Soft water

[rossiski]

So I have been brewing all grain for just over a year and have started to get into messing with my water. I send my softened water to get tested and found that I have 72 ppm of sodium in my brewing water. Everything else is very close to 0. When I brew PaleAles I having being playing with increasing my sulfate levels into the the upper 100s and the results seem to be pretty good. Is my sodium level too high and do I have to worry about the interaction between sodium and my brewing salts (eg gypsum).

[Ozwald]

The sodium is coming from your softener. Typically if you keep the sodium under 100ppm, it's not that big of a deal. The problem is when you need to increase your sulfate levels. Sulfates & sodium don't play nice together, resulting in a harsh bitterness. Did you send in a sample of the water than had not gone through the softener? That may be better for brewing your hoppy/bitter beers.

For your malty 'round' flavored beers, just use what you've got (provided you're bringing the other minerals back to proper levels)

[rossiski]

Is there a there should where the ratio of sodium to sulfate gets too harsh? The last pale I did was 72 sodium and 177 sulfate. The beer turned out really nice.

[Ozwald]

Not that I'm aware of. Some people are more sensitive to it than others & the definition of 'harsh' can significantly vary from person to person. It has no real benefit, so it's generally accepted to keep it as low as possible. If you're happy with the results, brew on.