Porter water profile. Terry Foster.

Evening all.

I have just received a copy of Terry Foster's book..........Porter.

I have only skim read it so far, but noticed the stated ideal water profile. Terry suggest the following:

Calcium 30 to 60 ppm ( seems low to me)
Mg 10 to 20
Na 60 to 120
Bicarbonate 100 to 150
Chloride 40 to 90
Sulfate 50 to 100
TDS (I think this is total dissolved solids) 300 to 450.

I would like to brew a porter soon. Thoughts on this profile are welcomed.

[Jeltz]

which begs the question, what would you go for instead?

Alkalinity at no more than 125
Calcium up at 180,
Balanced sulphate to chloride ratio, aiming for around 100 sulphate as a minimum, so around the same level of chloride as well.
Ignore magnesium and sodium

I just don't understand why you can't get more than 80ppm Calcium! Simply adding 0.275g of calcium sulphate and 0.315 calcium chloride per litre will increase calcium by 150ppm, sulphate by 153 and chloride by 151.

I know you have a spreadsheet and you are going to use it no matter what I say, but sticking rigidly to what it suggests, and indeed using it in an arse about fashion without actually understanding what it is you are doing or trying to achieve, is frankly pointless. Actually giving advice based on what you do, when it is actually so much simpler in reality is just going to lead to people thing water adjustment is complex.

[Jeltz]

FWIW when I brew my porter I do about 35% RO and 65% tap water, and treat with half a campden tablet. I also add about a half tea spoon of gypsum to the grist. My water profile is always reasonable close to that published by Bristol Water

The resulting beer is a crowd pleaser.

A good read regarding treating water with slaked lime.......

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?ti ... laked_lime

[Dennis King]

To the best of my knowledge Bru'n water preaches American thinking on English beers and tend to be a long way off what commercial English brewers really use. I would trust the word of Aleman and Eric over Bru'n water any day.

The two biggest leaps forward in my brewing have come about through temperature control and water treatment. Being a fan of British Beer I have followed the recommendations for them. But not before being seduced by US sites and Brun' Water particularly. It was giving up using the latter that meant that I could finally benefit from the difference British levels of alkalinity and British levels of salts could provide. The biggest eye opener being Calcium levels. The point made earlier about "tastes" is pertinent, if you grow up drinking bland lager styles with practically bugger all in them, you probably do "over react" when faced with the "true" flavour. What I can't understand, and frankly never will, is if you want to brew a beer the way a particular Country, moreover brewery, does then why would you compromise on any of the ways in which they achieve it?

[Joe1002]

[Jeltz]