So I’m a new all-grain brewer, and I’m planning on making a 5gal batch of Berliner Weisse, with 4lb German pilsner malt and 3lb wheat (I’m going to be kettle souring with lacto). The problem is, my well water is terrible (lots of iron/sulphur) and I don’t want to use it to brew with. So what salts should I add to distilled water (I’m mashing with 3 gallons and fly sparging with enough to reach 5.5 gal…I’ll be adding salts to 8 gallons just so I have enough no matter what) to create a good profile for this recipe? Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
So I use reverse osmosis water when i brew my all grain batches. Not quite sure if this translates back well to distilled water but I figured any info could help. I use Calcium Cloride, Calcium Sulfate, and a 10% phosphoric acid. Im at work now so I don’t know exactly how much I use for my Berliner Weisse. Hope this helps!
I would suggest downloading a water profile program like Bru 'N Water. Since you are using distilled water it will be pretty simple to figure out what you need. If you have trouble with this, let me know and I’ll work up something for you.
A modestly mineralized water profile should work well. I suggest something like the Yellow Full profile to impart a bit a flavor while not overwhelming the beer. Since Berliner is a lactic-based style, I do suggest that using lactic acid is more appropriate than phosphoric acid.