Another water/salts/profile question

Okay here is another thread about water profiles and water adjustment. I am going to be brewing an ESB this weekend and I will be using my tap water at my new house. here it is:

Ca - 45ppm
Cl - 96ppm
Mg - 8ppm
Na - 36ppm
SO4 - 76ppm
HCO3 - 150ppm

pH - 7.2
Total Hardnes - 134
Total Alkalinity - 122

Now I figured this is pretty close to the "London" profile...here is my question.
Is an ESB correct for the London profile or is the Burton profile? I found a couple of calculators, but they all say something different. It seams the sulfates and hardness is pretty high for the Burton profile. I have read Palmers book up and down and have done the charts...

Thanks!

If I start with all distilled could I just add some Burton salts and call it good? How much do I add? If using my water profile how much Burton salts do I add?

For ESB I like more sulphate than London water but not as much as Burton. I would add calcium sulphate (gypsum) to your water to get the calcium up to 150/200 ppm and brew. This will obviously also raise the sulphate level but that's OK an ESB can handle it. As for Burton salts you are better off with the individual ingredients IMO. Burton salts are a mixture of unknown proportions and I would rather have that control myself. Brewing salts aren't that expensive, they have indefinite shelf life and a little goes a long way. Buy some gypsum, calcium chloride, calcium carbonate and magnesium sulphate and you should be set for just about any beer style.

Thanks BigED!! That's exactly what I was wondering, Burton salts is so unknown (for me I guess)...My LHBS was out of gypsum, so I think I will just add some epsom salt and try that. I am using Brewater for my calcualtor...

profarm said:

Thanks BigED!! That's exactly what I was wondering, Burton salts is so unknown (for me I guess)...My LHBS was out of gypsum, so I think I will just add some epsom salt and try that. I am using Brewater for my calcualtor...

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Just don't add too much, or you'll have beer and laxative in a convenient two-in-one package

I have found BeerSmith very helpful to calculate my salt additions. It's good to have a whole set of salts available to get as close as possible to your target. Most of them are readily available from grocery or drug stores for a fraction of what you'd pay at a homebrew store.

profarm said:

Thanks BigED!! That's exactly what I was wondering, Burton salts is so unknown (for me I guess)...My LHBS was out of gypsum, so I think I will just add some epsom salt and try that. I am using Brewater for my calcualtor...

Click to expand...

Yes, please heed ArcaneXor's warning. A little Epsom salt goes a long way. You cannot just sub it for calcium sulphate. Check out this link for some good, basic water info. http://www.allaboutbeer.com/homebrew/water3.html