Nateo
Well-Known Member
I've been all-grain brewing for a few years. I've only recently gotten into water treatments. I've been using 5.2 pH stabilizer and getting (what I consider) good results for most of that time. The last few batches I've used brewing salts to alter my water. I did an ESB recently using Mosher's Ideal Pale Ale as the target. I added 1g Epsom, 1g CaCl2, and 7g Gypsum. It tastes really "minerally" to me. I did a very similar ESB a few months ago with no water treatment and it tasted a lot better.
From my water report
Denver Water:
Ca - 30
SO4 - 56
Mg - 7.9
Na - 21
Cl - 23
(carb) - 80
Mosher's Ideal Pale Ale:
Ca - 110
SO4 - 350
Mg - 14
Na - 17
Cl - 50
(carb) - 70
I've lived in CO my whole life. The tap water here is outstanding. Everywhere else I've gone, the tap water tastes awful to me. Do the water-treated brews just taste strange to me because I'm used to drinking such mineral-free water? Am I overdoing it on the water treatment? Could it be that my beer palate is based mostly on local breweries, and those breweries don't modify their water much?
In practical terms, should I only treat my water when making beers at the most extreme ends of the SRM scale, and not worry about it with copper/brown beers?
From my water report
Denver Water:
Ca - 30
SO4 - 56
Mg - 7.9
Na - 21
Cl - 23
(carb) - 80
Mosher's Ideal Pale Ale:
Ca - 110
SO4 - 350
Mg - 14
Na - 17
Cl - 50
(carb) - 70
I've lived in CO my whole life. The tap water here is outstanding. Everywhere else I've gone, the tap water tastes awful to me. Do the water-treated brews just taste strange to me because I'm used to drinking such mineral-free water? Am I overdoing it on the water treatment? Could it be that my beer palate is based mostly on local breweries, and those breweries don't modify their water much?
In practical terms, should I only treat my water when making beers at the most extreme ends of the SRM scale, and not worry about it with copper/brown beers?