Help with water profile for SMaSH Pale Ale

[Brownyard]

I'm not a user of Brewer's Friend. But if that "Overall Water Report" at the bottom of your snapshot is what your water will look like, that should be fine, assuming your mash pH will also be in range.

Yep, that's it. Predicted pH is 5.4. Thanks!

 

[MikeCo]

I recommend going with a higher sulfate to chloride ratio (2:1 or 3:1) for hoppy beers. It will accentuate the hop bitterness and dryness.

 

[mabrungard]

The bicarbonate content in ANY water profile is only a starting point. It’s NOT a target. I’m not sure how other resources handle bicarbonate, but the content that’s quoted in Bru’n Water is only a placeholder that “balances” the profile. A Bru’n Water user should plan on adjusting their mashing and sparging as necessary to meet mashing pH requirements and forget what the profile states for bicarbonate.

 

[Miraculix]

The bicarbonate content in ANY water profile is only a starting point. It’s NOT a target. I’m not sure how other resources handle bicarbonate, but the content that’s quoted in Bru’n Water is only a placeholder that “balances” the profile. A Bru’n Water user should plan on adjusting their mashing and sparging as necessary to meet mashing pH requirements and forget what the profile states for bicarbonate.

Wouldn't it make more sense to use 0 as the starting point as most beers need 0?

 

[jerrylotto]

Bicarbonate is mostly in the form of dissolved CO2 anyway at mash pH. I've always wondered if I could acidify my mash water just by bubbling carbon dioxide through it.

 

[mabrungard]

Wouldn't it make more sense to use 0 as the starting point as most beers need 0?

Well, in many cases zero isn't correct either. For pale styles, the bicarbonate content actually needs to be less than zero (that means no bicarb and some excess acidity is present). For dark styles, its likely that the bicarb content needs to be well above zero.

With respect to brewing water profiles, it would actually be more appropriate to show no bicarbonate information and state that the brewer needs to adjust the bicarb/acidity content to produce an acceptable mashing pH.