Soft water from Portland, OR

[ElDuderino]

I have been reading about water chemistry and would like to adjust my very soft water to make a porter soon. I have played with some calculators and I think I am on the right track, but I just wanted to get some feedback and advice so I don't screw up ten gallons of beer.

My water character is soft, as gathered from http://www.portlandonline.com/water/index.cfm?c=29551&a=309711
Ca 1.4
Mg .59
SO 1
NA 2.5
Cl 2.6
HCO 8.2
Alk 7

I am looking to do something like a london water, which according to the Brewer's Friend chemistry water calculator looks like this:
Ca 90
Mg 6
SO 24
NA 22
Cl 10
HCO 82
Alk 67

I am not so concerned with NA. I don't really understand the concept of SO4and Cl ratios, but I wanted to raise my levels up (without doing the same with NA). Anyway, I monkeyed around with the entrys for 14 gallons of liquor and came up with this:
Add 5.56 tsp CaCO3 Chalk
.59 tsp CaCl2
5 grams MgSO4 epsom salts (for some reason the calculator doesn't give a tsp measure for this one.)
This results in the following levels:
Ca 86
Mg 10
SO 38
NA 3
Cl 21
HCO 121
Alk 99

I have to admit this is all a little like black magic to me. I am going by what I've learned in How to Brew and Noonan's Brewing Lager Beer. I am interested in adjusting my SOFT water but am not too concerned with matching the classic profiles too exactly.

I've brewed about ten or fifteen AG batches without messing with water and its worke out, although I don't know how much better it would have been... I am especially interested in working with SO4 and Cl to accentuate hoppiness. We'll see what I get when I pay attention to water profiles.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

[wacko]

I'm interested in this as well. I live in your area

 

[ElDuderino]

I first posted this question in brewing science, and then I wasn't sure if it belonged there so I posted it here... Here's a link to the same question in that forum. ajdelange posted a great response to my question...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/soft-water-adjustment-portland-196560/

 

[samc]

This is what I use to brew most of my beers which are IPA or PA usually.

http://www.brewery.org/brewery/library/wchmprimer.html

Burton Pale Ale -- A toned-down, "idealized" profile. Enough sulphate to bring out the hops without overdoing it. Low alkalinity helps ensure proper mash pH. Model: Moshers 'Ideal Pale Ale". 1 gram baking soda, 1 gram canning salt, 3.5 grams Epsom salt, 9 grams gypsum. Ca=111, SO4=337, Mg=18, Na=35, Cl=32, CO3=38, Hardness=352, Alkalinity=31.