SN American Stout Water Profile

I am brewing an SN Stout clone from:
http://***********/stories/recipes/...ipes/114-stout/1907-sierra-nevada-stout-clone

I use reverse osmosis water. I came up with the following numbers using the popular EZ Water calculator from:
http://www.huizingh.net/EZ-water-calculator.htm

(1st addition to the mash, 2nd to the boil)

gypsum
2 .5t
1.6 .4t

CaCl2
5 1.5t
4 1.2t

Epsom
3 .67t
2.4 .5

Baking Soda
14 3.2t
11.2 2.55t

Ca96
Mg 15
Na 202 (titch high)
Cl 127
SO4 121
Alkalinity 440
Residual Alkalinity 363
Cl:SO4 1.06

Do my numbers look ok? I am a bit concerned about the Na, but to get my residual alkalinity in line I need a bunch of baking soda, 25 grams total! Does that seem right? Will my beer taste like salt water?

Thanks.

I don't really know about that water profile. The sodium looks terribly high.

I've brewed that exact recipe w/RO water w/no additions, and w/tap water w/no modifications. I STILL haven't gotten a local water report (lazy i know it's sad), but I can't really tell much if any difference between the two. The truth is that stouts are pretty strong in flavor, especially imperial or american (although this particular stout is smooth and farging delicious!) so the water profile isn't going to make a HUGE difference.

I remembered "designing great beers" having a water table for stouts so I looked it up.

They have london and dublin water profiles, the two classic styles for stouts. London water profile is considered best for imperial stouts so I'd recommend it for american as well.

Mineral: London, Dublin
Calcium: 50, 115
Magnesium: 20, 4
Sodium: 100, 12
Carbonate: 160, 200
Sulfate: 80, 55
Chloride: 60, 19

Again probably stick closer to the first set of values in that table. Or just use tap water as long as your water isn't too hard. Good luck and you'll love this recipe.

No, don't do it. I know you're worried about getting the RA high enough so that the "good for xx SRM" matches your plan but I think you'll find the pH goes too high if you actually measure it.

The other thing is that you don't need to put baking soda into your boil kettle so even if you wanted to stick with your plan, forget the 11grams going into the BK because the pH doesn't matter there. That will keep your Na down. In any case, back off your RA to like 225.

so never HCO3 to the boil kettle? That calculator has you add it to it...

I'm just suggesting (maybe I'm wrong) that there's no reason to add chalk or baking soda post mash. Mash additions affect mash pH and carry over to flavor. Boil additions should be for flavor only (most likely for Cl/S04 ratio control). Of course chalk may still count to get the calcium level up but if that wasn't a primary goal, it can be skipped. I'm just learning about water chem myself but I think this logic is sound based on everything I've read so far.

i agree with everything that Bobby has mentioned.

also, i realize you're using a different water spreadsheet than palmer's, but palmer suggests with his spreadsheet to stop at 250 RA, no matter what the program tells you. your mash pH is likely to be way high with the numbers you're listing.

cool, thanks for the help fellas.