German Altbier

[portlandhophead]

Does anyone know the proper water profile (major ions) of Dusseldorf? I'm trying to brew an alt and need to know how to adjust Portland, Oregon's tap water (which is basically distilled water).

Thanks!

[brewinhard]

I believe that the book Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels has info on that. Distilled water is definitely not the way to go with an Alt. You could check the BJCP guidelines and see if they have any info as well for water usage on this style. Good luck and hope I at least helped a little!

[portlandhophead]

I believe that the book Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels has info on that. Distilled water is definitely not the way to go with an Alt. You could check the BJCP guidelines and see if they have any info as well for water usage on this style. Good luck and hope I at least helped a little!

Thanks Brewinhand. Yes, checked Ray's excellent book but it's silent on Altbier water. And Kolsch water for that matter. However, after about 3 hours of internet research, I found this obscure little page:

http://www.unm.edu/~draper/beer/waterpro.html

It's got a line for Dusseldorf, but no citational reference. I'm going to trust it and give it a shot.

Thanks again!

[MattSF]

wow you guys have distilled water on tap? that must be spendy!

yeah but just because the local waters are a certain way, how do we know what a modern brewery is doing to their water?

Or are you going for a serious Old Skool brew?

[portlandhophead]

wow you guys have distilled water on tap? that must be spendy!

yeah but just because the local waters are a certain way, how do we know what a modern brewery is doing to their water?

Or are you going for a serious Old Skool brew?

Good point. JZ and JP just mentioned that in Dusseldorf, the breweries may modify the natural water! I'm just going to use JP's nomograph and base it on beer color. Portland, Oregon water suggests a deep amber (which is characteristic of altbier) is best. So, I'll add some calcium and give it a go.