Water Test Strips

Water Test Strips are simple, single-use indicator strips designed for the rapid measurement of total water hardness in brewing liquor and source water. They provide a practical, low-cost check of dissolved calcium and magnesium levels, supporting day-to-day brewing decisions on liquor treatment, mineral additions, and CIP chemical selection.

These test strips work by reacting with calcium and magnesium ions in solution to produce a colour change, which is matched to a printed reference chart to determine total hardness in parts per million (ppm) as calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Results are typically available within seconds, providing an immediate read on whether source water is soft, moderate, hard, or very hard. While not a substitute for a full ionic water analysis, they are an effective tool for routine monitoring and for spotting changes in source water hardness over time, particularly relevant where source water is drawn from boreholes or where seasonal variation in mains supply is expected.

Water hardness has direct implications across the brewing process. In liquor treatment, calcium and magnesium contribute to mash pH, enzyme activity, and yeast nutrition. In CIP, hardness ions can interfere with caustic detergent performance and form insoluble scales on heat transfer surfaces, so harder water typically calls for higher EDTA-sequestered caustic formulations such as Caustic Extra or Caustic Super, or the addition of a sequestrant. Knowing your water hardness is the first step in selecting the right products and concentrations for both brewing and cleaning.

Water Test Strips are suitable for:

• Source water hardness monitoring
• Brewing liquor characterisation
• Selecting the appropriate caustic detergent formulation
• Verifying water softening or treatment system performance
• Identifying seasonal variation in mains water supply
• Routine quality assurance documentation
• Supporting decisions on sequestrant additions
• Troubleshooting scale formation in heat exchangers and CIP loops