adjustment of water analysis

Since calcium sulphate is very insoluble in water, just how does adding as little as half a gram to the mash do anything. would it be better to boil water with added calcium sulphate for an hour, cool to 170 deg F and add to pale malt etc.?

Boiling water precipitates minerals. It is more likely to stay suspended in a mash which is precisely what you are supposed to do with it. I dump mine on top of the mash during dough-in and stir it in. No problems in doing it this way for many, many batches.

Here's some reading on the subject. http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-2.html

chemical compounds with limited solubility dissolve more in hot water. Precipitation is usually bicarbonate which DECOMPOSES on boiling. To get Ca++ ions in solution you need to boil for maximum concentration. Having said that I bow to experience in this field. Even if I added 5 lb of calcium sulphate to the mash, 99.95 of it would remain as calcium sulphate and contribute nothing, IMHO.

I build all my water from RO, and I can tell you with certainty that adding enough gypsum (CaSO4) to achieve 200ppm of sulphate definitely does something. In that case: makes for a very hoppy beer.

Are you having problems with additions not adding anything to the beer? Post an example of where you have added minerals, how much of each kind, and have had poor results.

calcium should be between 50 - 250ppm
when you add it to alkaline or neutral water (7 Ph>) it is hard to dissolve. If you add acid (lactic or phosphoric) and lower the Ph below 6 the calcium will dissolve more readily in water

In the mash you have natural phosphates coming from the malt. Calcium along with these phosphates produce hydrogen ions that produce (precipitate out) acids that lower the mash Ph naturally.

thanks everybody - up to now I have not modified my tap water and do not get very much hoppiness in the finished beer. I am just starting down this road - see my other recent posts for my full pap water analysis which is slightly alkaline.

With the water profile you have posted, you should have sufficient SO4 to bring out the hoppiness. Perhaps you need to add more (or fresher) hops.

-a.

My hops are 18 months old, and have been stored in aluminium sheet bags in my garage.