Munich Dunkel Water

[bwible]

Munich (Dark Lager)

Ca2+	Mg2+	Na+	Cl-	SO42-	HCO3-
Ion Profile in ppm
82	20	4	2	16	320

How the hell are you supposed to adjust water to 82 ca and 20 mg when you can’t use any CaCl2, CaSo4, or MgSO4 to keep 2 Cl and 16 SO4? Ridiculous.

 

[cire]

That profile is fairly typical of groundwater where the local geology is almost exclusively limestone. It will be very difficult to replicate without beginning with natural, and similarly hard, groundwater.

The alkalinity is too high, even to brew a dark lager, so the brewer would necessarily include a fair proportion of acid malt in the grist to lower mash pH into the acceptable range.

 

[mabrungard]

When that natural water is boiled and decanted off its sediment, the calcium and bicarbonate content is substantially reduced and that resulting water is very suited for brewing a Dunkel.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Without much dwelling upon it (as in tweaking), this quickly gets one into the general ballpark. The only issue (albeit a major one) is to get the Calcium Carbonate to fully dissolve. Natural water such as this has had many years (to put this mildly) of direct contact exposure to a surrounding Calcium Carbonate (limestone) overload environment.

10 gallons Distilled Water
1.5 grams Epsom Salt
1.0 grams Baking Soda
0.5 grams Table Salt
7.7 grams Calcium Carbonate

 

[cire]

Without much dwelling upon it (as in tweaking), this quickly gets one into the general ballpark. The only issue (albeit a major one) is to get the Calcium Carbonate to fully dissolve. Natural water such as this has had many years (to put this mildly) of direct contact exposure to a surrounding Calcium Carbonate (limestone) overload environment.

10 gallons Distilled Water
1.5 grams Epsom Salt
1.0 grams Baking Soda
0.5 grams Table Salt
7.7 grams Calcium Carbonate

If you have a Cornelius Keg, add the above ingredients and enough distilled water to leave a modest head space. Then purge the air with CO2 and apply some pressure. Shake the vessel periodically and after a few days the calcium carbonate will have gone into solution as bicarbonate. Then add distilled water to make 10 gallons.

 

[bwible]

Thanks guys. I have 5 gallon corny kegs.

Martin I saw in another post where you were telling somebody to cut back Ca, Cl, and SO4 for a lager to something like 30 Ca and 40 each Cl and SO4. I tried this with the last lager I just brewed which was an Amber lager. That one is still in the fermenter but smells great. Can I do ok with something like that for a Dunkel - low Ca and about equal Cl and SO4, also low?

Say if I did 25 calcium, 30 each chloride and sulfate?

 

[bwible]

Here are my 2 water reports. The one that says 57 sodium is from 2020. The one that says 41 sodium is from June this year.

For lagers I’ve been diluting about 50/50 with distilled water. Mostly to lower sodium. I don’t fully understand the impact of sodium but I think the values I have are too high compared to all the lager water profiles. I have low Ca to start and low sulfate. But plenty of chloride. So I’m mostly adding gypsum to everything to try to get Ca and sulfate up some. I haven’t been bothering with magnesium which usually ends up around 4 or 5 after diluting.