SO, I have been having an issue with my beers, and decided it has to be due to my water. Darker beers with less hops, not as noticeable, but hop forward IPA/APA it became a huge issue. These beers have loads of late addition hops, along with a 60m bittering addition, finished beers have been very bitter, and a little astringent. What I am going to point my finger at is my sulfate to Chloride ratio, sulfate 91, chloride 3. Going forward I will be adding Calcium Chloride to my water, (6.5g) for my process will put me at 1:1, which is where I would like to start my baseline. Here is my question, if I were to add 5g Calcium Chloride to my kegged beer will it lesson the bitterness perception making it more palatable, or has that horse already left the barn. Basically does that chloride level have the effect on hop extraction level, or perception of the hop extraction? If it is perception it seems as though the keg addition could help the beer.
Thoughts?
Thank you in advance.
Thoughts?
Thank you in advance.