Brew Like the Pros: Recreate World-Famous Brewing Water at Home with RO and a Few Grams of Salts
From crisp Czech Pilsners to bold Burton IPAs and silky Irish Stouts — here's your easy guide to building authentic water profiles for every major brewing capital. Perfect for your next 5-gallon batch at Love2Brew!
At Love2Brew, we love helping you take your homebrew to the next level. One of the simplest (and most overlooked) upgrades is adjusting your brewing water. Starting with reverse osmosis (RO) water gives you a perfect blank slate. Then, with just a few grams of brewing salts, you can recreate the exact water chemistry that made Pilsen, Burton upon Trent, Dublin, and other historic brewing capitals famous.
Why does it matter? The right balance of calcium, sulfate, chloride, and bicarbonate dramatically affects hop bitterness, malt sweetness, mouthfeel, and how well your mash converts. High sulfate makes hops pop (think English IPAs). Higher chloride enhances maltiness (great for darker beers). Bicarbonate helps balance roastiness in stouts and dunkels.
Quick Tips Before You Start:
- Use food-grade or brewing-specific salts: Gypsum (CaSO₄), Calcium Chloride (CaCl₂), Epsom Salt (MgSO₄), Baking Soda (NaHCO₃), and non-iodized Table Salt (NaCl) if needed.
- Dissolve salts in a little warm RO water first, then add to your total brewing volume.
- For high-bicarbonate cities (Munich, Dublin, Dortmund), consider decarbonating by boiling the water or adding a bit of acid/lime to lower HCO₃ for pale beers — just like the old brewers did.
- Always check and adjust mash pH with lactic or phosphoric acid if needed.
- Grab a digital scale accurate to 0.1g — it's essential for precision.
- Best tool: Use the free Brewer's Friend Mash Chemistry Calculator or Bru'n Water spreadsheet for fine-tuning with your specific recipe.
Here are practical gram additions for a standard 5-gallon batch (total water ~7–9 gallons). These target the classic profiles while keeping calcium in a healthy 50–150+ ppm range for good mash performance and yeast health.
1. Pilsen, Czech Republic – Clean & Crisp Bohemian Pilsner
Target: Very soft water (Ca ~7, SO₄ ~5, Cl ~5, HCO₃ ~15)
Additions (total for 5-gal batch):
- Gypsum: 0–1 g
- Calcium Chloride: 1–2 g
- Epsom Salt: 0 g
- Baking Soda: 0 g
Almost nothing! This ultra-soft profile lets delicate Saaz hops and bready malt shine. Many brewers add just a touch of calcium chloride for yeast health.
2. Munich, Germany – Malty Dark Lagers (Dunkel, Bock)
Target: Moderate hardness, higher bicarbonate (Ca ~75, Mg ~20, SO₄ ~10, Cl ~2, HCO₃ ~200)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 2–4 g
- Calcium Chloride: 3–5 g
- Epsom Salt: 3–5 g
- Baking Soda: 6–9 g
Great for dark lagers. For lighter Munich Helles, reduce or decarbonated the baking soda to keep mash pH from climbing too high.
3. Dortmund, Germany – Balanced Export Lagers
Target: Hard and mineral-rich (Ca ~250, Mg ~25, SO₄ ~280, Cl ~100, HCO₃ ~550 or lower when decarbonated)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 12–18 g
- Calcium Chloride: 8–12 g
- Epsom Salt: 4–7 g
- Baking Soda: 15–22 g (or less if decarbonating for pale beers)
A robust profile that supports strong, balanced German lagers. Decarbonate for cleaner pale versions.
4. Vienna, Austria – Amber Vienna Lagers
Target: Hard but balanced (Ca ~200, Mg ~60, SO₄ ~125, Cl ~12, HCO₃ ~120)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 8–12 g
- Calcium Chloride: 4–6 g
- Epsom Salt: 8–12 g
- Baking Soda: 4–6 g
Delivers the toasty malt character Vienna lagers are known for.
5. Burton upon Trent, UK – Bold, Hoppy Pale Ales & IPAs
Target: High sulfate “Burtonized” water (Ca ~295, Mg ~45, SO₄ ~725, Cl ~25, HCO₃ ~300 or much lower when decarbonated)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 18–25 g
- Calcium Chloride: 2–5 g
- Epsom Salt: 5–8 g
- Baking Soda: 8–12 g (reduce heavily or decarbonated for classic pale ales)
The signature for dry, assertive English-style IPAs and bitters. Historic brewers decarbonated this water heavily — modern homebrewers often aim for 200–400 ppm sulfate instead of the full historic level to avoid harshness.
6. London, England – Porters, Milds & Balanced Ales
Target: Moderately hard (Ca ~52, Mg ~16, SO₄ ~77, Cl ~60, HCO₃ ~156)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 4–7 g
- Calcium Chloride: 5–8 g
- Epsom Salt: 2–4 g
- Baking Soda: 5–8 g
Excellent all-rounder for English dark and session beers.
7. Dublin, Ireland – Classic Dry Stouts
Target: High bicarbonate for roast balance (Ca ~115, Mg ~4, SO₄ ~55, Cl ~19, HCO₃ ~200)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 3–6 g
- Calcium Chloride: 2–4 g
- Epsom Salt: 0–2 g
- Baking Soda: 7–10 g
The alkalinity softens the roast character of dark malts without ashy bitterness — perfect for Guinness-style stouts.
8. Edinburgh, Scotland – Malty Scottish Ales
Target: Hard and balanced (Ca ~120, Mg ~25, SO₄ ~140, Cl ~20, HCO₃ ~225)
Additions:
- Gypsum: 7–10 g
- Calcium Chloride: 2–4 g
- Epsom Salt: 3–6 g
- Baking Soda: 7–11 g
Supports the rich, malty profiles of Scottish ales and wee heavies.
Pro Brewing Tip from the Love2Brew Team:
Start conservative with salts and taste your results. Water chemistry is powerful, but grain choice, hops, and yeast do most of the heavy lifting. For hop-forward beers, focus on a sulfate-to-chloride ratio above 1:1. For maltier beers, keep it below 1:1.
Questions about water adjustment or need help picking salts for your next batch? Stop by the shop, or call us. We’re here to help you brew better beer!
Happy brewing,
The Love2Brew Team