IPA bitterness help

[PlinyTheMiddleAged]

I'd go lower than 300 ppm sulfate if you're looking to reduce the harshness! Maybe start with 150 ppm for this beer, and see how you like it before overdoing it with the sulfate. I would NOT like this beer with 330 ppm of sulfate, for sure.





"Less is more" for sure. I'd go with only only calcium sulfate (gypsum) to get the calcium to 50-100 ppm and the sulfate to 135-150 ppm. Shoot for a mash pH of 5.4 or so (5.3 is fine). The chloride won't hurt a bit, and you may like it so you could keep that in.

Yooper is right (as usual) about the sulfate levels. I wouldn't shoot for 300 ppm on the water. I sent some Pliny the Elder off to Wards back in November. The report came back with 160 ppm sulfate in the finished beer. I don't know how much you'll get out of the grainbill if any, but I'd keep the water around 150 tops.

My plan is to use Vinny's recipe and some guess at the minerals added to RO water - then, send the finished clone off to Wards to dial in the additions on future brews to get close to the real RR product. Just gotta find a slot in my brewing schedule to make it happen!

Cheers!

Edit: Hmmmmm. I just took another look at the report. It says 160 ppm SO4-S. I think that Bru'N Water says that you multiply that number by 3 to get the sulfate level. So that means 480 - perhaps it really is high? Strange because I don't find the bitterness to be that harsh.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

Ok so yet another question. Is the final Bicarbonate ppm or Alkalinity ppm important? Is there certain numbers for those I should shoot for?

Right now, just using Gypsum, Magnesium Chloride, and some lactic acid this is what I got my numbers to:

Calcium:62.4
Magnesium:18
Sodium:8
Sulfate:148.5
Chloride:56.5
Bicarbonate:-21(this is in the minus, so I wasn't sure if that was ok?)
Cations:4.9
Anions:4.3
Total Hardness:230
Alkalinity:-17(also in the minus)
RA:-73
SO4/CI ratio:2.6

pH ended up at 5.4

Any problems with these numbers?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Your numbers are fine. Hopefully you threw that pH 5.2 stabilizer away.

 

[The_Glue]

Yooper is right (as usual) about the sulfate levels. I wouldn't shoot for 300 ppm on the water. I sent some Pliny the Elder off to Wards back in November. The report came back with 160 ppm sulfate in the finished beer. I don't know how much you'll get out of the grainbill if any, but I'd keep the water around 150 tops.

My plan is to use Vinny's recipe and some guess at the minerals added to RO water - then, send the finished clone off to Wards to dial in the additions on future brews to get close to the real RR product. Just gotta find a slot in my brewing schedule to make it happen!

Cheers!

Edit: Hmmmmm. I just took another look at the report. It says 160 ppm SO4-S. I think that Bru'N Water says that you multiply that number by 3 to get the sulfate level. So that means 480 - perhaps it really is high? Strange because I don't find the bitterness to be that harsh.

Maybe the hopshots help to keep the astringent, "painful" bitterness down.