Water Profile for Light ale

[SudsyPaul]

I'm planning on making some boring light ale for when co-workers/friends come over... and sometimes, I just want some boring light ale I have 6 kegs, most are filled with fun/funky stuff, so something plain is nice now 'n again. I'd like to make something that's a bit of a gateway beer

I was thinking of doing something like:

65% Pilsen
20% Corn Flake
15% Minute Rice

14IBU Northern Brewer @ 60min
3-4IBU Northern Brewer @ 15min

Aiming for OG of 1.045, FG of 1.009

Ferment with US-05 at 65F for 3 weeks.

Should make something pretty drinkable... but I have no idea how to treat my water for this... I have profiles for most other styles, but nothing for whatever my above-creation is.

Any suggestions? This kinda falls under cream ale, or blonde ale?

 

[Yooper]

I'm planning on making some boring light ale for when co-workers/friends come over... and sometimes, I just want some boring light ale I have 6 kegs, most are filled with fun/funky stuff, so something plain is nice now 'n again. I'd like to make something that's a bit of a gateway beer

I was thinking of doing something like:

65% Pilsen
20% Corn Flake
15% Minute Rice

14IBU Northern Brewer @ 60min
3-4IBU Northern Brewer @ 15min

Aiming for OG of 1.045, FG of 1.009

Ferment with US-05 at 65F for 3 weeks.

Should make something pretty drinkable... but I have no idea how to treat my water for this... I have profiles for most other styles, but nothing for whatever my above-creation is.

Any suggestions? This kinda falls under cream ale, or blonde ale?

Ro water with a pinch of calcium chloride, say 5 grams, would get you right in the ballpark. A mash pH of 5.4 would be perfect. That recipe looks like a cream ale.

 

[tootal]

Sounds interesting! When we had some funk coming from a plastic conical my brewing partner couldn't taste it so I made a light ale that wouldn't cover up the funk. We made a 10 gallon batch with just two row and 17 IBU's. Put half in the funkified conical and the other half in a car boy. After they were done I served him the carboy and it was good. Then the conical beer was poured and sampled and his reply was, Oh, I get it now. The car boy beer didn't last long, it was Summer!

 

[JonM]

Looks like a good recipe! And FWIW, just this year I started using Wyeast 1007 for my summery backyard sippers and have been very, very impressed with it and its lager-like feel. Might be worth a shot in a recipe like yours, too!

 

[SudsyPaul]

Yeah, I was thinking of using some S04, but I have like 1/2lb of US-05 sitting around, so I feel the need to rip through that.

I have to fight the temptation to use some of my saison yeasts or other belgian yeasts on this... must... taste... normal...

 

[SudsyPaul]

Alright... messed around with some numbers, and I think something like:

Ca: 72
Mg: 12
Na: 26
Cl: 79
SO4: 66

Cl/SO4 is 1.2

 

[mabrungard]

I would not use that much Ca or Mg and along with that reduction, take down the Cl and SO4. The Na level is OK and can help the perception of sweetness.

Lorena's recommendation to use a pinch of calcium chloride is good enough for a beer like this. I would target a slightly lower mash pH of 5.3, though.

 

[SudsyPaul]

Kewl. Thanks for the additional info.

Since my city's water is pretty good for brewing (just moderately hard), I have a hard time getting RO water, due to the wasted water in its production :S

 

[LLBrewer]

Ah cream of 3 crops. I'm drinking something similar now
10 lb 2 row
2 lb flaked corn
14 oz minute rice
1 lb carafoam
1 oz sterling @60, 0.5 oz saaz @ flameout
Us-05
OG was 1064, way high for what I was trying to do. And I'm not sure if I got a ton of unformentables (missed my target of 150 mash temp by 4 degrees too hot) but the beer finished at 1.021. It's drinkable but really way too sweet. The corn and rice flavor really come through. Not sure if I botched this but I don't think I would brew it again.

 

[SudsyPaul]

That's a pretty big grain bill for 5 gallons... do you usually have poor conversion?

I'm aiming for something way lower, and I have pretty good consistency with hitting target OG. If I go too high, I'll just water this down. It's not meant to knock people on their asses - just a lawnmower beer for the masses

 

[mabrungard]

Kewl. Thanks for the additional info.

Since my city's water is pretty good for brewing (just moderately hard), I have a hard time getting RO water, due to the wasted water in its production :S

Wait! So you aren't using RO water? Then forget the recommendations above. The first thing you need to do is find out what is in your water. You can't make an assessment of which direction to go without knowing where you are.

 

[SudsyPaul]

Oh yeah.. my city has good reports. http://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/documents.ottawa.ca/files/documents/2013_britannia_en.pdf

Base is:

pH 9.36
Ca: 8.9
Mg: 2.2
Na: 17
Cl: 5.7
SO4: 27.8
Alkalinity (CaCO3): 34

I also use a campden tab to kill off chloramine.