Dortmund, Germany. Extremely hard water with moderate residual alkalinity - suited to amber and brown beers, with a sulfate-forward balance that sharpens hop bitterness.
| Ion | ppm |
|---|---|
| Calcium (Ca²⁺) | 250 |
| Magnesium (Mg²⁺) | 20 |
| Sodium (Na⁺) | 10 |
| Chloride (Cl⁻) | 100 |
| Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) | 300 |
| Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) | 340 |
| Brewing numbers | |
|---|---|
| Total hardness (as CaCO₃) | 706.6 ppm |
| Alkalinity (as CaCO₃) | 278.8 ppm |
| Residual alkalinity (as CaCO₃) | 88.7 ppm |
| Sulfate-to-chloride ratio | 3.0:1 |
Salts to add to reverse-osmosis or distilled water, calculated by the BrewWaterSolver solver with the most common homebrew salts.
| Salt | 5 gal (18.9 L) | 20 L |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) | 3.80 g | 4.02 g |
| Gypsum (CaSO₄) | 7.49 g | 7.92 g |
| Epsom salt (MgSO₄) | 3.66 g | 3.86 g |
| Chalk (CaCO₃) | 4.94 g | 5.22 g |
| Baking soda (NaHCO₃) | 0.48 g | 0.51 g |
The common salts reproduce every ion within 10%.
Chalk (CaCO₃) doesn't dissolve well directly in mash or sparge water without dissolved CO₂ - slurry it in carbonated water (e.g. sparkling water) before adding it, rather than mixing it into still water or sprinkling it in dry, or the calculated amount may not fully dissolve. How to dissolve chalk with CO₂
Brewers historically boiled Dortmund water to drop out carbonate hardness before brewing pale beers. Boiled, it keeps roughly Ca 155 and HCO₃ 53 ppm (from 250 and 340). Open the decarbonated profile in the solver.
Commonly attributed to John Palmer's How to Brew (as cited directly by the BJCP's own exam study guide); BrewWaterSolver's figures diverge from Palmer's published table, likely reflecting a different edition or a different tool's rendering of the same lineage - see the burton entry's note for why that happens.