Can my water profile affect dry hop effectiveness?

[luizffgarcia]

Hey guys,

I read a lot about this subject but i still cannot figure out if the water profile can affect the dry hop efficiency, some say it can, some say it can't.

Since i have a problem with lack of hop aromas i am wondering if the water can be the cause or not.

I was using spring water so far and i have just tried my first batch using ez water calculator and distilled water, i am trying to improve my beer and this was the next logical step.

What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

Subscribed.

I'm using well water (which tastes great right out of the tap), but have noticed my dry-hopped beers aren't as "aromatic" as one would expect given I'm using 1 - 3 ounces per dry hop.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Why not move some of your hop additions further back in the boil, use an ounce of hops per gallon and add them at 20, 10 and 5 minutes left to the boil?

 

[luizffgarcia]

Why not move some of your hop additions further back in the boil, use an ounce of hops per gallon and add them at 20, 10 and 5 minutes left to the boil?

Already tried, i have a bunch of hops in the flame-out, 30 minutes hopstand AND 1 oz per gallon for the dry hop, still no aroma!!!

 

[BobOki]

I have noticed in the little time I have been brewing that if your water chemistry is not right it can literally affect EVERYTHING. It 100% would not surprise me if you do not have the proper chemistry for an IPA and it is causing your hops to lose some potency.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/ and be sure to select the proper profiles. Even small things have made my IPAs taste 2x better than the last brew with all targets being met.

 

[prrriiide]

Yes, it absolutely will affect your dry hops, and everything else. Water chemistry is the key to great beers, and imperative for a successful IPA. Without a good water profile, all of the grains and hops in the world won't make it excellent. Good, sure. Great, maybe. BoS? not likely.

The problem with distilled water is that it has all of its minerals stripped out and you have to replace them to get a good profile, and then you're cloning a profile from somewhere else. Your best bet is to send a sample to Ward Labs and find out your water profile out of your tap. Then adjust from there, making sure your pH is as close as possible to 5.4 pre-boil. Now you have local water to brew a local IPA. It won't ever taste the same as any other IPA out there. But it can be a show-stopper if done well.

From an artistic standpoint, treating your water is like a painter sizing their canvas. You can paint on raw muslin, but it won't look very good...the colors won't blend well, the brush strokes will look clumsy, and the end product won't be anything like the painter envisioned. But if you size it out, and prep the canvas, you can paint a masterpiece.

You don't say whether you are doing AG or extract, but that doesn't really matter. Great beer starts with good water. EzWaterCalc is a great tool. I use it on every brew.

 

[luizffgarcia]

Thanks for the reply guys, i wanted to share this link with you all:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/top-10-tips-super-hoppy-ipa.html

In this i found all the tips i needed to really get the most of my hops, and regarding the water profile i found exactly the information i was looking for: "Most importantly, sulphates promote hop bitterness, aroma and flavor and +some prefer them extremely high, 300+ like heady topper. But above 150-200ppm will give you additional help in the hop department."

You know how much suplhate i had in my spring water??? 5ppm!!!!!!!! No wonder i could not get any hop goodness!!!!

So bottom line, yes the water plays a big part

 

[douglasbarbin]

Thanks for the reply guys, i wanted to share this link with you all:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/top-10-tips-super-hoppy-ipa.html

In this i found all the tips i needed to really get the most of my hops, and regarding the water profile i found exactly the information i was looking for: "Most importantly, sulphates promote hop bitterness, aroma and flavor and +some prefer them extremely high, 300+ like heady topper. But above 150-200ppm will give you additional help in the hop department."

You know how much suplhate i had in my spring water??? 5ppm!!!!!!!! No wonder i could not get any hop goodness!!!!

So bottom line, yes the water plays a big part

After some conversation with a professional brewer who makes world-class hoppy beers, I am starting to think that pH is more important than sulfate when it comes to hop flavor and aroma.

 

[WrQth]

Water is very important but with just plain RO water an IPA should still be hoppy so if you are saying it has "no aroma" then there could be something wrong with your process or even your ingredients (quality and quantity)

Provide an overview of your process and equipment and the recipe for your last IPA which didn't have have the aromatics qualities you were expecting.

 

[luizffgarcia]

Water is very important but with just plain RO water an IPA should still be hoppy so if you are saying it has "no aroma" then there could be something wrong with your process or even your ingredients (quality and quantity)

Provide an overview of your process and equipment and the recipe for your last IPA which didn't have have the aromatics qualities you were expecting.

Sure, here is my last attempt with spring water:

1 Gallon - OG 1060
2 Row - 910g (98%)
Crystal - 19g (2%)

Boil:
Columbus - 5g @ 60 minutes
Mosaic - 9g @ 15 min
Mosaic - 9g @ 0 min then hopstand

Dry hop - Mosaic 18g for 5 days

See why i am so puzzled about the lack of aroma? Again, my spring water ph is 7.8 and Suplhate is 5ppm...

 

[canehdianman]

Sure, here is my last attempt with spring water:

1 Gallon - OG 1060
2 Row - 910g (98%)
Crystal - 19g (2%)

Boil:
Columbus - 5g @ 60 minutes
Mosaic - 9g @ 15 min
Mosaic - 9g @ 0 min then hopstand

Dry hop - Mosaic 18g for 5 days

See why i am so puzzled about the lack of aroma? Again, my spring water ph is 7.8 and Suplhate is 5ppm...

Find a good water calculator (I use brewer's friend online).

add gypsum (Calcium Sulphate) to get your sulphates up above 150 ppm and you'll be able to smell your next IPA from the neighbour's house.


I'll add in that you might benefit from adding some lactic acid as well, since 7.8 is a pretty high ph and for a lighter beer it will result in too high of a ph for the mash.

 

[luizffgarcia]

Find a good water calculator (I use brewer's friend online).

add gypsum (Calcium Sulphate) to get your sulphates up above 150 ppm and you'll be able to smell your next IPA from the neighbour's house.


I'll add in that you might benefit from adding some lactic acid as well, since 7.8 is a pretty high ph and for a lighter beer it will result in too high of a ph for the mash.

Yes, i really hope that this will do the trick.

The batch i have fermenting right now has a mash ph of 5.4 because of an lactic acid addition, and 163ppm for the Sulphates from gypsum, i am am really anxious for the results!

 

[douglasbarbin]

Water pH doesn't matter. Mash pH, boil kettle pH, and fermenter pH do matter. Also, knowing the sulfate content of your spring water is fairly worthless without knowing the rest of the water profile.

 

[hezagenius]

My house water sucks. It's drinkable as water but every beer I made with it blew chunks. Just no hop aroma or flavor, even with like 14 oz of hops. Then I switched to spring water. That was just as bad. I never got that "smack you in the face" awesome hop flavor and aroma until I started building my water profile from scratch with RO water. You have total control over the water in that situation.

Find a profile for a hoppy IPA. Calcium, chloride and sulfate are very important in terms of mouthfeel and hoppiness. Download a water calculator, load the profile and figure out the necessary additions of CaCl, Gypsum, Epsom Salt, Canning Salt, etc. Also, make sure you have a reasonable mash pH.

Timing is also important when it comes to hops. I now do a dry hop while fermentation is active (day 5). And then another one when fermentation is basically done (day 10-ish). Then keg on Day 13. Burst carb for a few days and then it's drinkable. I'm going to speed up the process on my next batch to have it ready to drink by day 14. The longer you it takes to get it to a drinkable state, the more hop flavor and aroma you will lose.

And do everything you can to minimize oxygen contact.

The beers I'm making since I've started building a water profile are leaps and bounds better in terms of hoppiness.

 

[NeoRamza]

The batch i have fermenting right now has a mash ph of 5.4 because of an lactic acid addition, and 163ppm for the Sulphates from gypsum, i am am really anxious for the results!

I'm having the same problem with the two IPAs I made. My water have also only 5ppm of minerals. Well, now I'm also really anxious for your results! Please report to us as long as you have the results.