I’m brewing an IPA on Saturday. OG 1.063, 70 IBU (calculated), 7 SRM. Just finished “Water” by Palmer. Thoughts on my water profile?:
Mash pH *: 5.55
Mash thickness: 1.50 qt/lb
Ca+2 143.9
Mg+2 9.4
Na+ 14.9
Cl- 84
SO4-2 200
Alkalinity 93.7
RA -13.9
couple thoughts: chlorides a tad high for my liking. it was recommended to me to use about 250PPM sulfate and I really liked the difference it made. Also it was suggested a mash PH of 5.4, although not sure how big diff the 5.5 you have is.
here’s what is use for example:
calcium - 98
magnesium - 13
sodium - 9
sulfate 240
chloride - 45
Yeah, I agree with backing off on chloride, too. Martin posted that, when using high sulfate levels (which you want to enhance hop character in IPA), it’s best to keep chloride at or under 50ppm, to avoid ‘minerally’ character. I think you’ll be a lot happier at, say, 250ppm sulfate and 50ppm chloride. FWIW, I use 225-250ppm sulfate for APA, 250-300ppm sulfate for AIPA.
My water supply. I’m not using all RO, using my city water (I’m stubborn). Its hard water, very alkaline. I am cutting my strike water with RO, so mixing the 2.
i see. what portion PPM is water vs… additions? I cant say if there’s too much calcium-perhaps a more knowledgeable water/beer chemistry person will chime in. Ive just never had more than 100ppm, and usually am around 50-60ppm with lagers being the exception-i keep them 40-50PPM.
I don’t know at exactly what level too much Ca causes issues. I know you don’t need over 50ppm. I use the Pale Ale Profile in Bru’nwater for APA/AIPA and it does use some epsom (magnesium sulfate) to give you sulfate without excess Ca. I also get Ca from gypsum and CaCl. Making high sulfate level beers does typically drive up Ca levels more than other beers, even using epsom. I will say that I’ve made a lot of high sulfate ales (with obviously fairly high Ca levels)and never suffered an issue. I say use epsom within Bru’nwater limits, get the rest of your sulfate from gypsum, add 50 ppm CaCl and you’ll make a good beer.
My only adjustment at this point would be that the RA is pretty low, more pilsner than IPA. You have enough Ca/Mg coming in from the source water that you could leave most, if not all, of the salt additions for the kettle, which should bump the RA into positive territory.
The RA is probably not too out of line. A slightly negative RA is probably OK since an IPA grist is probably not that acidic unless it includes a bunch of crystal. Remember, this profile has a decent amount of alkalinity and that balances the high hardness from the Ca and Mg.
The SO4-2 is just indicating the valence charge for the ion. Notice that Ca and Mg are +2, Cl is -, etc.
I think the original profile was OK, except for the Cl was a bit higher than I would target. The 200 ppm SO4 should be a good starting point for exploring how you like sulfate in your PA’s
Thank you everyone. I’ll try to tweak the Calcium down. It’s my first time really working with the water chemistry. Hopefully, I will make beer. Cheers!
yeah thats just really hard to work with when you start with such high calcium. i dont know much about city water but that just seems really up there.
anyway, RO or distilled is always an option at some point. you’ll be able to manage the sulfates without worrying about a ton of calcium or having to use too much epsom that its gives you the trots!
In ale brewing, there doesn’t seem to be too much detriment to brewing with high calcium content. One aspect that may be either good or bad, is that yeast flocculate and settle much faster with high calcium content. For example, Burton beers were always praised for their clarity. But a negative would be if your ale yeast flocs too quickly and your beer doesn’t attenuate and you have to somehow rouse the yeast to get it to finish its job!
In lager brewing, there definitely is a negative to high calcium. It can interfere with the yeast metabolism and can cause premature flocculation (as above).
In general, calcium doesn’t really affect flavor. Its the other ions (Cl, SO4, HCO3) that affect flavor. 50 ppm Ca seems to be a minimum value for ales since you may have problems getting the beer to clear quickly at levels lower than that. Lagers don’t have to clear quickly since they are ‘lagered’ and that slow process does the work. Of course, this whole clearing issue is easy to fix…either fine, filter, or centrifuge the beer to remove the yeast.
AHA members will get to read more about this calcium in brewing water in the March/April 2015 issue of Zymurgy. It helps put to rest the myth that brewing water should always have at least 50 ppm calcium.
Here was my final profile on my IPA
Ca+2 103.0 ppm
Mg+2 8.9 ppm
Na+ 34.1 ppm
Cl- 53.5 ppm
SO4-2 187.4 ppm
Alkalinity 44.3
RA -34.3
For my first attempt at water chemistry, I am extremely happy with the results. Bitterness is very smooth, mouthfeel is incredible, an all around better brew than the first time I brewed this recipe. I don’t detect any issues with the high calcium. This hobby just keeps getting more and more fun. Thank you for all the help.