Hello all, I'm working on my American IPA recipe and I'm starting to seriously look at my water chemistry. I use water from an artisan spring near where I live. The water tastes great, and is free, and I figure if there is anything living in the water, it gets killed off in the boil. This is the water profile:
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Existing Water Profile:
Calcium=13ppm
Magnesium=9ppm
Sodium=899m
Potassium=3ppm
Bicarbonate=94ppm
Sulfate=4ppm
Chloride=3ppm
Nitrate=0.6ppm
Fluoride=0.2ppm
Total Alkilinity=79
PH=8.2
I used Brun' Water to make my adjustments to the water. I used the Pale Ale number because i figured that it would be the closest thing to what the IPA should be. The water profile i got was this:
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Profile being used:
Calcium=137ppm
Magnesium=18
Sodium=25
Sulfate=300
Chloride=55
Bicarbonate=42
PH=5.3(Through an addition of lactic acid)
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Now I am actually reading through my cope of the Ray Daniels book Designing Great Beers. Specifically the Section on Bitters and Pale Ales and it suggests that the water profile for Burton should be used to Pale Ales, Bitters, and IPA's However, the Burton profiles on Burn' Water and Daniel's book are pretty different. They are
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Brun' Water Daniels
Calcium: 275ppm 294ppm
Magnesium: 40ppm 24ppm
Sodium: 25ppm 24ppm
Sulfate: 610ppm 801ppm
Chloride: 35ppm 36ppm
Bicarbonate: 270ppm 0ppm
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If I use Brun' Water's Profile. I can hit the Burton profile exactly, but the mash PH will be 5.6, and with an acid addition I can bring the PH down to 5.3 which I remember reading is where the mash PH should be.
If I choose to go with the profile from the book the Bicarbonate will be high, and I don't know of a good way to remove it.
I am curious about is what would be the best profile to use for an American IPA. Do I need to worry about a high mash PH, or is better to bring it down to 5.3. And what is the best way, if need be to remove bicarbonate? Thanks everyone for their help.
_______________________________________________________________
Existing Water Profile:
Calcium=13ppm
Magnesium=9ppm
Sodium=899m
Potassium=3ppm
Bicarbonate=94ppm
Sulfate=4ppm
Chloride=3ppm
Nitrate=0.6ppm
Fluoride=0.2ppm
Total Alkilinity=79
PH=8.2
I used Brun' Water to make my adjustments to the water. I used the Pale Ale number because i figured that it would be the closest thing to what the IPA should be. The water profile i got was this:
_______________________________________________________________
Profile being used:
Calcium=137ppm
Magnesium=18
Sodium=25
Sulfate=300
Chloride=55
Bicarbonate=42
PH=5.3(Through an addition of lactic acid)
_______________________________________________________________
Now I am actually reading through my cope of the Ray Daniels book Designing Great Beers. Specifically the Section on Bitters and Pale Ales and it suggests that the water profile for Burton should be used to Pale Ales, Bitters, and IPA's However, the Burton profiles on Burn' Water and Daniel's book are pretty different. They are
_______________________________________________________________
Brun' Water Daniels
Calcium: 275ppm 294ppm
Magnesium: 40ppm 24ppm
Sodium: 25ppm 24ppm
Sulfate: 610ppm 801ppm
Chloride: 35ppm 36ppm
Bicarbonate: 270ppm 0ppm
_______________________________________________________________
If I use Brun' Water's Profile. I can hit the Burton profile exactly, but the mash PH will be 5.6, and with an acid addition I can bring the PH down to 5.3 which I remember reading is where the mash PH should be.
If I choose to go with the profile from the book the Bicarbonate will be high, and I don't know of a good way to remove it.
I am curious about is what would be the best profile to use for an American IPA. Do I need to worry about a high mash PH, or is better to bring it down to 5.3. And what is the best way, if need be to remove bicarbonate? Thanks everyone for their help.