Does mead mind hard water?

My water has calcium of about 70ppm and bicarbonate 206. I have brewed a few bathes of mead with said water and turned out fine with additions of citric acid. Will mead improve with different water?

Kyle,

Most definitely mead can benefit from less alkaline water. Its presentation includes a strong influence of acid to balance the sweetness. Mead balances through the interplay of sweet and sour (acidity) whereas beer balances via sweetness and bitterness. Having a less alkaline water means that less acid will be needed to provide that balance and the other cations (typically hardness minerals) will provide less flavor impact to the mead.

Its not really the hardness that is the problem, its the alkalinity. But for the most part, a low mineralization water is likely to make a better mead.

FWIW I have won 11 golds and 3 BOS in competitions with meads made with the following water.
pH 7.3
TDS 193
Na 3
Ca 36
CaCO3 161
HCO3 178
TA 146

[quote=“Baratone Brewer”]FWIW I have won 11 golds and 3 BOS in competitions with meads made with the following water.
pH 7.3
TDS 193
Na 3
Ca 36
CaCO3 161
HCO3 178
TA 146[/quote]

That’s inspiring, your water almost as hard as mine. I only brewed mead 3 or 4 times over the last 6 years. I recall them tasting good but I’m no expert and there is always room for improvement. Perhaps I will try diluting slightly plus adding some epsome salts to help yeasts . Thanx, Kyle.

[quote=“Baratone Brewer”]FWIW I have won 11 golds and 3 BOS in competitions with meads made with the following water.
pH 7.3
TDS 193
Na 3
Ca 36
CaCO3 161
HCO3 178
TA 146[/quote]

Those are great results. Are they all in major competitions like the National Homebrewers Contest?

That water is a case in point. It has reasonably low hardness. The alkalinity is quite high. I assume you always have to add acid to create the balance you are looking for in the finished mead?

[quote=“mabrungard”]
Those are great results. Are they all in major competitions like the National Homebrewers Contest?[/quote]Yep, most of them in major competitions and mead only competitions.