First time adjusting water. How does this look?

beertastic · Nov 17, 2012

I haven't been getting the bite that I want out of my IPAs, so I want to start messing around with my water profile.

I was wondering if you guys could take a look at my water adjustments and make any suggestions. I tried not to go overboard on the additions (I figure too little is better than too much). I don't know if this is too little/much though :drunk:

Grain bill - 1.064 OG - 65 IBU (Rager)

Code:

15 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        92.3 %        
12.0 oz               Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         2        4.6 %         
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain         3        3.1 %

Ward Labs Report (W-6)

Code:

pH                                          7.7
		
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm       84
		
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm            0.14
		
Cations / Anions, me/L                      1.1 / 1.1
		
Sodium, Na                                  5
		
Potassium, K                                1
		
Calcium, Ca                                 13
		
Magnesium, Mg                               2
		
Total Hardness, CaCO3                       41
		
Nitrate, NO3-N                              0.1 (SAFE)
		
Sulfate, SO4-S                              4
		
Chloride, Cl                                11
		
Carbonate, CO3                              <1
		
Bicarbonate, HCO3                           32
		
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3                     27

My adjustments:

ajdelange · Nov 17, 2012

Do you want bite or flavor? If you want bite increase the sulfate even further, use high alpha hops earlier in the boil and use more of them. If you want flavor (makes a much better beer IMO) us less sulfate and lower alpha hops. I know a guy makes fantastic IPAs that are just dripping with hops flavor and aroma but there is no bite - they are very smooth. I don't like ales in general because of the harshness of the hops in so many examples but it doesn't have to be that way.

beertastic · Nov 17, 2012

Well, I don't want too much bite. I don't really like really dry or bitter IPAs or RyePAs that much. But I don't currently get enough bite/bitterness out of my IPAs to really consider them IPAs. My chloride/sulfate ratio is 0.92 without any additions.

Big name IPAs I like are Two Hearted, 60 minute, Ranger, SN Torpedo. I can post my hop schedule if you want, but it is all high AA (Columbus for bittering, Amarillo/Simcoe for flavor)

mabrungard · Nov 17, 2012

I think that the OP's proposed sulfate level will be a good starting point. I prefer 300 ppm and I feel that somewhere around 100 ppm is the minimum sulfate level for hop-focused beers. I do suggest that you aim for a slightly lower mash pH to help brighten the beer. Unfortunately, I don't know if EZ will give you an accurate prediction or not. To hedge your bets, I'd aim for 5.4 and hope for the best. Having a pH measurement device would be helpful.

First time adjusting water. How does this look?

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First time adjusting water. How does this look?

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