I think I've got relatively soft water:
Ca: 8
Mg: 2
Na: 8
Cl: 12
SO4: 29
HCO3: 2
...or thereabouts.
One of my favorite beers is hefeweizen. Unfortunately, my hefeweizens end up a bit on the tart side (if I use WLP351/WY3638) or pretty darn tart (WLP300/WY3068).
I've really looked into this. I've read the braumagazin article on Weissbier in both English and German, and I've read several threads on hobbybrauer.de about tart weizens, and read every post I could find in English. I've looked at many possibilities (natural tartness of wheat malt, possible infections, sensory effect of pH lowering by yeast vs. adding lactic acid), but today I'd like to ask about one in particular.
I understand that yeast like to lower the pH of their environment, perhaps WLP300 moreso than other strains. What I'm wondering is: does this lowering of pH have a stronger effect (on the palate, not necessarily the pH meter) if the brewing water has lower buffering capacity? If I were to increase my water's buffering capacity, would it be more resistant to a pH drop? Or at least sensorily?
Even the Germans at hobbybrauer.de are scratching their heads on this one. Any ideas?
Ca: 8
Mg: 2
Na: 8
Cl: 12
SO4: 29
HCO3: 2
...or thereabouts.
One of my favorite beers is hefeweizen. Unfortunately, my hefeweizens end up a bit on the tart side (if I use WLP351/WY3638) or pretty darn tart (WLP300/WY3068).
I've really looked into this. I've read the braumagazin article on Weissbier in both English and German, and I've read several threads on hobbybrauer.de about tart weizens, and read every post I could find in English. I've looked at many possibilities (natural tartness of wheat malt, possible infections, sensory effect of pH lowering by yeast vs. adding lactic acid), but today I'd like to ask about one in particular.
I understand that yeast like to lower the pH of their environment, perhaps WLP300 moreso than other strains. What I'm wondering is: does this lowering of pH have a stronger effect (on the palate, not necessarily the pH meter) if the brewing water has lower buffering capacity? If I were to increase my water's buffering capacity, would it be more resistant to a pH drop? Or at least sensorily?
Even the Germans at hobbybrauer.de are scratching their heads on this one. Any ideas?