Siebel Salts - water for Kolsch

Ingredients
1

Question on Siebel Salts composition, or source:

When I was searching for a good Kolsch recipe, I found the Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower clone recipe at Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer - Beer Recipe - American Homebrewers Association , which calls out water salts I am not familiar with - “Siebel Salts”.

I cannot find these anywhere on the internet, and certainly not at my local homebrewer supply.  The recipe describes the salts contents, but not quantities.  The contents are Calcium Sulfate (gypsum), Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom), Magnesium Carbonate (hydrate number?), and Ammonium Carbonate.  I am guessing this is to simulate water in the Cologne area, having something to do with Siebel, Kreuztal, Germany, which is near Cologne (aka Köln, the namesake of Kolsch), maybe a creek that’s a tributary to the Rhine (goes through Köln), or a local aquifer that’s named after nearby Siebel.

Anyone know anything about Siebel salts and their contents?

Thanks to all who respond!

2

Siebel is a brewing school… maybe they sell salt kits? I brew a lot of Kölsch over the years and any water profile for pale will do. Soft water with a 2:1 calcium chloride to Calcium sulphate.

3

Bru’n Water users have the actual Cologne water profile listed in the software.  That is from their local water supply, quality reports.

Ca: 37 Mg: 10 Na: 25 SO4: 70 Cl: 35 (all ppm)

As shown above, there is a significant amount of sulfate in their water.  That’s what helps Kolsch turn out with a nicely dry finish.  Sulfate does not make beer bitter, it makes it finish drier.

4

So, then reverse the ratio I posted if you want to brew like the water in Köln. I definitely go extremely basic on my water profiles. Accentuate what you want to accentuate. I generally want to accentuate malt on my pale lagers and “lagerish” beers. I personally find that targeting specific regional water is sort of a crap shoot since you have no idea how the individual brewery is treating their water.

5

The most important ingredient in Koelsch is the vaguely surly German who brings you the beer in 20cl increments.

6

That’s a good description of the service there.  But it’s probably a result of their having to hustle out tiny glasses of beer all day long.

I did appreciate that my glass of beer was always cool and fresh.

7

After a few tries of different Kolsch water profiles, I simply went with 75% RO water and 25% Spring water for my Kolsch beers only. Every other style I use brewing salts with Bru’n Water. For some reason my Kolsch beers tasted better.