(Another) Brew Water Profile

[awarner322]

Hey guys I know you are all sick of looking at everyone's water profiles. I had mine done a while ago. I have been using the Bru'n Water spreadsheet to interpret what I need to add and how much R/O water to add. I have been repeating the same simple blonde ale recipe...and for fun...cut it with 50% RO water and added salts back, and the other time just used my water straight up and added almost nothing (a little CaCl2). I noticed very little differences....but I don't have a very large sample size.

Anyway... just by eyeballing this... does my profile seem like it would be reasonable for my 'pale ales' without having to cut it with R/O water?

Thanks for any advice/input

 

[mabrungard]

Yes, that will be a fine starting point for PA and IPA. Just recognize that the Mg is a bit high for some styles and that the HCO3 must be neutralized for many styles.

 

[ajdelange]

The main problem you are going to face with this water (for pale ale or any other beer) is its almost 4 mEq/L alkalinity. To put that in perspective with a nominal pale ale grist and 1.5 quarts/lb ratio about 7.3% of your grist would have to be sauermalz. That's getting up there and while it might be tolerable cutting at least 1:1 with RO sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[mabrungard]

This is where acid malt use has its limitation. While you can neutralize the excessive alkalinity and effectively reduce pH in the mash, the sparging water will still have excessive alkalinity that will increase the risk of tannin and silicate extraction during the sparge. Either acidification with an actual acid or dilution with very low alkalinity water is necessary.

 

[ajdelange]

I mentioned sauermalz as a means of putting what 4 mEq/L alkalinity means into perspective. Not as a recommendation that it be used for treating sparge water (rather awkward way to do it but I guess you could). Alkalinity at that level means you are going to need 3.6 mEq of somekindic acid for each liter of water you use for mash or sparge or dilution or makeup or whatever throughout the brew plus that which the grist requires. That implies that you are going to have over 3.8 mEq somekindate in your beer (over because of kettle loss/makeup) unless you deal with the source water alkalinity in some other way such as dilution with RO (highly recommended) or removal by boiling or lime. This is so whether the protons come from sauermalz or bottled acid. In fact I recommend that he use RO dilution as a means of getting that alkalinity down to about half a mEq/L or less. That would bring it into the range where sauermalz might be practical for dealing with water alkalinity but I prefer to think of it as a means of combatting malt alkalinity. Perhaps I should have said it will take 1.88 mL 88% lactic acid per gallon of water used. This is, IMO, too much to neutralize with acid (except in the fortuitous case where 3.6 mEq of sulfate or chloride or combination thereof adding up to 3.6 mEq/L is wanted). Thus we should actually say "This is where neutralization by acid has its limitations." as sauermalz has no limitation in this regard that other proton sources ("actual acids") don't also have.