Hello, I am looking for a chart or something that gives the water chemistry by style of beers. I want something that gives me from a hoppy IPA to a NEIPA or a ESB to a Red ale or a Choc stout to a coffee stout. Is there anything out there that simple? I found some but nothing really by style of beers. Thanks
Water Chemistry
- Thread starter PeteKap
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2012
- Messages
- 2,784
- Reaction score
- 4,368
- Points
- 113
The water calculator on the recipe builder will let you target a water profile. After building your recipe, click the link and build from there. Adding your water profile will then automatically load your starting point, or you can choose distilled or RO as well.
Cheers,
Brian
Cheers,
Brian
I just roll with the balanced profile for all of the above works just fine.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2021
- Messages
- 3,951
- Reaction score
- 5,892
- Points
- 113
One way to do it.
But you may find you can fine tune your Brews with just water additions. Next time you do a hoppy beer add more gypsum and see what it does.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,715
- Reaction score
- 2,718
- Points
- 113
I do this a lot. It won me a bunch medals.
I find that if you really want to get the effects of calcium sulfate, you need to watch the overall dose. So on a 5 gallon brew with RO water, 4-5 grams becomes noticeable. The whole sulfate to chloride ratio theory is be called into question by a lot brewers, including me. Too much calcium chloride (chlorides in general) makes the beer a little flabby. 3 grams of each is my standard addition for most beers.
Overdosing calcium sulfate is not very pleasant to me, I rarely go above 4 grams overall in a 5 gallon batch.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1352389
This is what I am brewing on Monday and Tuesday. The previous batch of the same recipe(using 2row instead of pils but that shouldnt make a huge difference) is on draft right now. What would you change as far as that recipe? I added the water calcs below.
I am not sure if you can see my water chemistry numbers, but I add 20g of CaCl2 and 20 of Gypsum. lemme see if I can find my water report and ill post the most recent numbers.
Water chemistry is not my strong suit. I have spent years using a balanced water profile for almost everything.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/?id=RQDX6XB
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2019
- Messages
- 2,568
- Reaction score
- 7,735
- Points
- 113
These profiles are from Bru’n Water. The numbers are a nice guide, but nothing can substitute for your own taste and experience. They don’t name beer styles, but you can easily fit your style to the color/palate you are aiming for. Don’t pay any attention to the HCO3 numbers, just do what is needed to get your pH in line and wherever the Bicarbonate lands, so be it.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,715
- Reaction score
- 2,718
- Points
- 113
It's actually not that complicated and honestly if you use RO water and a balanced profile, the vast majority of beers come out great. Water modification have only a slight impact on beer IMHO. If you have a lot of iron or your water is very alkaline, that has a huge negative impact on the beer.
Your biggest concern is every brewers concern and that's pH. The pH needs to monitored and adjusted throughout the process, the pitch pH is often ignored by home brewers, but should be 5.1-5.2 for light beers (including IPA's) and 5.3-5.4 for dark beers. If you don't have a pH meter, don't sweat it.
I added a document to the post. It's a presentation I gave to my local homebrew club. At the end of it is a solubility chart for the various water salts.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pfh484HAYJ047c5gFpCFSoL7oJUoLTgR/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108790144489096942341&rtpof=true&sd=true
Last edited:
Ya RO water is cost prohibitive on my scale(80gals) and crazy on bigger scales(1000s). some breweries do use it but more commonly they filter and roll with slight tweaks to their city water(in my experience).
I shoot for a 5.2-5.3 ph for all of my beers. Usually adjusted with 75% phos or 88% lactic for sours. I requested access to the document!
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,715
- Reaction score
- 2,718
- Points
- 113
RO is pretty common among bigger breweries if the water is alkaline. Some actually have a water treatment system as part of the brewery. I have had some beers from breweries that tried to acidify the water to get rid of the alkaline profile and it just doesn't work as well as RO. But if that's what you need to work with, then do your best to get it right.
You should be able to see the document now, it's nothing special.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2021
- Messages
- 3,951
- Reaction score
- 5,892
- Points
- 113
K9
Just my opinion. But if you are trying to highlight the bitter. Gypsum does a great job. I use 5-6 grams on 5gal batches
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2021
- Messages
- 3,951
- Reaction score
- 5,892
- Points
- 113
Ever tried MGso4? I rarely go above 2-3 gram on 5gal.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,715
- Reaction score
- 2,718
- Points
- 113
I have. I might be off a little, but don't like the minerally effect. I must be an odd ball. I also hate 1056 and US05, the most popular yeast ever.
I should have clarified. Bigger breweries with multiple locations will always use RO in order to match flavor profiles across the different breweries(macros or really big micros). Or if a brewery has truly aweful water they might use it.
The reasoning behind not using it is the sheer waste. When I was in school they told us it was something like 3 gallons of water is needed to make 1 gallon of process water. So you would be using 3000 gals of water to make a 1000 gal batch. Plus all of the water used in the rest of the process generally it is assumed that every gallon of beer requires 3 gals of water(cleaning, sanitizing, rinsing, evap, etc.)
I know some smaller breweries do use RO, but generally that is not the norm.
Thanks for the water chemistry thing I need to sit down and look it over!
The reasoning behind not using it is the sheer waste. When I was in school they told us it was something like 3 gallons of water is needed to make 1 gallon of process water. So you would be using 3000 gals of water to make a 1000 gal batch. Plus all of the water used in the rest of the process generally it is assumed that every gallon of beer requires 3 gals of water(cleaning, sanitizing, rinsing, evap, etc.)
I know some smaller breweries do use RO, but generally that is not the norm.
Thanks for the water chemistry thing I need to sit down and look it over!
This is a great starting point for the OP.
I agree I err on the side if a ballanced water profile if I'm brewing something new.
I've found through mucking with the ratios I prefer a water profile that favours a higher sulphates ratio personally it just sits right with the beer I brew.
