Brewing a stout and need a little help with water profile

[Coronajax]

I'll be using RO water so water will need to be adjusted, I typically brew IPA styles and have a pretty good feel for the adjustments for that style but I'm trying to use the advanced water chemistry and I'm not certain which profile to choose. Any suggestions for a stout 10 lb 2 row 1 lb pale chocolate malt 1 lb roasted barley .5 lb lactose. SRM is 46 IBU 30 est og 1.071 and est fg 1.017.

 

[dmtaylor]

Stout is a great style to use hard alkaline water. Or blend some with your RO water. Nothing fancy about the water profile, except you'll want some calcium in there to benefit the yeast. You can add smidges of gypsum and calcium chloride, and perhaps pickling lime, to bring up the calcium and pH without swinging pH too high or low.

Or, just use some raw alkaline water, and skip water stuff. That's what I do. My tap water makes great brown & black beers. Maybe yours does too.

 

[Coronajax]

Stout is a great style to use hard alkaline water. Or blend some with your RO water. Nothing fancy about the water profile, except you'll want some calcium in there to benefit the yeast. You can add smidges of gypsum and calcium chloride, and perhaps pickling lime, to bring up the calcium and pH without swinging pH too high or low.

Or, just use some raw alkaline water, and skip water stuff. That's what I do. My tap water makes great brown & black beers. Maybe yours does too.

we are on a very large limestone shelf here so the natural water is fairly hard, I am on city water so chlorine is a consideration and I don't have campden tabs because I use RO normally. The hard water makes great corn liquor though!

 

[dmtaylor]

Get some Campden. For your corn liquor too.

 

[Donoroto]

Water profile for a stout often looks like this:
Ca 100
Mg 20
SO4 75
Cl 125

(Other values, such as Na and HCO3, are not that worrisonme)
These are mid-ranges, so for example 75-125 for Ca is fine. You can up the Sulfate a bit for a more balanced flavor, if you don't want it so malty.

Use the water calculator in Brewer's friend or the Palmer app.

 

[Nosybear]

we are on a very large limestone shelf here so the natural water is fairly hard, I am on city water so chlorine is a consideration and I don't have campden tabs because I use RO normally. The hard water makes great corn liquor though!

Dechlorinate and brew. Stouts were made for hard water!