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Author Topic: Water Profile for Leffe Blond  (Read 2106 times)

Offline edykes

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Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« on: June 10, 2021, 04:41:26 pm »
Any advice on a good water profile for a Leffe clone?  I am using Beersmith profile tool, but also have access to the BrunWater free spreadsheet, though I'm not overly comfortable with that one, but am aware of the 60+ profiles.

Offline nateo

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2021, 09:19:21 pm »
I can't recall what it's called but it's something like "light colored and malty." No alkalinity, maybe 50ppm Ca and SO4, 100 Cl will do the trick.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline edykes

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2021, 07:20:38 am »
There is "light & hoppy" in beersmith, with the following, is this what you are referring to, though is different than the measurements you mentioned.
Ca: 75, Mg: 5, Na: 10, SO4: 150, Cl: 50, HCO3: 0

Or there is "Yellow Full" in BrunWater with the following:
Ca: 50, Mg: 5, Na: 5, SO4: 55, Cl: 70, HCO3: 0

Offline nateo

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2021, 07:33:17 am »
Yellow full is closer to what I was thinking. You definitely want a lot more chloride than sulfate.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline edykes

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2021, 08:27:50 am »
Thank you.  I am still fairly new to this hobby, and don't yet fully grasp how the different attributes of the water profile impact the taste.  I'm sure I am over-thinking this, but I do appreciate your guidance, and will plan to use your numbers.

Offline nateo

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2021, 08:56:31 am »
One of the things I love about this hobby is you can approach it from a few levels. You can go down the rabbit hole of making it really techy and precise if you want, but you can also enjoy it at the "cake baking" level. I've gone down the rabbit hole but I don't recommend that.

On the cake baking end of water, you need at least 50-60ppm of calcium for yeast health. Chloride accentuates malt (think adding table salt to your cake batter) and sulfate accentuates bitterness. Think of the crisp kind of bitterness from a old school IPA. You also need a certain amount of alkalinity in the water if using darker malts for your mash to hit the right pH. Typically alkalinity isn't something you'll need to add to paler beers

I will say as a rule, salts in brewing should be approached with the same caution as salts in cooking. The right amount can make flavors pop but too heavy a hand and you'll likely be disappointed with the results. I made the mistake of brewing with "historical" water profiles a long time ago but have found the lightest touch seems the best.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2021, 09:23:30 am by nateo »
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline ravenwater

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2021, 04:29:28 pm »
I would agree that a yellow full profile might suffice, or even a yellow malty - you do want more chloride than sulfate in the Cl/SO4 ratio, and not much sulfate at that. Leffe, which is a beer I absolutely love, is very much about malt sweetness and smoothness where the bitterness is very soft and serves to offset the maltiness a bit but is not at all assertive - thus the low suflates and emphasis on the chloride.
Shawn Crawford  -  Rio Rancho, NM.  
 BJCP, Worthogs Homebrew Club of New Mexico

Life is good. Beer makes it gooder.

Offline chumley

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Re: Water Profile for Leffe Blond
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2021, 04:12:14 pm »
As one of those of the cake baking persuasion, when I brew my Leffe Blond clone recipe, I just add a teaspoon of calcium chloride to the mash per 5 gallons of generated wort and call it good.