Natural 4:1 Sulfate-Chloride ratio?

[dude1]

Lucky enough to have a water report for my very tap here in Switzerland (see screenshot), which says:

- Sulfates 42.2 mg/L
- Chloride 9.4 mg/L

Two questions:

- Is that really a natural 4:1 Sulfate-Chloride ratio before I even add any mineral to my water or did I miss something? I guess that should be good for a rather hoppy and dry beer.

- What about the absolute values. Is that rather low or high for either a hoppy beer or a malty one?

Any other remark based on this table is more than welcome.

Thanks

 

[mabrungard]

The ratio is meaningless. Concern yourself with their absolute concentrations.

 

[dmtaylor]

The ratio is meaningless. Concern yourself with their absolute concentrations.

+1000000

 

[elmito]

The ratio is meaningless. Concern yourself with their absolute concentrations.

Hey could you elaborate on "absolute concentrations?"

 

[Robert65]

Hey could you elaborate on "absolute concentrations?"

He means the actual amount of a given ion present. Consider this: the "ratio" is 4:1. But if that means 4 ppm sulfate and 1 ppm chloride, you essentially have mineral-free, might as well be distilled, water, and the sulfate and chloride will have no flavor impact at all. If it's 800 ppm sulfate and 200 ppm chloride, well, if the result is even beer, you definitely won't want to drink it; both will produce highly unpleasant flavors. For any given ion in brewing water, there is a minimum threshold for it to have any perceptible effect on flavor, and a maximum threshold beyond which that effect will be intolerable. So for any style of beer, consider how much of the character of any minerals you want it to have, and set the level of each accordingly, independent of each other, disregarding any supposed magic ratio.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

For most ales, you'll probably be wanting to add more Calcium, either as Calcium chloride or gypsum (Calcium sulphate). Therefore, you'll be boosting one or the other (or both) of chloride or sulphate thus changing the ratio (which is largely irrelevant anyway). For pale lagers, your Calcium is already good (IMO), but the sulphate and chloride are low enough that they won't have a significant flavour impact. For any pale beer, you'll benefit from neutralising some/all of the bicarbonate (alkalinity).