Water

Overview

Water profiles store the mineral content and characteristics of your water sources. Use them to replicate famous brewing waters, save your local water reports, or create target profiles for different beer styles.

How to Use

  1. Create Profile: Go to Profiles → Water → tap + button

  2. Name Your Profile: Use descriptive names (e.g., "Local Tap Water", "Burton-on-Trent")

  3. Enter Mineral Content (in ppm/mg/L):

    • Calcium (Ca)

    • Magnesium (Mg)

    • Sodium (Na)

    • Chloride (Cl)

    • Sulfate (SO4)

    • Bicarbonate (HCO3)

  4. Add pH: Enter measured or reported pH

  5. Save Profile: Store for use in recipes

  6. Apply to Recipe: Select as source or target water in recipe water calculator

Key Minerals

Calcium (Ca) - 50-150 ppm typical

  • Essential for enzyme function and yeast health

  • Promotes clarity and stability

  • Lowers mash pH

Magnesium (Mg) - 10-30 ppm typical

  • Yeast nutrient (required in small amounts)

  • Contributes to mash pH

  • Can add bitter/sour taste at high levels

Sodium (Na) - 0-150 ppm typical

  • Enhances mouthfeel and sweetness at low levels

  • Can taste salty or harsh above 150 ppm

  • Accentuates malt character

Chloride (Cl) - 0-250 ppm typical

  • Enhances fullness and sweetness

  • Emphasizes malt character

  • Balances with sulfate

Sulfate (SO4) - 0-350 ppm typical

  • Enhances hop bitterness and dryness

  • Creates crisp, clean finish

  • Key for hoppy styles

Bicarbonate (HCO3) - 0-250 ppm typical

  • Raises mash pH (alkalinity)

  • Needed for dark beers

  • Can cause harsh flavors in pale beers

Enter your water report values as ppm (mg/l)

Classic Water Profiles

Soft Water

Pilsen (Czech Pilsner)

  • Ca: 7, Mg: 2, Na: 2, SO4: 6, Cl: 5, HCO3: 16

  • Extremely soft, ideal for delicate lagers

Distilled/RO Water

  • All minerals: 0 ppm

  • Starting point for building custom profiles

Balanced Water

Yellow Balanced (General Purpose)

  • Ca: 50, Mg: 10, Na: 25, SO4: 75, Cl: 65, HCO3: 50

  • Good for most ale styles

London (Porter/Mild)

  • Ca: 70, Mg: 6, Na: 15, SO4: 40, Cl: 38, HCO3: 166

  • Carbonate water for dark beers

Hoppy Water

Burton-on-Trent (IPA/Bitter)

  • Ca: 295, Mg: 45, Na: 55, SO4: 725, Cl: 25, HCO3: 320

  • Extreme sulfate for hop expression

Yellow Hoppy (Modern IPA)

  • Ca: 75, Mg: 10, Na: 10, SO4: 150, Cl: 50, HCO3: 0

  • Balanced hoppy profile, SO4:Cl = 3:1

Malty Water

Munich (Dark Lager)

  • Ca: 75, Mg: 18, Na: 2, SO4: 10, Cl: 2, HCO3: 152

  • Moderate carbonate for malty lagers

Edinburgh (Scottish Ale)

  • Ca: 125, Mg: 25, Na: 55, SO4: 140, Cl: 60, HCO3: 225

  • Higher minerals for malt-forward styles

Dublin (Stout)

  • Ca: 115, Mg: 4, Na: 12, SO4: 53, Cl: 19, HCO3: 315

  • High carbonate for roasted grains

SO4:Cl Ratio

The sulfate to chloride ratio influences beer character:

  • < 0.5 - Very malty, full, sweet

  • 0.5-1.0 - Malty, balanced toward malt

  • 1.0-2.0 - Balanced

  • 2.0-3.0 - Hoppy, balanced toward hops

  • > 3.0 - Very hoppy, dry, crisp

Examples by Style

  • NEIPA: 1:2 ratio (Cl emphasized)

  • West Coast IPA: 3:1 ratio (SO4 emphasized)

  • Pilsner: 1:1 ratio (balanced)

  • Stout: 1:1 ratio (balanced)

Water Report Conversion

Spreadsheet that can be used to convert to water values for profile can be found here.

Brewfather uses ppm values for the water profile, so your water report have to be converted to this. Below you will find help converting your values to ppm.

1 mg/L = 1 ppm

From Alkalinity mmol/l to ppm Bicarbonate HCO3: multiply by 61 From Alkalinity mg/l CaCO3 to ppm Bicarbonate HCO3: multiply by 1.22 &#xNAN;From Alkalinity mmol/l to mg/l CaCO3: multiply by 50 1000 ug/L = 1 ppm ug/L / 1000 = ppm

Ion Conversion

Calcium as CaCO3 ppm * 0.401 = Calcium (Ca) ppm Magnesium as CaCO3 ppm * 0.243 = Magnesium (Mg) ppm Sulfate as Sulfur ppm as SO4-S * 3 = Sulfate (SO4) ppm Bicarbonate as CaCO3 ppm * 1.22 = Bicarbonate (HCO3) ppm US Hardness grains/gallon * 6.86 = Calcium (Ca) ppm °Clark / °e (English) Hardness grain/imp gallon * 5.71 = Calcium (Ca) ppm German Hardness (°dH, deutsche Härte) * 7.14 = Calcium (Ca) ppm Calcium Hardness mEq/L or mval * 20 = Calcium (Ca) ppm Karbonate Hardness dKH * 21.8 = Bicarbonate (HCO3) ppm Alkalinity mEq/L or mval * 61 = Bicarbonate (HCO3) ppm &#xNAN;Minor Ions (Currently not in use) &#xNAN;Carbonate as CaCO3 ppm * 0.6 = Carbonate (CO3) ppm Nitrate as Nitrogen ppm as NO3-N * 4.43 = Nitrate (NO3) ppm

pH

If the water report does not inlcude the pH you can use 8.0 as pH.

Water Profiles by Beer Style

Light Lagers

  • Calcium: 50-75 ppm

  • Alkalinity: < 50 ppm

  • Sulfate: 25-50 ppm

  • Chloride: 25-50 ppm

  • Soft water preferred

Hoppy Beers (IPA/Pale Ale)

  • Calcium: 75-150 ppm

  • Alkalinity: < 50 ppm

  • Sulfate: 150-300 ppm

  • Chloride: 50-100 ppm

  • High SO4:Cl ratio

Malty Beers (Bock/Märzen)

  • Calcium: 50-100 ppm

  • Alkalinity: 50-150 ppm

  • Sulfate: 25-75 ppm

  • Chloride: 50-100 ppm

  • Higher Cl:SO4 ratio

Dark Beers (Stout/Porter)

  • Calcium: 75-150 ppm

  • Alkalinity: 100-300 ppm

  • Sulfate: 50-150 ppm

  • Chloride: 50-150 ppm

  • Carbonate helps balance roasted grain acidity

Wheat Beers

  • Calcium: 50-100 ppm

  • Alkalinity: 50-100 ppm

  • Sulfate: 10-30 ppm

  • Chloride: 50-100 ppm

  • Soft, balanced water

Sour Beers

  • Calcium: 50-100 ppm

  • Alkalinity: < 50 ppm

  • Sulfate: 50-150 ppm

  • Chloride: 50-100 ppm

  • Low alkalinity important

Tips for Water Profiles

  1. Start with Your Source: Get a water report from your supplier

  2. Build from RO: For consistency, start with reverse osmosis water

  3. Target Mash pH: Aim for 5.2-5.6 pH in the mash

  4. Don't Overdo It: Start with moderate mineral additions

  5. Consider the Grain Bill: Dark grains lower pH, need more alkalinity

  6. Test and Adjust: Measure actual mash pH and adjust profile

  7. Keep It Simple: Focus on Ca, SO4, Cl, and alkalinity first

Creating Custom Profiles

From Water Report

  1. Obtain water analysis from your supplier

  2. Convert all values to ppm (mg/L)

  3. Create "Source Water" profile

  4. Use as baseline for adjustments

Target Profiles

  1. Research style guidelines

  2. Consider SO4:Cl ratio for balance

  3. Ensure adequate calcium (>50 ppm)

  4. Match alkalinity to grain bill color

  5. Save as target for water adjustments

Dilution Profiles

  1. Create profile for RO or distilled water (all zeros)

  2. Use to dilute high-mineral source water

  3. Brewfather calculates dilution ratios automatically

Common Issues

High Alkalinity?

  • Dilute with RO/distilled water

  • Use acid additions in water calculator

  • Choose appropriate grain bill

Low Calcium?

  • Add gypsum (CaSO4) for hoppy

  • Add calcium chloride (CaCl2) for malty

  • Minimum 50 ppm recommended

Unbalanced SO4:Cl?

  • Adjust with gypsum or calcium chloride

  • Consider style requirements

  • Start conservative with additions

Water Calculator
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