Why do people try to mimic historic water profiles?

[manticle]

Make a a good English bitter with soft water

Then, using the same recipe

Make a good English bitter with hard/Burtonised water


This will answer your question

There's no doubting the difference but that wasn't really the question.

Anyway mimic away. I'm drinking an $8 pint of cascade draught in a shit 'irish' pub, undoubtedly made with the purest unadulterated Tasmanian waters of the Derwent River.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Better than VB made from water out of the Yarra

 

[manticle]

Mildly.

At least they could have coopers.
Positive side is getting change from a 10er for a pint - rare these days.

 

[welly2]

OK, all points taken and accepted.

But...

Pale malt now is different to pale malt then... No doubt fuggles has gone through seasonal and generational changes. The yeasts too would have gone through generational changes.

We use the pale available now and use the hops and yeast available now. we use the information about the water to make a relevant water profile from our water. In that sense its the only ingredient we can significantly alter at the home brew level. We dont use our local water unaltered to make that beer, we alter it. Why not alter it to the specs of what we are informed are relevant to making that beer.

Agree Stu - a very relevant example of the benefit of mimicing water profiles

I think that's the exact point. Alter your water to the specs of what are relevant to making that beer. Which doesn't mean copy some Dublin or Burton water profile found on the internet or in Beersmith because those profiles are essentially out of context and pretty much meaningless, if you're hoping your stout you make with a Dublin water profile is going to end up tasting like Guinness.

If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and grab a copy of Bru'n Water - there is a ton of great info in that spreadsheet about water chemistry - as well as the spreadsheet which will help you get your profiles somewhere near what you want to achieve - and the John Palmer "Water" book - that's a bit harder going but well worth a read.

I think you'd be better off doing that and understanding what you're doing than blindly following some Burton water profile hoping you're going to make the next Worthington IPA.

 

[timmi9191]

If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and grab a copy of Bru'n Water - there is a ton of great info in that spreadsheet about water chemistry - as well as the spreadsheet which will help you get your profiles somewhere near what you want to achieve - and the John Palmer "Water" book - that's a bit harder going but well worth a read.

Seriously??

 

[welly2]

Seriously??

Err, yes. Seriously.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

He is deadly serious

May as well get "Designing Great Beers" by R Daniels while your at it

 

[welly2]

He is deadly serious

May as well get "Designing Great Beers" by R Daniels while your at it

"How to Brew" by John Palmer

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

DGB is better

 

[timmi9191]

DGB is better

Aka the bible.. I read it religiously...

Wish there was a head shaking emoji

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Its just flavour variables as far as my uncultured untraditionally educated experience. Some minerals make everything good.
I use filtered Melbourne water so its like a blank start with a pH of ~5.4.
I carefully add minerals because its like evolution that minerals are in water that make things happen good?

My Mash water is something like 25% Burton on Trent with a tad of Himalayan salt. pH ~5.4.
Then I sparge with just filtered water that is ~ pH 5.4. Cant say if this is the best but its the best that I can do. Tastes good to me.

Thumbs up to Melbourne water. I'm sure you can use it straight from the tap all the way without worrying too much about additions and its good for brewing.

Added: Pale beers may need ~2% Acidulated malt to the grain bill to get mash pH at ~5.2.
Dark beers may need a tad of Carb Soda to the mash water to keep the pH ~ 5.2.

 

[evoo4u]

There's no doubting the difference but that wasn't really the question.
Anyway mimic away. I'm drinking an $8 pint of cascade draught in a shit 'irish' pub, undoubtedly made with the purest unadulterated Tasmanian waters of the Derwent River.

Currently sitting very comfortably in a pub just outside Dublin, and have enjoyed a couple of Guinness and a Grafter's Porter (all bottled - not draught). Now one of the Guinness is a "Rye Pale Ale" - beautiful! Is it available in Oz? If it is, try it!

Anyway, back on topic. Totally agree that the historical water quality no longer has any bearing on what Guinness, for example, uses today. Hence the Foreign Extra Stout and the Rye Pale Ale both coming out of Dublin. (And the draught Irish Red Ale this afternoon was memorable too...)

Ahh - so many beers, so little time!

 

[welly2]

Wish there was a head shaking emoji

With all due respect mate, given your comments and questions on this particular thread, one would certainly assume you've not read the resources I suggested. I don't know who you are.

 

[stewy]

Adjust your water to suit the style you are brewing. Copying a town's water style (before the local brewery adjusts it) ain't gonna help you