Water Profile Question

[KRB]

I am getting ready to brew my first lager, a clone of Warsteiner. After researching their site, the only take away for me is that they talk about using naturally soft water. My water is quite hard and so I plan to use DI or RO, but I am struggling to figure out what a close water profile for this beer should be. I see that Warstein is relatively near Dortmund, but it seems (to me) that profile also has harder water. I am not sure I am looking at this correctly and am wondering if anyone can help with a reasonable target.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Holden Caulfield]

I see that Warstein is relatively near Dortmund, but it seems (to me) that profile also has harder water. I am not sure I am looking at this correctly and am wondering if anyone can help with a reasonable target.

^Focus more on water profile for style, rather than where the beer originates from. Most breweries treat their water to hit a target profile.

Warsteiner is a German Pils so target a profile to brew this style. Something about like this...

Ca 60ppm, Mg 5ppm, Na 5ppm, Cl 50ppm, S04 50ppmm, HC03 0ppm.

Note, many believe that adding sulfates doesn't work well with noble hops, so CaCl is preferred to raise Ca rather than gypsum (CaS04), so 75 ppm Cl, and lower S04 may be preferred. Alternatively, German Pils is a crisp style that is not malt forward, so some would put the S04/Cl balance more in favor of the sulfates to accentuate the hops. Either way, it is a great style and as long as you are in the range, the beer will turn out well.

 

[VikeMan]

Ca 60ppm, Mg 5ppm, Na 5ppm, Cl 50ppm, S04 50ppmm, HC03 0ppm.

That would be a reasonable profile for a German pilsner, if it were possible to build it. But the anions and cations don't balance.

With only 50 ppm each of Cl and SO4, you have to give up some Ca, Mg, or Na, and/or increase Cl, SO4, or HCO3.

Here's one that can be built:
Ca 60 ppm, Mg 0 ppm, Na 0 ppm, Cl 65 ppm, S04 56 ppm