water, people usually pick either DIY or lab testing based on their budget and what parameters they are wanting to test for.

For brewing you’ll want to use both.

Lab testing gives you the full mineral profile and exact concentrations. That’s what you’ll use to calculate each salt additives.

DIY testing is what you’ll use every time you brew. This can catch sudden changes in water chemistry or something like high chlorine levels that can ruin your beer.

Using both means you get precision and real-time protection.

---

When to Use a Brewing Water Test Kit

You should be using an in-lab test kit yearly if you are a homebrewer, or quarterly if you are a professional brewery or competition brewer.

You’ll want to use DIY Test Strips every time you brew for homebrewing or professional breweries.

Even small swings in chlorine, alkalinity, or hardness can throw off mash pH or introduce off-flavors. You don’t want to risk having a ruined batch or inconsistent results over something that you can control and test.

For homebrewers, you’re investing hours into a brew day. You don’t want to risk your beer by skipping one easy step.

For professional brewers, consistency is everything. If your flagship beer tastes different from one batch to the next, your customers may go to the competition.

---

How CraftPro Test Kits Help Brewers

CraftPro Test Kits are built from the ground up for brewers.

You get:

• A full brewing mineral panel
• Sulfate-to-chloride ratio and residual alkalinity calculations (lab kits)
• 10 DIY test strips included with every lab kit
• The Craft Tracker system to compare your water to style targets and track changes over time

It’s not just a test kit, it’s a water management system designed for brewers.

---

Conclusion

Drinking water tests tell you if your water is safe. Brewing water tests tell you if your water will make great beer.

If you want repeatable results, dialed-in mash pH, and consistent flavor, you need data that’s specific to brewing.

Order you CraftPro Test Kit Today

---

FAQ for Brewing Water Test Kits

Can I use a regular drinking water test kit for brewing?

You can use a drinking water test for basic safety checks, but it won’t give you the mineral profile needed to brew consistent beer. Drinking water tests are designed for health standards, not brewing performance.

Do I need to test my water if I use an RO filter?

RO systems need maintenance and can slowly degrade over time. That’s why DIY Test Strips can give you an affordable way to check your filters performance. And occasional Laboratory Testing can show you exactly what is left in your water after filtering. It’s typically not “zero” like you may think.

What’s the most important number for brewers?

There isn’t just one, but residual alkalinity and the sulfate-to-chloride ratio are two of the most useful for predicting mash behavior and flavor balance.

Water makes up over 90% of beer, directly affecting flavor, clarity, mash efficiency, and fermentation. While most brewers know they should test their water, many aren’t sure how often brewing water needs to be tested. The answer depends on whether you’re a homebrewer or brewing commercially.

Brewing Water Testing for Breweries

For breweries and professional brewers, quarterly laboratory water testing is recommended.

Water chemistry can change seasonally due to rainfall, source blending, and treatment adjustments. These changes can impact key brewing minerals like calcium, magnesium, sulfate, chloride, alkalinity, and pH. Even small shifts can alter beer flavor, clarity, and consistency.

Laboratory testing provides exact mineral concentrations, allowing breweries to maintain consistent recipes and fine-tune salt additions or filtration systems. The Craft Pro Brewmaster Kit tests 15 brewing-critical parameters and includes brewing calculations to help dial in water chemistry with confidence.

Brewing Water Testing for Homebrewers

Homebrewers should perform laboratory water testing once per year to establish a reliable baseline.

Annual testing gives homebrewers the data needed to calculate salt additions and identify potential issues. More frequent testing—such as bi-annual or quarterly—can be helpful for competition brewing or frequent recipe adjustments, but it isn’t required for most homebrewers.

DIY Brewing Water Testing

DIY testing allows brewers to check their water before every brew day.

Test strips are an affordable way to monitor parameters that affect mash and fermentation, including chlorine, pH, alkalinity, and hardness. Craft Pro Test Strips can also detect shifts in minerals like calcium and magnesium. While DIY testing doesn’t replace lab analysis, it’s a valuable tool for ongoing monitoring.

Should You Use Your City’s Water Report?

City water reports (CCRs) are not reliable for brewing water calculations. They reflect water quality at the treatment plant—not at your tap—and often report ranges instead of exact values. For accurate brewing adjustments, direct testing is always the better option.

Final Thoughts

Consistent beer starts with consistent water. Breweries should test brewing water quarterly, while homebrewers typically only need yearly laboratory testing supported by DIY checks. Understanding how often to test your brewing water helps you avoid flavor surprises and brew better beer every time.