DIPA Water. No Chlorides

[Cranny04]

Hey all,

I'm planning on brewing a DIPA tomorrow. I was going to build my water to be similar to Tasty McDole's "Hoppy Beer" water profile:
Ca 110, Mg 18, Na 17, So4 350, Cl 50. I went to my LHBS to get more CaCl and they were out. How large of an effect would leaving out the Cl and lowering the So4 to 300ppm have?

I'm also going to leave the sodium out as well.

 

[mabrungard]

I had not looked too closely at Tasty's hoppy profile before. But I notice it has some problems that would cause brewers some problems. The first problem is that it doesn't have balance between the cations and anions. Bringing the Ca to 130 ppm would correct that. But that elevated Ca helps drive the mash pH down. In the case of this profile with no bicarbonate, the mash pH is likely to be too low and that reduces the hop expression and flavor. So a little bicarbonate (alkalinity) is helpful in this case.

The 350 ppm sulfate is assertive, but it doesn't seem that it is typically overwhelming. 300 ppm is my typical target. Reducing the sulfate target in the Tasty profile to 300 allows the calcium to be reduced to 109 ppm and the mash pH drop isn't quite as severe. The pH might only be a tenth or so low.

Deleting the chloride shouldn't be a deal breaker, but chloride and sodium are both helpful in promoting fullness and sweetness in the beer flavor. Those minor levels are helpful, but not required.

A more appropriate water profile for a hoppy beer might be the Pale Ale profile in Bru'n Water. It does include a recommendation for a minor amount of bicarbonate to help keep the pH in the proper range when the calcium content is high. Be aware that the Pale Ale profile recommends more bicarbonate than might be needed for all grists. Don't be surprised if the actual bicarbonate level used is below the target value. The target bicarbonate level is just a first-guess and its OK to alter the actual concentration to meet the mash pH goal.

 

[Cranny04]

Thanks for the response!


My brew day has just gotten postponed (work). So I'll be able to pick up some CaCl

 

[RCCOLA]

Most grocery stores carry calcium chloride in the canning section. It's labeled "Pickle Crisp"

 

[Cranny04]

Most grocery stores carry calcium chloride in the canning section. It's labeled "Pickle Crisp"

Thanks! I live 45 min from a Homebrew store.