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Mr. Mojo Rising · 12-23-2009, 03:25 AM

Let me see if I got this right. Salts should be added to the Mash water in proportion to the total water for brew, i.e. 16 Gallon Total Water, 8 gal Mash, 8 gallons worth of correct salts.

-The rest of the 8 gallons worth of salts should go in at Boil or Sparge or does it make a difference?

-If Chloride and Sulfate are for flavor (Bitter/Malty) shouldn't I add that total amount to the boil or are the ions needed for pH adjustment?

Thanks,
Mojo

**Cheeto** · 12-23-2009, 03:29 AM

Before going overboard with these salts, do you have a current water report ?

Several great styles can, and have been brewed with many locations local unmolested water supply.

Mr. Mojo Rising · 12-23-2009, 04:43 AM

I have my current water report. I have a very soft profile and have been making good beer for quite some time with it. I am just looking for ways to improve my process and learn a bit along the way. I understand Palmer's concepts but he is unclear on the process part that is a part of my original post.

ScottD13 · 12-23-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Mojo Rising

Let me see if I got this right. Salts should be added to the Mash water in proportion to the total water for brew, i.e. 16 Gallon Total Water, 8 gal Mash, 8 gallons worth of correct salts.

-The rest of the 8 gallons worth of salts should go in at Boil or Sparge or does it make a difference?

-If Chloride and Sulfate are for flavor (Bitter/Malty) shouldn't I add that total amount to the boil or are the ions needed for pH adjustment?

Thanks,
Mojo

Correct but what I take away from your description you’re not compensating for the water lost to the grain and or deadspace in your equipment and you’ll end up with too much “salts” in the boil.

What I've taken from Palmer's discussion on water, and what I do in my brews (I build from distilled water) is this....for a brew with a total of 16 gallons needed:

8 gallons mash water use 8 gallons of salts for the target profile

Then sparge with no salts and add remaining salts equal to the number of sparged gallons collected.
Therefore, first runnings collected = say 5 gallons (3 gallons of water and salts left behind) and 7 gallons of second runnings collected for a total of 12 gallons into the boil kettle. Of the total 12 gallons only 5 have salts, the 7 gallons of second runnings don’t. You only need to add enough salts to cover the 7 additional gallons. If you added 8 gallons worth of salts into the 12 gallons collect you’d have too much salt to achieve the profile you’re looking for because you’d not be taking into account the loss.

One other thing….if you dump salts directly into the boil it may puff up and boil over (had it happen the first time I used salts). Greg Noonan has a great recommendation in his book; scoop out some of the hot wort and dissolve the salts into the wort as best you can, then pour that mixture into the boil kettle. This will help recued the chance of a boil over.

Hope this helps!

Mr. Mojo Rising · 12-23-2009, 02:42 PM

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks!