Water Question for IPAs and Mineral Additions

[nicosan1]

Planning to brew a Double IPA and was following Tasty McDole's IPA Water Profile.  Ca-110ppm, Mg-18ppm, Na-17ppm, SO4-350ppm, Cl-50ppm

I plan to brew with Distilled Water and likely will just be all Rahr 2 row with a little bit of wheat malt and some dextrose.  I don't seem to need any Acid Malt or Acid additions as I plan to use about 1.75 grams Gypsum per gallon about .1 grams CaCl per gallon, about .5 grams epsom salts per gallon and about .2 grams per gallon of canning salt. 

Do these numbers look okay in your experience for a hoppy beer?  Looks to hit most of my numbers for CA, CL, SO4, Magnesium and sodium.  PH estimate is about 5.39

[Bob357]

I'd be inclined to acidify mash and boil to 5.2, or very close to that. It will help with crispness.

[nicosan1]

I'd be inclined to acidify mash and boil to 5.2, or very close to that. It will help with crispness.

Sounds good, I'll add a touch of Phosphoric to the mash. 

[hopfenundmalz]

Rahr 2-row will be about 0.3 pH lower than one would expect. With the Ca and acid additions you might end up below 5.2.

[nicosan1]

So you are saying, stay clear of the acid addition and just do the mineral additions I was planning?

[denny]

So you are saying, stay clear of the acid addition and just do the mineral additions I was planning?

I think that's what Jeff meant and it's what I'd recommend also.

[nicosan1]

Thanks Jeff, Denny and Bob for your input! 

[hopfenundmalz]

Thanks Jeff, Denny and Bob for your input!

Your welcome.

You might want to run it in Brunwater with the color up around 8-10 lovobond for the Rahr. Then see where the minerals and acid take the pH to.

[mabrungard]

While a mash pH of 5.2 does make many styles crisp, I haven't found that a pH that low is ideal for pale ales and IPA with their hoppiness and bittering. I find that bumping the pH up to around 5.4 works better for me in those styles.

[denny]

While a mash pH of 5.2 does make many styles crisp, I haven't found that a pH that low is ideal for pale ales and IPA with their hoppiness and bittering. I find that bumping the pH up to around 5.4 works better for me in those styles.

I agree with that.

[nicosan1]

While a mash pH of 5.2 does make many styles crisp, I haven't found that a pH that low is ideal for pale ales and IPA with their hoppiness and bittering. I find that bumping the pH up to around 5.4 works better for me in those styles.

I agree with that.

  Since my expected PH is 5.39 and the Rahr 2 row might lower that to perhaps 5.36 should I buffer with a tiny bit of chalk or some dark malt like Carafa III, or just leave alone?

[HoosierBrew]

While a mash pH of 5.2 does make many styles crisp, I haven't found that a pH that low is ideal for pale ales and IPA with their hoppiness and bittering. I find that bumping the pH up to around 5.4 works better for me in those styles.

I agree with that.

  Since my expected PH is 5.39 and the Rahr 2 row might lower that to perhaps 5.36 should I buffer with a tiny bit of chalk or some dark malt like Carafa III, or just leave alone?

I'd go as is. It'll be fine. Under normal circumstances, chalk is next to worthless in terms of adjusting pH.

[nicosan1]

Sounds good, thanks!

[erockrph]

A) I agree with the pH target close to 5.4 for Pale Ales and IPA's. 5.2 is a good target for lagers and Belgians, but I think it might muddy things a bit for hoppy ales.

B) Tasty knows IPA's, so it is worth it to try his water as is.

C) That said, after trying higher sulfate levels, I've found that my own taste is for much lower levels in my IPA's. I don't go over 200ppm any more, and typically use 125-150ppm. Like I said, you should absolutely try Tasty's water as-is. But if you find the beer to be too minerally for your tastes, then you my want to try something like 150ppm in a future batch for comparison.

[Iliff Ave Brewhouse]

I like pretty dry, snappy IPAs these days. I go with a mash pH of 5.3, about 225 ppm SO4 and a half pound of sugar to promote higher attenuation.