mojotele
Well-Known Member
So I'm going to give all grain a whirl on my next batch of beer. I've had some success with partial mashing, and I've become pretty well versed on the procedure in general. The thing I'm least versed in is water profiles.
I have the information on my local water:
Calcium - 21 ppm
Magnesium - 6 ppm
Alkalinity as CaCO3 - 44
Sodium - 16 ppm
Chloride - 35 ppm
Sulfate - 16 ppm
It is rather soft and well suited for beers in the dark gold to light amber range (according to Palmer's info). Luckily, the estimated color of my first all grain brew is 12.2 SRM. According to Palmer's spreadsheet, my residual alkalinity should be on the low end of the recommended range. The chloride to sulfate ratio comes out as "very malty." The beer I'm planning to brew is a Fat Tire clone (friend really wants it), so I think that may be appropriate.
My question is - for this first beer, and given the information above, should I even concern myself with the water profile? Or, should I just concentrate on learning the process of mashing and leave things like mash pH, chloride to sulfate ratios, etc. for later batches when I'm more experienced?
I have the information on my local water:
Calcium - 21 ppm
Magnesium - 6 ppm
Alkalinity as CaCO3 - 44
Sodium - 16 ppm
Chloride - 35 ppm
Sulfate - 16 ppm
It is rather soft and well suited for beers in the dark gold to light amber range (according to Palmer's info). Luckily, the estimated color of my first all grain brew is 12.2 SRM. According to Palmer's spreadsheet, my residual alkalinity should be on the low end of the recommended range. The chloride to sulfate ratio comes out as "very malty." The beer I'm planning to brew is a Fat Tire clone (friend really wants it), so I think that may be appropriate.
My question is - for this first beer, and given the information above, should I even concern myself with the water profile? Or, should I just concentrate on learning the process of mashing and leave things like mash pH, chloride to sulfate ratios, etc. for later batches when I'm more experienced?