FunkedOut
FunkedOver
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2017
- Messages
- 849
- Reaction score
- 417
So I made a beer clone of a mildly hoppy (dry hopped) amber lager.
While it was excellent and I really enjoyed it, when tasted side by side with the original, I could experience a very, very big difference between the two.
The original is unbelievably clean, crisp and dry. It's an amazing mouth feel.
My brew is round, smooth, and almost muddy after a few seconds on the palate. It's like, my tongue goes blind after a bit.
Yeast was W-34/70 and temp control tight at 55*F with d-rest at 68*F and a week long ramp to 32*F.
I am thinking it may be my tap water.
I've never adjusted it, never tested it.
I collect all of the water (~9 gallons), add 1/2 tablet of campden and brew the next day.
So my next brew, I collected a sample, post campden, for ward labs.
The results are in:
calcium is at 40ppm
magnesium is at 10ppm
sodium, sulfate and chloride are at 100ppm
bicarbonate is at 60ppm
Seems like good water. Everything is in the ranges provided by Bru'n Water and Beersmith.
What is making me scratch my head is that, any of the profiles for styles I pick in Bru'n Water (Yellow, Amber, Brown, Black, etc.), I need to dilute my tap water with at least 50% distilled to make the sulfate or chloride match. Forget about the sodium; that is way high.
I guess here is my question:
Why do the recommended ranges go so high, yet none of the recommended profiles do?
And let me not forget my original question:
Is that mouthfeel difference my water?
Mineral content, or ph?
My mash ph 15 minutes in is usually 5.5-5.6 for ambers to yellows.
No sparge, full volume mash with no ph adjustments.
I and thinking of just adding lactic acid to my next brew and leave the minerals alone to see if that makes a difference.
Appreciate any help you guys can through my way to help me get there faster.
While it was excellent and I really enjoyed it, when tasted side by side with the original, I could experience a very, very big difference between the two.
The original is unbelievably clean, crisp and dry. It's an amazing mouth feel.
My brew is round, smooth, and almost muddy after a few seconds on the palate. It's like, my tongue goes blind after a bit.
Yeast was W-34/70 and temp control tight at 55*F with d-rest at 68*F and a week long ramp to 32*F.
I am thinking it may be my tap water.
I've never adjusted it, never tested it.
I collect all of the water (~9 gallons), add 1/2 tablet of campden and brew the next day.
So my next brew, I collected a sample, post campden, for ward labs.
The results are in:
calcium is at 40ppm
magnesium is at 10ppm
sodium, sulfate and chloride are at 100ppm
bicarbonate is at 60ppm
Seems like good water. Everything is in the ranges provided by Bru'n Water and Beersmith.
What is making me scratch my head is that, any of the profiles for styles I pick in Bru'n Water (Yellow, Amber, Brown, Black, etc.), I need to dilute my tap water with at least 50% distilled to make the sulfate or chloride match. Forget about the sodium; that is way high.
I guess here is my question:
Why do the recommended ranges go so high, yet none of the recommended profiles do?
And let me not forget my original question:
Is that mouthfeel difference my water?
Mineral content, or ph?
My mash ph 15 minutes in is usually 5.5-5.6 for ambers to yellows.
No sparge, full volume mash with no ph adjustments.
I and thinking of just adding lactic acid to my next brew and leave the minerals alone to see if that makes a difference.
Appreciate any help you guys can through my way to help me get there faster.