Here is what I plan on brewing tomorrow AM, grist is a little odd, but all I have handy. I have had an issue with “dirty” flavor in my IPA’s so this batch will use new hops form Hopunion that were just ordered form them. Should I treat my water, RO, with chalk/gypsum, maybe some acid malt? Also, I am planning on a heavy dryhop, just have not added it to BS yet. Thanks all!
MO IPA
American IPA
Type: All Grain Date: 8/12/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer: Oposition Brewing Co.
Boil Size: 8.01 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My AG Setup
End of Boil Volume 6.76 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal Est Mash Efficiency 76.8 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 46.7 %
7 lbs Wheat - White Malt (Briess) (2.3 SRM) Grain 2 46.7 %
1 lbs Munich Light 10L (Gambrinus) (11.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.7 %
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 4 21.4 IBUs
0.75 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 29.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 6 4.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 7.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [14.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 7.8 IBUs
2.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [14.10 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 12 -
gypsum will add sulfate which will help the hop flavour pop. acid malt will lower your mash pH and help avoid conversion issues and tannin extraction issues, as well as haze and poor stability.
Gypsum will also add some calcium as will Denny’s suggestion of come calcium chloride. This is required by the yeast for healthy fermentation and good floculation
Ever had your water tested and what were the results? Dirty to me screams high carbonates. Buy some RO/distilled water and use at least half of that for all of your water. No sense in throwing salts in your water without knowing what is already in there. Same with acid malt. I guess I’m to late for this one but not for the next one. I would go 50/50 ro and your water to start. Get a water test so you know what you are dealing with.
He mentioned that he’s using RO water. Agree w/ Denny’s comments, but I’m not one one who likes SO4 in high concentrations. I would use some gypsum, but use CaCl2 for a significant Ca contribution. No chalk.
With RO water look for 80 to 100ppm of SO2, keep the CL2 below 40, do not use CaCO3. Add all of your minerals to your mash when you go staight RO water.
I like about 350 ppm of sulfate in my water. I user Randy Mosher Ideal pale ale profile for my IPA and it works great for me. No chalk needed. With no crystal malt in your grain bill you will want to acidify the mash somehow. That could be why you’re getting a dirty taste…too high of a mash pH.
Water treatment can seem daunting at first (“how the hell do I measure out PPM?”), but using a water calculator can be a HUGE help.
Bru’n Water really helped me “get it”. IME, I’ve never had to adjust the pH of a beer after adding the recommended salts from this app. The info given within is easy to understand and all-incompassing. I can’t believe its FREE. Link is below.
If you are still unsure, just pick up Burton Salts from your LHBS. It will get you in the ball park.
IPA is a great place to start for adjusting water. I REALLY enjoy my IPAs after bumping up the sulfate content.