Chloride to Sulfate Ratio for Hefe

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
VikeMan

VikeMan

It ain't all burritos and strippers, my friend.
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Messages
5,853
Reaction score
5,969
I'm planning what will be my first hefeweizen since I started 'building' my brewing water. Question for experienced water tweakers...I assume the Chloride/Sulfate balance should lean to the malty (chloride) side, but how far would you tilt it? TIA!

---VikeMan
 
Ratio really has very little to do with it. For most German beers the sulfate should be as low as possible and the chloride where it needs to be to give the beer that sense of round, malty sweetness. As much chloride as goes in with the calcium is plenty.
 
Thanks. When you say 'as low as possible', would that include 0?



ajdelange said:
Ratio really has very little to do with it. For most German beers the sulfate should be as low as possible and the chloride where it needs to be to give the beer that sense of round, malty sweetness. As much chloride as goes in with the calcium is plenty.
Click to expand...
 
Zero would be OK. This is where the over-reliance by homebrewers to things like the "chloride/sulphate" ratio can lead to confusion. A ratio implies that there must be a quantity of each component present and that, IMO, is not always the case. ajdelange's post above is spot on.
 
Zero is pretty hard to hit unless you are using DI water but yes, 0 is fine but so are a few mg/L.

Bear in mind that there are others out there whose views on this differ.
 

Similar threads

N
Is my tap water usesless for brewing?
Replies
22
Views
2K
CascadesBrewer
CascadesBrewer
Zippy123
Reality check on Water Chemistry
Replies
27
Views
2K
WortMonger
WortMonger
N
Braumeister efficiency issues
Replies
39
Views
2K
Czech
C
M
Cyser recipe
Replies
5
Views
695
Barzahl
B
P
Does this recipe make sense?
Replies
9
Views
917
Miraculix
Miraculix

Latest posts

Back
Top