Water for a Munich Helles

[Alastair70]

Winter‘s here and it’s time to get a lager on the go. Planning a Helles but struggling to get my head round water profiles. I’m going to brew John Palmers recipe from How to Brew.
He recommends
Mg 10, Ca 50-100, Cl 50-100 and SO4 0-50
I’m starting with
Mg 6, Ca 42, Cl 20 and SO4 54

First thought was to add 0.15g/L calcium chloride to bring the Ca and Cl up to the desired levels and CRS to drop alkalinity to 20ppm (it usually comes out between 70 and 90 when I assay it on brew days) and live with the lower Magnesium.

Other sources recommend a more balanced Cl to SO4 ratio, and actual Munich water is Cl 8mg/L and SO4 18mg/L apparently.

I’m looking for crisp malt flavours balanced with the hop notes (I’m using German tradition and Saaz) and a dry finish which would have led me to think a more balanced Cl:SO4 profile would be appropriate.

Has anyone any ideas on what would work best?

 

[emerson909]

Your water looks pretty good for helles, I would just add acid to get to 5.3 pH, see what that batch tastes like and adjust from there

 

[Alastair70]

Your water looks pretty good for helles, I would just add acid to get to 5.3 pH, see what that batch tastes like and adjust from there

Thanks for that. I’m just a bit worried about the bitterness level. I lean towards a Cl:SO4 on the right side of 1.5 for starters with fairly minimal additions only being required. And see how that turns out.

 

[Weizenberg]

Many Munich breweries don't use Municipal water and use water from their own wells.

Often the water is then treated further.

Since the 60's dissolved oxygen is also removed (see German pro literature by Narziss or Kunze).

The actual water wont match the municipal profile.

I'd focus on the right calcium content around 60mg/l

Gypsum is less useful here.

Munich breweries don't use technical lactic acid. Instead, biological acidification is used (Sauergut). Its not very difficult to make but an extra preparation to be mindful of.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Many Munich breweries don't use Municipal water and use water from their own wells.

Often the water is then treated further.

Since the 60's dissolved oxygen is also removed (see German pro literature by Narziss or Kunze).

The actual water wont match the municipal profile.

I'd focus on the right calcium content around 60mg/l

Gypsum is less useful here.

Munich breweries don't use technical lactic acid. Instead, biological acidification is used (Sauergut). It’s not very difficult to make but an extra preparation to be mindful of.

Good information
So apart from the calcium, what about the alkalinity?

 

[Weizenberg]

Good information
So apart from the calcium, what about the alkalinity?

Low.

Often the well water is treated with slaked lime or cut with RO water.

I tend to use just RO water and lower the mash pH with Sauergut (biological acid) to 5.4

In Germany, only CaCl, Gypsum and Sauergut are permissible for water treatment.

Never felt that I needed anything else either.

 

[Jim Brewster]

In Germany, only CaCl, Gypsum and Sauergut are permissible for water treatment.

Is acidulated malt permitted?

 

[Weizenberg]

Is acidulated malt permitted?

We can use anything TBF :)

But if compliance with the BSG is required (to emulate what the breweries there are doing), then yes.

Acidulated malt is sprayed with Sauergut, ie a biological acid. Oil-based, technical acids, are not permitted or used.

I would argue that the insistance on Biological Acidification is one of the distinctive characteristics in German brewing.

 

[Pennine]

I have been having issues with clarity in my lagers, my water is similar to alastairs and I don't often add anything. I have read that calcium supports clarity is 60mg/l enough for this and could this be why my lagers are not clearing even with extended lagering time?

 

[Weizenberg]

I'm really not good at troubleshooting, but there are numerous well documented causes for chill haze etc... This can start as early as milling.

Lagers will never totally clear on their own. Here are pictures of my helles filtered and unfiltered.



How clear do you need it to be?

I'd definitively recommend 60 mg/l of calcium for lager. I use mostly CaCl2 though. Your mileage may vary.

PS: unfiltered they are quite yummy as well.

I lager for 8 weeks minimum after primary.

 

[Pennine]

This is how the last couple have come out for me, it's a bit more than chill haze I think. they taste great though. Maybe another month lagering will clear it up.

Thanks for the info that filtered one is beautiful, do you use a canister filter when transferring keg to keg?

 

[Pennine]

...

 

[Weizenberg]

I've got a plate filter from a wine maker, which seems to do the job nicely. 0.8 or 1 um are good filter grades for beer.

Kegland sells a nice (and cheaper) alternative on Aliexpress

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

@Pennine funny you should minion that... I've just tried using two-part finings (gelatin and Kieselsol). Wow.
First time using finings (Wow)

 

[Weizenberg]

Often, Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) is used. Bavarian regularions permit this filter aid since it can be completely removed by filtration. It is also widely used here in the UK.

Murphy's or The Malt Miller sell it.