Aren't There Some Brewing Neccessary Minerals In Our Grain Bills?

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HenryHill

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I have a low magnesium count, and need to dilute my water with pure water for light color beers. I could add some back, but there is a limit to what is a good level.

Doesn't it seem likely that some amounts of some of the required minerals are present in the wort, having been stripped out of the grain?
 
I know I've read that the grain provides some amount of calcium to the mash, though I can't remember the amount. I'm not sure about magnesium and the other ions though.
 
Yea, it seems with Mg that Epsom is the most common addition but you get a ton of SO4 as part of the deal...and that may not be desirable.

I have a similar dilemma in that I too dilute Spring water with Distilled water to get the alkalinity down for light brews but then the Mg is almost non-existant. So I have to add some Epsom to get it back but that gives a bunch of Sulphate...which I then have to balance with Chloride from CaCl (or NaCl but I've read that high-ish amounts of both Na and SO4 is a bad thing). By the time I've got the alkalinity and hardness in line for 'soft' water...the Cl and SO4 seem high for 'soft' water (even though they are balanced relative to each other).
 
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in barley malt. I have yet to see definitive information regarding it's contribution to the mash and resulting wort. However, I have seen it suggested that the contribution of the barley's calcium is essentially negated.... can't remember exactly how. I want to say that a certain amount of calcium (roughly equivalent to the barley's contribution) get's precipitated in the boil, but I'm not sure.
 
The minerals present in the water are in ionic form (Cation -anion). Most of the mineral content in grain must be in other forms.

I do mineral analysis on hay and other plant material at job, and we need to calcinate it before an acid digestion on hot plate to have an good recovery of all minerals.
 
Since no one has answered the question on magnesium yet, I'll parrot Palmer from the BN Waterganza. He said that you don't actually need any magnesium in your water, there is enough in the grain to meet the requirements of the mash. Though, I've seen recommended levels of 10-30 ppm. Once you get over 30ppm you'll start getting some of the undesirable side effects of magnesium...it's a diuretic and laxative. :(
 
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