IPA water question

Ok I'm planning my IIPA to be brewed really soon, I took my water and upped the Ca and lowered my cl/sulfate ratio to enhance bitterness. My question is am I still going to have a good malt flavor, I'm using 17lbs Marris otter and 1.5lb crystal 60L and my target IBU is 101

I recently brewed a pale / ESB with water that I lowered the cl/so4 ratio to 0.2 (for the entire wort volume). The grain bill was similar and Yes, it still does have a great malt flavor. I used Wyeast 1968 which I think plays a role. However, my IBUs were much lower. I am not sure I could taste much malt flavor with 100 IBUs, but everyone tastes things differently and I am not a BJCP judge.

As I understand it, the so4 doesn't technically change the bitterness or IBUs in a beer, but rather changes the taste perceptions of it. I think it provides a sharper, crisper, or cleaner bitterness flavor rather than a harsh or muddled bitterness.

Good luck!

Forget about the ratio. The thing that matters is the concentrations of sulfate and chloride. Relying on the ratio can leave you creating problems with your water.

I suggest that bringing the sulfate into the 200 to 300 ppm range brings a welcome sharpness to the hopping. I find 300 ppm sulfate is very pleasing to my palate and those of my clubmates. With that high of sulfate, the chloride needs to be modest. I suggest a chloride level well below 100 ppm, closer to 50 ppm.

Do check out Bru'n Water for more guidance on how and why to adjust your brewing water.

You are unlikely to have a problem with maltiness if you are making an IIPA. The limited iso-alpha solubility makes it impossible to get enough bitterness into the beer to overwhelm the wort gravity (assuming this will be a beer with over 7.5% alcohol). You need to be more concerned with keeping the wort fermentable so that the beer will dry out enough to keep it from being percieved as a barleywine. Adding simple sugars is a good way to keep the wort fermentable. Your recipe probably already incorporates that!

Enjoy!

Ok, thanks guys, this helps me with my answer, I think my water should be fine after reading your responses,