Anybody care to critique my cream ale water profile?

[cunnol]

First time having a proper go at using Bru'n water and not really aware of which additions are better but I've included ones I know I can order with my next batch of ingredients.

Grain bill is 4.32KGs of Weyermann Pale ale malt, EBC around 6.5, plus some flaked maize.

Thanks,

 

[Yooper]

I'd remove the epsom salt and gypsum (you don't want/need the sulfate), and increase the calcium chloride so you have 50-70 ppm of calcium. A mash pH of 5.3-5.4 is great.

 

[cunnol]

Thanks yooper, just out of interest If I remove the epsom and gypsum my numbers will be thrown off, so bru'n water profiles won't necessarily get you a better tasting beer? Is that what the columns turning red is for? Hard to get the balance between a profile you want and not adding too much of a certain salt it seems

 

[Yooper]

Thanks yooper, just out of interest If I remove the epsom and gypsum my numbers will be thrown off, so bru'n water profiles won't necessarily get you a better tasting beer? Is that what the columns turning red is for? Hard to get the balance between a profile you want and not adding too much of a certain salt it seems

Right- those water profiles are not necessarily targets. "yellow balanced" means neither hoppy or malty, but you don't usually want the sulfate in a cream ale if you are using noble type hops. A little is fine, especially when using other hops.

Having calcium over 50 ppm will enhance yeast flocculation (important for clarity), and precipitate oxalates in the mash. So that's good. A good goal is 50-100 ppm for most ales.

Chloride enhances fullness, or "roundness" of the beer, and that's good in a cream ale. You can use some sulfate, too, to enhance dryness, but you don't need much. You don't need to add magnesium (in the epsom salts) at all, so if you do want to use some sulfate the gypsum will be ok.

I tend to take a "less is more" approach and use less salts in most of my beers. The acid you have is great- and the mash pH of 5.3-5.4 is really the most important part.

 

[mabrungard]

Recognize that the amount of added Mg is very small. It is fine to add epsom salt to add Mg and SO4. The level of SO4 in the balanced profiles is hardly excessive. It will help dry the beer finish. But if you find that too drying, the Full profiles will reduce the drying effect.