motosapiens
Well-Known Member
So i'm just learning about water chemistry, found out my water is somewhat alkaline (179ppm), and the results of adding some acid to the sparge and to the mash for lighter beers has been pretty dramatic in my normal ales and even stouts.
However, the one lighter beer that never had any issues with the alkalinity was bavarian hefeweizen, using 65% wheat malt. reading this excellent german magazine article sheds some light on why that might be. (see pertinent quote below). We have tasted them back to back against commercial german versions such as weihenstephan, paulaner, franziskaner, etc.... and found them to be pretty close to the same, only fresher.
So my question is what are other lovers of authentic hefeweizen doing? are you just ignoring the water spreadsheets and stuff that work so well with non-wheat beers? or should i acidify only the sparge water? or should I acidify the mash, but not until after the phenolic rest at 111*? Ideally, I think I should probably test all those things back to back, but I'm not excited about the idea of a batch of overacidified tart bland annoying beer if I can get closer on the first try.
However, the one lighter beer that never had any issues with the alkalinity was bavarian hefeweizen, using 65% wheat malt. reading this excellent german magazine article sheds some light on why that might be. (see pertinent quote below). We have tasted them back to back against commercial german versions such as weihenstephan, paulaner, franziskaner, etc.... and found them to be pretty close to the same, only fresher.
So my question is what are other lovers of authentic hefeweizen doing? are you just ignoring the water spreadsheets and stuff that work so well with non-wheat beers? or should i acidify only the sparge water? or should I acidify the mash, but not until after the phenolic rest at 111*? Ideally, I think I should probably test all those things back to back, but I'm not excited about the idea of a batch of overacidified tart bland annoying beer if I can get closer on the first try.
Wheat beers tolerate a relatively large range in water profiles. Generally, residual alkalinities up to 10°dH (about 170ppm in american terms) are of no concern. The resulting higher mash pH should however be taken into account during the brewing process. The reasons for high tolerance of water profiles are:
Wheat beer yeasts generate a high pH drop during the fermentation resulting in a satisfactory beer pH even if the wort pH was unfavorable high.
Since wheat does not have husks the increased solution of polyphenols caused by a high mash pH is restricted to the barley.
Due to the style typical low hopping the increased hop utilization with increased pH, especially of less desirable compounds, does not create significant problems.
The higher cloudiness and reduced brightness as a result of higher pH is tolerable for this beer style. Higher turbidity of the post boil wort results however in lower contents of esters in the beer.
High salt contents can reduce the desired soft taste of the beer. Therefore, it is advisable to desalinate the water rather than using brewing salts to increase the mineral content. Considering the aforementioned reasons, a mash or wort acidification is normally not carried out. It has been observed that an acidified mash results in lower quality estery aromas [Her05]. Wort acidification 10 minutes before the end of boil can increase the phenolic and fresh character of the beer, according to Drexler (Weißbierbrauerei Schneider-Weisse).
Even though the brewing process tolerates a large range of residual alkalinities they should be taken into account. Possibilities to counteract the high residual alkalinities without water treatment are:
Dark malts, cara malt
Low hop additions
High percentage of wheat malts
Healthy, active yeast for a sufficient pH drop