This is what my water report looks like:
Ca 38
Mg 21
SO 25
Na 22
Cl 37
HCO 192
alk 157
This is the recipe I have come up with:
5.5 gal partial mash/partial boil
4 lbs ultralight LME (FO)
3.75 lbs 2-row
1 lb crystal 90
1 lb flaked barley
0.5 lb midnight wheat
2 oz Briess chocolate
0.5 oz Columbus @ 70 mins
0.5 oz Columbus/2 oz Centennial @ 21/7/Whirlpool
2 oz Centennial 7 day dry hop
US-05
1.056/1.011
5.9% ABV
99 IBU’s
29 SRM
Though it is dark it is not really roasty. Does this need water adjustments for a dark beer or for an amber beer?
And would you adjust the SO for very bitter or just a normal bitter? Since I wouldn’t really call this quite “bitter” I’m uncertain how to adjust the SO for my more flavor/aroma focused IPA’s.
I find that high sulfate does not play well with roast flavor. Both are ‘drying’ flavors and you don’t need much of both. So, don’t target a pale ale level of sulfate in a BIPA. I’d say something in the 100 ppm range for sulfate. The other thing to be sure to attend to is neutralizing the water’s high alkalinity as needed to produce a desirable pH (5.4).
So am I somewhat right in that this ought not be considered as a dark beer, but more of an amber as it really isn’t using roasty grains like a stout or porter? Does this hold true for a brown as well?
I use Brewer’s Friend basic water calculator and have just enough understanding to dabble with it. I have no way of checking the actual pH levels.
Diluting my 5.5 gals 20% and then adding 2.7g gypsum, 1.5g cal chl, 0.6g epsom, and 3g salt to get:
Ca 80
Mg 20
SO 104
Na 75
Cl 152
HCO 154
alk 126
This shows it’s in the range for a malty amber beer.
