What kind of water do yeast like?

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Amiaji

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I will be brewing a batch of starter wort in the next few days. My water has basically nothing in it. Not much sodium or sulfate, almost no calcium, magnesium, or carbonates.

Palmer says that calcium and to a lesser extent magnesium are needed by the yeast. Should I add some salts to the mash and/or boil kettle? Or will adding yeast nutrients be enough? I also have some yeast energizer and yeast hulls around, how much if any of those should I add? I want to make a wort that is as friendly as possible to yeasts. Some of it will be canned to use as starter wort and some will be mixed with agar to make plates and slants with.
 
I use Palmer's spreadsheet which is available at the bottom of this page.

If you decide to go with brewing salts, which you probably should if your water is almost the same as distilled, you will be adding you first addition of salts directly to the mash and then the second addition not to the sparge water but to the boil itself.

I would also recommend listening to the water series from the brewing network. Lots of good advice there if you have time to listen. Here's the link to that.
 
Thanks for the response but it seems I didnt make myself clear. Drunk posting FTL.

I am going to make a batch of wort to use for starters and to mix with agar to make slants and petri dishes. What I need to know is what minerals are important to yeast. I want to make it as yeast friendly as possible so my slants and starters are very fruitful.

Palmer and others say that calcium and to a lesser extent magnesium are important for yeast growth. I have all the common brewing salts available as well as some yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, and yeast hulls.

What I was wondering is what and how much should I add to my water?
 
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