Fauxhemian Pilsner Water

Brewing Processes
1

Tomorrow I am brewing my first pale lager in 10.5 years of brewing. My plan is to brew something resembling a Bohemian Premium Pale Lager, but taking a couple liberties. For one thing, I am not decocting nor using European base malt. I am taking (minor) liberties with the hop schedule, too. For the water, I am trying to keep it relatively similar, but maintaining sufficient calcium for brewhouse performance.

This is based on additions to my municipal water source in Portland, OR, so there could be some differences in what I get from what I am planning on starting with. FWIW, the guy in the LHBS recommended adding just enough calcium chloride to get 20-25 ppm calcium, but I think he thought I was trying to brew EXACTLY to style.

I have this water profile right now:

CA: 40 ppm
Mg: 1 ppm
Na: 33 ppm
Sulfate: 44 ppm
Chloride: 84 ppm
Bicarbonate: 9 ppm

Does this seem generally appropriate for what I’m looking to do? Should I reduce the sulfate or alter the chloride/sulfate balance?

And, FWIW, this is my recipe (for 12 gallons):

“The Unbearable Lightness of Beering”

90% Gambrinus Pilsner
6%  Carahell
2%  Melanoidin Malt
2%  Acid Malt

10 mL HopShot @ 60 mins (~27 ibus)
1 oz Sterling @ 30 mins (~7 ibus)
1 oz Czech Saaz @ 5 mins (~1 ibu)

Hochkurz Mash (batch sparge)
144º F for 40 mins
158º F for 30 mins

~1.052, ~35 ibus

Split batch, half fermented with 2 packs of S-189, half with 2 packs of Mangrove Jack Bohemian Lager, both at 50º F.

Lagered at 34º F for 6+ weeks while I’m in Asia.

2

I just asked a similar question here: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=29557.0

3

I think you’ll find that your tap water with no additions, will be fine. Of course you’ll need to add either acid or acid malt to get the mash pH down to the right range.

4

So I don’t need any additonal calcium for the mash?

5

The water makes me jealous.

What I have to add is the yeast. I Ssume you are using one of the Czech brewing strains. At PU they pitch darned cold and let it rise. Initial pitch is at 39F.

6

Whoa. Very cold.

7

Lager yeast need no calcium in the brewing water, but its good for flavor. Actually, its not the calcium, its the other ions like sulfate and chloride that go with it.

8

Saazer stain vs Frohberg.

9

So I went ahead and did no additions, save for campden tablet to remove chloramine. I did use acid malt, rather than acid for the mash (I know, I know). Since I am utilizing a 2-step mash, and the water addition for the second step would “dilute” the alkalinity of the mash, I calculated it so that I would have a mash pH of 5.25 for the 144F step and 5.37 for the 158F step. However, when I made my first water addition, I didn’t use as much water as planned, as I hit 146F when I had put in about 85% of the strike water. I calculated that this “should” put my pH at 5.18 for the first step and presumably 5.31 for the second step. I am not too worried about this, as it is still well within “normal” brewing range, but it does bring up yet another issue with acid malt (versus salts or acid), and this also partly explains the value of decoction over infusion mashing for this style -