How Important is Sodium Level?

[dschiller22]

For an IPA or red ale, is the (Bru'n Water) recommended sodium level of 10-15 ppm just a rough guideline? AJ calls these the "stylistic ions," so I'm guessing that as long as I hit my mash pH, I might not be able to taste the difference between Na at 10-15 ppm versus 25-30 ppm.

 

[mabrungard]

Probably not a significant factor for flavor, but it might add a nuance. By the way, Mg, Na, SO4, and Cl are not 'stylistic ions', they are flavor ions. They affect flavor, not style.

 

[frettfreak]

Great question and answer. Thanks! Was curious as to how much the Na levels effected the overall flavor profile myself. My water profile here is kinda high in NA (64 ppm) and have been curious.

good info to know! cheers

 

[NatureOfTheYeast]

I think of sodium in beer like I do with food. In low amounts, it can enhance your tongue's perception of flavor and give the very subtle "tingle" of salt. In large amounts, you get more of that tingle, obviously a salty flavor, and an overall muddling of flavors.

For the low ppm that we use in the brewing world, I think we're safely on the "flavor enhancement" side of using sodium. I stick with the recommendations of Bru'n water profiles with styles I'm less familiar with and haven't been steered wrong. Also, I think that as long as the source or adjusted water doesn't taste "salty", then you're probably alright, but I'm open to being corrected on that if I'm off-base.

 

[dschiller]

Thanks. Like @frettfreak my water profile has Na=58 ppm, which drives me to dilute with distilled water by 80% to get it in the 10-15 ppm range; if I use RO water, which is a lot cheaper, I would have to dilute it by 90% since (according to Bru'n Water) RO has 8 ppm Na. The amber balanced profile target is 10 ppm Na; I think I'll just use 80% RO, which gets me to 18 ppm Na and call that close enough. It's not like I want to minimize how much distilled or RO water because I want to save money - it's just that I'd like to take advantage of the other minerals in my tap water and thus minimize how much brewing minerals I add. Cheers

 

[FlyDoctor]

Good question here. I have been essentially ignoring sodium when building water from RO, adding only gypsum, calcium chloride, and Epsom to target the ca, cl, and sulfate targets. I figured there was sodium in the grain. Am I really screwing up doing this? What source of sodium is preferred?

 

[mabrungard]

Most tasters would not find 64 ppm Na offensive in their beers. I would be worried with that much Na in a water profile like Pale Ale with its 300 ppm SO4 since Na and SO4 tend to display antagonistic flavor together. But less mineralized profiles should be OK with that much Na. The best test is to brew up a lighter style that you brew regularly and see if is diminished by brewing with the elevated Na level. I can guarantee that that Na level won't make it undrinkable, but whether its your preference, is your decision.

 

[ajdelange]

AJ calls these the "stylistic ions,"

'Tisn't just me. I did not come up with that way of describing them. I cannot recall where I heard that used for the first time but I can recall that it was a long time ago. Anyway, it was thought that you didn't have much choice WRT the 'technical' ions (I'm calling them that) because of their influence on mash pH but as that is relatively minor and they do have an effect on how the beer tastes or feels on the palate they are really stylistic ions too (influence the impression lent by your interpretation of the style).