Author: Jake Huolihan
My grandpa’s swill of choice was always Miller Genuine draft, whether working around the house, out to dinner, or at family gatherings, you could find a MGD in his hand. It’s a fine tasting beer on its own, but he always did something a little unique by adding a pinch of salt before drinking it, explaining it “brings out the flavors.”
Used around the world as a general flavor enhancer, table salt (NaCl) is an ionic compound consisting of equal amounts of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). While both of these minerals are discussed when it comes to brewing water, chloride gets much more attention than sodium, though both purportedly contribute to a rounder malt character in beer. Whereas minerals like chloride and sulfate can be used in relatively high amounts, it’s generally recommended to keep sodium levels below 150 ppm to avoid salty flavored beer.
Out with my brother over the holidays, we both paid homage to our departed grandpa by adding a pinch of salt of our Miller Lite and raising a glass to him. It wasn’t necessarily an epiphanous moment, the beer didn’t taste all that different, but it did make me wonder the extent to which sodium has an appreciable impact on beer when used in higher amount in the mash.
| PURPOSE |
To evaluate the differences between pale lagers of the same recipe made with varying amounts of sodium in the mash.
| METHODS |
Wanting to go with a beer that was light in flavor to emphasize any differences caused by the variable, I whipped up my simple pale lager that was inspired by Anchor California Lager.
Like A Sailor
I prepared a large starter of Imperial Yeast L05 Cablecar a few days ahead of time.
The day prior to brewing, I collected 2 sets of the same volume of water for each batch then proceeded to make the mineral adjustments. Using the Bru’n Water Spreadsheet, I determined the amount of table salt needed to add 100 ppm sodium to one batch while keeping the other at my typically low levels.
Note: since table salt also adds chloride ions, its use in the high sodium batch produced a difference in that particular mineral. Since chloride has been shown to have a perceptible impact on beer, I relied on calcium chloride (CaCl) additions in the low sodium water to balance the chloride levels, which led to a difference in calcium levels between the batches. After consultation with the Brülosophy crew, this was deemed the lesser of two evils.
I woke up the next morning and got started by turning on my heating elements then milling the grains while the water warmed.
Once the water reached strike temperature, I mashed in on the low sodium batch then did the same for the high sodium batch 20 minutes later, checking each to ensure I hit my target mash temperature.
Both mashes were left to rest for 60 minutes with occasional stirring.
About 15 minutes into each mash, I pulled samples to check pH, which were right in line with what Bru’n Water predicted.
With the mashes complete, I removed the grain bags and brought the worts up to a rolling boil.
After each 60 minute boil, I quickly chilled the worts to just above my chilly groundwater temperature.
After racking equal amounts of wort from either batch to separate carboys, I took hydrometer measurements showing both worts had reached the same OG.
Each batch was then pitched with an identical amount of yeast from the decanted starter then hit with 90 seconds of pure oxygen. While both beers were actively fermenting 24 hours later, the low sodium batch appeared much more vigorous.
With signs of fermentation absent 7 days later, I took initial hydrometer measurements showing FG had been reached; follow-up measurements 3 days later were unchanged.
Skipping the gelatin fining process, I proceeded to keg the beers.
After a month of lagering on gas in my cool keezer, both beers were clear, carbonated, and ready to serve.
| RESULTS |
A total of 29 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 2 samples of the low sodium beer and 1 sample of the high sodium beer in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. While 15 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, 16 (p=0.013) were capable of doing so, indicating participants in this xBmt were able to reliably distinguish a beer mashed with low sodium from one mashed with a higher amount of sodium.
The 16 participants who made the accurate selection on the triangle test were instructed to complete a brief preference survey comparing only the 2 beers that were different. A total of 7 reported preferring the low sodium beer, 7 liked the high sodium beer more, and 2 reported having no preference despite noticing a difference.
My Impressions: From the first sample at kegging to my latest pour, I could easily distinguish these beers, not only by taste, but aroma as well. In 5 blind triangle test attempts, I identified the unique sample every time without struggle. To me, the high sodium beer had a cleaner more pronounced hop aroma with sharper flavors and crisper mouthfeel than the low sodium beer. To my surprise, I preferred the high sodium beer.
| DISCUSSION |
With the propensity for water chemistry adjustments to have a noticeable impact on beer as observed in numerous past xBmts, I’ve admittedly come to expect comparisons of different mineral concentrations to produce distinguishable difference, hence my lack of surprise with the fact participants in this xBmt were able to tell apart a beer mashed with 100 ppm of sodium from one mashed with a more standard 5 ppm.
What I did find surprising was how great the high sodium beer tasted. Despite being under the 150 ppm max recommended by water chemistry experts, I really thought I’d be able to perceive the high sodium beer has being at least a little more salty than the low sodium beer, but it wasn’t at all. I not only perceived it as being crisper with sharper flavors, but half of the participants who were correct on the triangle test agreed with my preference for that sample.
Prior to this xBmt, I rarely considered using table salt in my brewing, focusing primarily on gypsum and calcium chloride for mineral adjustments like I tend to think most brewers do. Based on my experience with these beers, I’ll certainly be considering sodium levels in my brewing and look forward to exploring the impact it has at various levels in other styles of beer.
If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please share them in the comments section below!
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