Millionth Water Profile Report...

Hello,

Just got my results from Ward Labs.

pH 7.9
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est 326
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.54
Cations / Anions, me/L 5.2 / 5.2
ppm
Sodium, Na 20
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 65
Magnesium, Mg 12
Total Hardness, CaCO3 213
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.8 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 29
Chloride, Cl 66
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 84
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 69
"<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit

Click to expand...

I notice some sites talk about CaCO3, I see "Total Hardness CaCO3," and "Total Alkalinity CaCO3." These values are quite different, which am I concerned with? or both? The calculator asks for HCO3, but you use CaCO3 to adjust?

http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/ shows with my base water profile, I can brew "Highly Malty" brews that are Amber Colored.

So for very hoppy lighter colored beers (SRM 4-10 & OG's from 1.045 to 1.090), I need to add gypsum to get the sulfate content to at least twice that of chloride correct? Is there any other adjustment I need for this? Will I need to dilute to lower the HCO3

Also my next brew will be a dunkelweizen (using belgian witbier yeast WY3944 if it matters), I'm not sure what type of water profile to shoot for.

And lastly if I want to brew something like a dark malty "IPA" do I use a mixed profile or?

Thanks!

PS> I remember reading something that was very detailed in each minerals purpose, but damned if I can find it once it became useful.

This is my attempted adjustment for my next IPA
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 7.45 gal
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 8.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 88.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.0 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 3.85 %
11 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 88.46 %
8.0 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Caramalt (35.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) [StarYeast-Ale


EZ Water Calculator spreadsheet says it's within SRM spec's and what not, but I am not sure if the "high" chloride or HCO3 will have a negative impact on a 8.2srm hoppy beer or not. The only profile I see is Burton on Trent's which according to certain calculators will poison me or give me severe diarrhea (not something I need!)

I added a small amount of CaCO3 to get back in the SRM range after adding the gypsum. I am not sure if I need that much sulfate for an IPA or not.

I've been attempting to use TH's spreadsheet, but I find myself confused by the double additions.

If I am brewing a 5gallon batch, and I want to add some gypsum. My gypsum says 49ppm Ca and 167ppm SO4 per gram added to one gallon. So for my 5 gallons I add 5grams and raise those 5gal by 49ppm Ca and 167ppm SO4.

Now with the spreadsheet I add those 5grams, and then it says to add 5grams more to the "sparge add to boil" (why call sparge if its added after the sparge?). In my mind, adding 5 more grams of gypsum will mean when I boil it down to my 5 gallon batch, I will now have an additional 98ppm CA and 334ppm SO4. All the calculators show adding more salts for more sparge water, but even if I sparge with 20 gallons ( no I will not, just saying for reference) than it has me adding 17 grams on top of the 5 for the mash!

So after boil I have 5 gallons of 215ppm Ca and 734ppm SO4, but the calculators say I just have 49ppm Ca & 167ppm SO4 Mash + Sparge.