Hi Everyone. I’m new to posting anything on the Fourm, but thought I’d ask a questions about Sours. I’m brewing my first Sour this weekend and need advice on the water profile. I use Beersmith for my recipe creation and Brun’ Water for my water adjustments. Does anyone have a good water profile for a fruited sour or should I just use my filtered water with no adjustment. I was also thinking of using all distilled water, but not sure the direction. Thanks for any enlightenment you all can give me.
I find that you can get salty flavors in a sour if your water is very hard or has lots of salts in it. Distilled water tends to make a sour with very little body which can be great if you are looking for pure refreshment in your sour. My general preference is to use tap water (medium hardness) and adjust mash pH with brewing salts for more body or just lactic acid for less body.
How about posting your base water profile.
I used yellow balanced profile for a wild yeast/British V combo I did. Mine wasn’t truly a sour sour, so perhaps yellow dry might work with a more puckery sour.
Here is my water profile:
CA: 31
MG: 10
NA: 21
HC0: 89
CO: 1.5
SO: 60
CL: 17
Bill, your water profile looks pretty good, not too hard or too much salts. Adjust for mash pH and you are good to go. I don’t think the Bru’n Water profiles are “proven” for sours. You could also try the Bru’n Water facebook page for advice.
Thank you so much for the help! I appreciate the feedback!
I discussed an answer on this subject here: https://www.facebook.com/Brun-Water-464551136933908/inbox/?mailbox_id=464551136933908&selected_item_id=3232238636831797
Enjoy!