Need Quick Lesson on Water Chemistry

I need a quick lesson on water chemistry. I bought a .01g scale and gypsum, water salt, etc. I just don't know what the computations mean. I sincerely failed chemistry in high school.

So I built my first AG recipe using Brewers Friend. It computed my water chemistry for a lager at:

Target Ion Levels (ppm or mg/L):
CA+2 - 7
MG+2 - 3
SO4-2 - 5
NA+ - 2
CI- - 5
HCO3 - 14

So what does this mean? How much am I measuring out. Which was compound is which? Thank you. This should help me understand for the future. I am starting with RO water by the way.

All i remember from hs chemistry was a poem i wrote one day when i got in trouble....

I wanted to sit in my chair
Like a boy who had no brains to spare
I set my feet high
And reached for the sky
But she saw me sitting up there.
To the back she sent me to stay
No more with my friends will i play
I'll sit here alone
Bored clear to the bone
Writing and drawing each day

Anyhoo...im also interested in learning about water chemistry so im subscribing. If there are any good books people recommend, im a bit of a "RTFM" kinda guy.

Those numbers are very low- it's basically just RO water. For most lagers, RO water with 5 grams of calcium chloride to the total amount of water would be a great way to start.

Definitely do NOT use gypsum!

Is there a guide that teaches water chemistry for home brewers. What the symbols mean and how do the numbers translate to tbsp of each item?

Or a web based calculator to plug in your numbers, select the desired beer style/volume, and it tells you what to add....

Less is often more with brewing salts. Starting with Yoopers sugestion would be a good idea. It's easy to get carried away and ruin your beer (I know because I have done it)

This site has a sticky known as the water chemistry primer.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

Here is an online calculator:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/

And two excel sheets for brewing water:
http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

Yes, please see my original post. Those are the numbers I got I just don't know what they mean.

Those numbers are the concentrations of the minerals that you want to reach (according to the program you used). Truly, just read the sticky linked above. Skip the thick paragraphs and get to the last few lines where the result is. If you plug in those additions into Bru'n Water, you can see that they work because boxes turn from red to green (and green is good!).

jgaepi said:

I need a quick lesson on water chemistry. I bought a .01g scale and gypsum, water salt, etc. I just don't know what the computations mean. I sincerely failed chemistry in high school.

So I built my first AG recipe using Brewers Friend. It computed my water chemistry for a lager at:

Target Ion Levels (ppm or mg/L):
CA+2 - 7
MG+2 - 3
SO4-2 - 5
NA+ - 2
CI- - 5
HCO3 - 14

So what does this mean? How much am I measuring out. Which was compound is which? Thank you. This should help me understand for the future. I am starting with RO water by the way.

Click to expand...

Also, the symbols stand for calcium, magnesium, sulfates, sodium, chlorine, and carbonates in that order.

2 parts hydrogen. 1 part Oxygen. Quick lesson on water chemistry complete.

Jdslep said:

Also, the symbols stand for calcium, magnesium, sulfates, sodium, chlorine, and carbonates in that order.

Click to expand...

That's chloride, not chlorine.

Thanks GilaMinumBeer. That is probably all I need to know to brew Budweiser. Unfortunately I don't want to brew budweiser.

So I read http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/03/14/all-grain-water-chemistry-brewing-information/ article so I understand what each element translates to but it still doesn't help me know how many grams or teaspoons of each to add based on my numbers.

Hypothetical - I see a 7 for NA+ - what does that mean? 7 grams?

jgaepi said:

Thanks GilaMinumBeer. That is probably all I need to know to brew Budweiser. Unfortunately I don't want to brew budweiser.

So I read http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/03/14/all-grain-water-chemistry-brewing-information/ article so I understand what each element translates to but it still doesn't help me know how many grams or teaspoons of each to add based on my numbers.

Hypothetical - I see a 7 for NA+ - what does that mean? 7 grams?

Click to expand...

It means mg/L.

jgaepi said:

Thanks GilaMinumBeer. That is probably all I need to know to brew Budweiser. Unfortunately I don't want to brew budweiser.

So I read http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/03/14/all-grain-water-chemistry-brewing-information/ article so I understand what each element translates to but it still doesn't help me know how many grams or teaspoons of each to add based on my numbers.

Hypothetical - I see a 7 for NA+ - what does that mean? 7 grams?

Click to expand...

To really grasp this topic, you should get yourself a water spreadsheet. I like Bru-n-water, personally. This will allow you to estimate with familiar units of measure how much of each to add. Furthermore, it will also illustrate what other parameters are affected by each addition. Unless you have access to elemental sodium, you are most likely going to be using table salt which is actually NACl, or Sodium Chloride, meaning that it will add to the Sodium and to the chloride parameters. Another example is Epsom salt. MgSO4 which will add to Magnesium and Sulfate.

My point is, do not expect to hit a desired target exactly without knowing what else will be effected. Unless of course you are using pure grade elements.

Hey GilaMinumBeer, your second response was the bomb! I just downloaded the software and will play around with it. Thank you for the suggestion.

jgaepi said:

Hey GilaMinumBeer, your second response was the bomb! I just downloaded the software and will play around with it. Thank you for the suggestion.

Click to expand...

Just think, get a grasp on this and maybe you can brave brewing a Budweiser.

If you can brew Budweiser, you can brew anything.

****, give me a urinalysis cup and I will brew u up some Budweiser. Water chemistry and all.

type bru n water into google, read the water knowledge section, it's pretty helpful. Palmers book has some good info too.