Brewing Water Profiles
Conventional wisdom says you should focus on water chemistry last in your brewing career but we recommend starting much sooner because brewing water chemistry significantly impacts your beer s flavor and mouthfeel.
Brewing water profiles. Sure the water in burton is near saturated in gypsum but most breweries have been treating their water for decades centuries. The balance of your recipe should be in line with the balance of your water. Especially historical water profiles don t take into account water treatment that brewers may have done. The point is you have to start with a recipe to match a style and then follow it up with a water profile that will work with the attributes of the beer you are trying to brew.
The water of pilsen is very soft free of most minerals and very low in bicarbonates. Hugely variable throughout the world it is abundant with minerals and organic compounds that have the ability to elevate an ordinary recipe to the status of a world classic or drown it in the shallows of mediocrity. A pils is a crisp golden clear lager with a very clean hoppy taste. Brewing water profiles water is a deceptively understated and underrated force in the making of any beer.
From water profiles to brewing salts mastering this most basic ingredient in brewing can take your beer to the next level. It s quickly worth pointing out there s some contention as to what historical region water profiles actually are. For more information about water chemistry in brewing. They should be seen as guidance rather than strict water profile specifications.
Explanation of minerals and brewing salts. Advanced water chemistry calculator. Summary of target water profiles. Basic water chemistry calculator.
So the local water profile isn t necessarily what was being used in the beer. Source water profiles from around the world shared by our users. How do you know your water s alkalinity and hardness. The water profile for a famous brewing city may be a step in the right direction but do your research and find out how the brewers of that region style actually used the water to brew their beer.
Most brewers have enjoyed the simplicity and precision of brewing with ro water and adding brewing salts in order to quickly create the proper brewing water profiles for their beers. Most quoted water profiles. Table 14 influence of brewing water. The brewers used an acid rest with this water to bring the ph down to the target mash range of 5 1 5 5 using only the pale lager malts.