Results for all Ward Lab mineral analyses can be downloaded here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ye9hxQobCQfzJ7zKAaAYJwyQ–n-HLR3-XsiLhCwHOE/edit?usp=sharing
After verifying the consistency of Tree House Julius from batch-to-batch, I set out to determine the consistency of Tree House IPAs from brand-to-brand.
Thanks to Tom’s generous August beer mail, I shipped cans of Green, Doppelgänger and Haze to Ward Lab on 8/20/2020 for mineral analyses.
WARD LAB W-501 BREWER’S TEST RESULTS
| Mineral | Green 07/22/20 07:50:37 | Doppelgänger 07/21/20 10:50:15 | Haze 07/24/20 11:19:24 |
| pH | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm | 1816 | 1853 | 1847 |
| Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm | 3.03 | 3.09 | 3.08 |
| Cations, me/L | 49.7 | 63.5 | 51.7 |
| Anions, me/L | 25.9 | 29.4 | 25.6 |
| Sodium, Na ppm | 33 | 44 | 35 |
| Potassium, K ppm | 1317 | 1592 | 1316 |
| Calcium, Ca ppm | 38.6 | 104.2 | 61.3 |
| Magnesium, Mg ppm | 150 | 187 | 161 |
| Total Hardness, CaCo3 ppm | 723 | 1039 | 823 |
| Nitrate, NO3 ppm* | 77 | 101 | 4 |
| Sulfate, SO4 ppm** | 393 | 444 | 405 |
| Chloride, Cl ppm | 393 | 461 | 405 |
| Carbonate, CO3 ppm | < 1.0 | < 1.0 | < 1.0 |
| Bicarbonate, HCO3 ppm | 323 | 329 | 348 |
| Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 ppm | 265 | 269 | 286 |
| Total Phosphorus, P ppm | 385.60 | 452.00 | 442.00 |
| Total Iron, Fe ppm | 0.10 | 0.15 | 0.04 |
**multiplied by 3 to convert to SO4
To simplify things, I tabulated the pertinent results for Green, Doppelgänger and Haze and included my 2019 and 2020 Julius results. They are listed from lowest to highest alcohol content.
| Julius 03/19/19 14:41:23 | Julius 7/23/20 08:20:22 | Green 07/22/20 07:50:37 | Doppelgänger 07/21/20 10:50:15 | Haze 07/24/20 11:19:24 | Mean + SD | |
| Alc. by vol % | 6.8 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.5 + 0.7 |
| pH | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 + 0.1 |
| Calcium, Ca ppm | 64 | 57 | 39 | 104 | 61 | 65 + 24 |
| Magnesium, Mg ppm | 185 | 137 | 150 | 187 | 161 | 164 + 22 |
| Sodium, Na ppm | 32 | 34 | 33 | 44 | 35 | 36 + 5 |
| Chloride, Cl ppm | 299 | 376 | 393 | 461 | 401 | 386 + 58 |
| Sulfate, SO4 ppm** | 474 | 354 | 393 | 444 | 405 | 414 + 46 |
To more closely compare the five Tree House IPAs, I calculated the mean and standard deviation for ABV, pH, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride and sulfate. While most samples fell within one standard deviation of the mean, some didn’t; Green and Doppelgänger fell outside with respect to calcium, Julius 2020 and Doppelgänger fell outside with respect to magnesium, Doppelgänger fell outside with respect to sodium, Julius 2019 and Doppelgänger fell outside with respect to chloride and Julius 2020 fell outside with respect to sulfate. In other words, besides Doppelgänger, the Tree House IPAs are relatively consistent.
So what’s next?
I plan to have Trillium Congress Street and Double Dry Hopped Fort Point and Russian River Pliny The Elder analyzed next week. These beers will allow me to compare different breweries and different styles to help me make the most informed decision on target minerals.
I will also finally submit my own Mountain IPA for mineral analysis based on the Brew Your Own “How Water Minerals Change Through Brewing” experiment by Michael Tonsmeire.
One Response
This is such great data to have available! Amazing how consistent the beers are despite their differences. I’m really intrigued by the fact that they seem to have landed on a balanced SO4 to Cl ratio in all of their finished beers. There must be something in this and I really doubt you could nail it with all brands without similar laboratory analysis being completed. At 400-450ppm each of SO4 and Cl but low-ish Ca they are definitely using K and Mg and to bump up the minerals that they are after. I’m going to have a go at what I believe a similar set of mineral additions might look like in my next batch, it’s worth a shot! Looking forward to seeing what you uncover with the trillium and pliny testing. Keep going sir!