Suggested Water Profiles by Style

[Zephyr259]

Also the suggested profiles in the OP are probably quite conservative as far as mineral content goes, I have been gradually increasing the amount of chloride especially in my brews and really liking the results.

Hi @strange-steve , I'm brewing a Scottish 60/- tomorrow, thinking of bumping the chloride further than Brun' water's 65 mg/l vs 55 mg/l sulphate, any opinion of how high I should go?

 

[strange-steve]

Hi @strange-steve , I'm brewing a Scottish 60/- tomorrow, thinking of bumping the chloride further than Brun' water's 65 mg/l vs 55 mg/l sulphate, any opinion of how high I should go?

It's not a style I have a lot of experience with tbh, my one attempt a few years ago was pretty poor. However for a low gravity, malt-focused beer I'd probably go pretty high with the chloride, maybe 150 - 200 ppm, and keep the sulphate low.

 

[Zephyr259]

It's not a style I have a lot of experience with tbh, my one attempt a few years ago was pretty poor. However for a low gravity, malt-focused beer I'd probably go pretty high with the chloride, maybe 150 - 200 ppm, and keep the sulphate low.

Cool, thanks. Pretty aggressive on the chloride then. Might try 150 Cl to 50 SO4 and see how that turns out. I was thinking your dark Belgian profile might be decent for this and seems I may have been along the right track.

 

[Kveik Freak]

It's not a style I have a lot of experience with tbh, my one attempt a few years ago was pretty poor. However for a low gravity, malt-focused beer I'd probably go pretty high with the chloride, maybe 150 - 200 ppm, and keep the sulphate low.

It's a style I've brewed a few times now, albeit with kveik yeast using a profile of approx 120-150ppm Ca and a 2:1 Chloride:Sulphate. Chloride's been in the 150-200ppm range. Presently using 160ppm.

 

[strange-steve]

Pretty aggressive on the chloride then.

That would be my preference, otherwise I'd be worried about it coming across a little thin/watery.

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks for the opinion guys, and yeah I don't want it too thin as the previous time when I made a dark mild to a similar mid 3% abv it wasn't great due to lack of body.

 

[Kveik Freak]

Thanks for the opinion guys, and yeah I don't want it too thin as the previous time when I made a dark mild to a similar mid 3% abv it wasn't great due to lack of body.

A traditional way to build body in these beers is to decoct a portion of the wort off and boil it down a fraction. This builds a carbohydrate profile that's heavier on caramelised and otherwise less fermentable sugars. I'm presently fermenting a wee heavy in which I took the first third of the wort and boiled it down to a quarter of its original volume.

For a light ale like you're doing I'd take the first third and concentrate it between a quarter and a third depending on its depth of colour and how fast it's changing. Personally I like a golden light ale, so I don't put in any roasted adjuncts.

For the wee heavy I put some double roast crystal in the main boil at the 60 min mark. I think next time I will put it in 10 minutes from the end, it shed its colour pretty quickly and was a really nice red-brown at first. Flavour profile seems good so far.

I'm new to brewing and am mostly making 5L batches while I refine my skills and recipes. You might prefer to take the first quarter of the wort if you are dealing with a lot of liquid.

Here are a couple of articles you might find helpful.

https://www.bacchus-barleycorn.com/catalog/article_info.php?tPath=3&articles_id=102https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-scottish-light-ale-60/

 

[Zephyr259]

A traditional way to build body in these beers is to decoct a portion of the wort off and boil it down a fraction. This builds a carbohydrate profile that's heavier on caramelised and otherwise less fermentable sugars. I'm presently fermenting a wee heavy in which I took the first third of the wort and boiled it down to a quarter of its original volume.

For a light ale like you're doing I'd take the first third and concentrate it between a quarter and a third depending on its depth of colour and how fast it's changing. Personally I like a golden light ale, so I don't put in any roasted adjuncts.

For the wee heavy I put some double roast crystal in the main boil at the 60 min mark. I think next time I will put it in 10 minutes from the end, it shed its colour pretty quickly and was a really nice red-brown at first. Flavour profile seems good so far.

I'm new to brewing and am mostly making 5L batches while I refine my skills and recipes. You might prefer to take the first quarter of the wort if you are dealing with a lot of liquid.

Here are a couple of articles you might find helpful.

https://www.bacchus-barleycorn.com/catalog/article_info.php?tPath=3&articles_id=102https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-scottish-light-ale-60/

Thanks for the info, I've boiled down first runnings quite a few times now as it's a way to partially mimic decoction for bocks. Amusingly, that link is the recipe I'm brewing. Also using DRC instead of his darker crystal but not in the boil.

We should probably stop de-railing Steve's thread now. :-) Feel free to pm me if you want to chat further.

 

[Kveik Freak]

Thanks for the info, I've boiled down first runnings quite a few times now as it's a way to partially mimic decoction for bocks. Amusingly, that link is the recipe I'm brewing. Also using DRC instead of his darker crystal but not in the boil.

We should probably stop de-railing Steve's thread now. :-) Feel free to pm me if you want to chat further.

Good for you, it's a versatile technique. Sorry if that derailed the thread a wee bit, hope your batch turns out well :-)

 

[eyuptm]

This is a question that keeps coming up so I thought I'd make a thread where people can find the answer themselves.

What water profile should I have for this beer style?

It's a good question but unfortunately one which doesn't have a definitive answer. That's not terribly helpful though, so below I have listed a few common beer styles along with a suggested water profile, simplified to just calcium, sulphate, chloride and alkalinity.

Please note that these are suggestions only and should not be taken as gospel. They will do an adequate job, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're suited to your particular taste. So feel free to play around with these (or ignore them completely) to suit your own personal preference.

It's your beer and you're the one drinking it so there's no right or wrong answer.

Want your IPA a little less dry? Then reduce the sulphate and/or increase the chloride. Want your stout a little drier in the finish? Reduce chloride and/or increase sulphate. You get the idea.

Water Profiles

Water Profiles

Bitter
150 calcium
250 sulphate
130 chloride
35 alkalinity

Czech pilsner
50 calcium
50 sulphate
50 chloride
<15 alkalinity

Dark Belgian ale
120 calcium
75 sulphate
150 chloride
75 alkalinity

Hefeweizen
100 calcium
50 sulphate
100 chloride
20 alkalinity

IPA
150 calcium
250 sulphate
75 chloride
20 alkalinity

Kolsch
50 calcium
25 sulphate
50 chloride
<15 alkalinity

NEIPA
120 calcium
50 sulphate
150 chloride
20 alkalinity

Oktoberfest
75 calcium
30 sulphate
75 chloride
30 alkalinity

Pale ale
120 calcium
200 sulphate
75 chloride
20 alkalinity

Saison
120 calcium
75 sulphate
75 chloride
20 alkalinity

Stout
150 calcium
75 sulphate
180 chloride
100 alkalinity

If this is new to you and you'd like to learn more then have a look at this beginners guide.

If you understand the basics but want a little more info then have a look at the more advanced guide.

Hi, I'm about to begin my AG journey in Spain. Our well water isn't drinkable, so I'm going to be using bottled mineral water (€1.20/8 litres!!). However, the profile is quite a way away from your IPA profile (I'm starting with aMaris Otter/Cascade SMASH). The values are:
Ca 65
Sulphate 55
Chloride 14
What additions can I make to bring it closer to the ideal?
TIA, Tim.

 

[SMP Brewery]

If you click on Calculators at the top of the Page it will take you to BrewersFriend, on there is a water chemisery calculator, put the two values in the boxes and it will then tell you what additions are required

 

[eyuptm]

If you click on Calculators at the top of the Page it will take you to BrewersFriend, on there is a water chemisery calculator, put the two values in the boxes and it will then tell you what additions are required

Thanks for that. Tried it, but although it gives me "difference" values, it doesn't put metrics into the additional salts values...??

 

[SMP Brewery]

Thanks for that. Tried it, but although it gives me "difference" values, it doesn't put metrics into the additional salts values...??

Didn’t now that.. Just presumed it would.

I use Brewfather which does calculate it for you, and there is a free version if you want to try it out.