drewskies_brewskies

Recipes 

Hey everyone. I'm new to these forums and I need some help. I've been brewing for a few years now and until now I've only done extract and partial mash brewing. I'm making the jump to all grain, and I'm brewing my first batch this weekend - a red ale. I sent off a sample of my water and these are my results:
pH 7.2
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 63
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.10
Cations / Anions, me/L 0.8 / 0.8
ppm
Sodium, Na 8
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 6
Magnesium, Mg 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 19
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 2
Chloride, Cl 10
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 22
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 18

After spending a lot of time on these forums I've noticed that a lot of people suggest not messing with water chemistry on your first AG batch. I've made several PM batches using just my tap water and they've all turned out great! Would it be safe to brew with this water profile, but have some gypsum and/or epsom on hand just in case to control PH? Knowing that these additions will affect the taste. I really appreciate your help.
Cheers!

Beerrific

Recipes 

Looks like great water for brewing. Very similar to the water here. I would suggest adding calcium chloride or gypsum to get 50-100ppm Ca, and I chose either of those salts depending on the beer. I pretty much use CaCl2 for everything except bitters and pale ales (hoppy beers).

You can use CaOH or baking soda if needed in darker beers. But my experience has shown that you will likely need none or very little. You can see my thread here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/dark-beer-mash-ph-201245/

drewskies_brewskies

Recipes 

Thanks! Would you recommend treating both the mash and sparge water?

mabrungard

Recipes 

That water is almost RO quality. I suggest following the recommendations provided in the Water Primer. Especially if this is a first batch. The main thing to worry about is providing enough calcium for the yeast and clarification.

You would not need to treat your sparge water since it has low alkalinity. But, you should add the appropriate quantity of calcium containing salt to the kettle to account for the sparge water volume.

__________________
Martin Brungard, P.E. D.WRE
Carmel, IN
BJCP National
Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI)
Brewing Water Information at:
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

Beerrific

Recipes 

I agree. I just tend to all my water the same. But, you could just dump the salts in the mash and then into the boil.