What is the optimum ppm or water hardness

I have read and seen a lot that some breweries brag that their beer is the best because of the water they use or some variation of that.

I just brewed a batch of Fullers London Porter from the BYO recipe and they said to use water with 125ppm. Well I skipped that part, but was wondering what the optimum number is?

I was working on the pool this weekend and decided to test the alkalinity of my water with the pool test kit. If the test is anywhere near accurate, I my water is at 160-170 ppm.

I have used PH 5.2 on all of my beers so far but just wondering if others try to get their water hardness to a certain level or shoot for different levels with different recipes?

Different styles of beer arose partly because of the water that was available. You cannot brew a Czech Pils with hard water - unless you pre-boil it, dilute it or use 5.2. Most potable water will work for most beers styles unless you are pushing the envelope with really light or really dark beers. Looking at your list of brews you are probably fine without any alterations or even the use of 5.2.

GT

Some people start with distilled water and add chemicals to match the water profile for the traditional location. Burton salts are a common example.

CDO can be treated. (like OCD, but the letters are in alphabetic order)

Got Trub? said:

Different styles of beer arose partly because of the water that was available. You cannot brew a Czech Pils with hard water - unless you pre-boil it, dilute it or use 5.2. Most potable water will work for most beers styles unless you are pushing the envelope with really light or really dark beers. Looking at your list of brews you are probably fine without any alterations or even the use of 5.2.

GT

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Thanks, the beers below are what I will be brewing mostly, but I am going to try a light lager for the first time. What kind of water should I try for for that? I am going to try a Sam Adams Light clone.