I've had great success just going with these =
http://brewery.org/library/wchmprimer.html
These recipes are general-purpose "idealized" formulas for creating water from distilled for all-grain brewing. Refer to the above text for ideas for extract brewers. These recipes are for five gallons of ion-free water; scale up or down as needed. They are definitely "ballpark" profiles and can be adjusted liberally as desired. I'll "leave it as an excercise to the reader" to verify the resulting ppm concentrations.
When chalk is called for, you'll have to get it dissolved either by bubbling CO2 through the water (which works but takes time), or you can stir the proper amount directly into the mash, and let the mash's acidity dissolve the chalk. By "proper amount" I'm referring to a proportion matching the actual strike water used rather than the full five gallons on which these recipes are based. If you strike with 14 quarts, mix 70% of the amount shown (14 qt out of five gallons) directly into the mash. When sparging, stir the chalk directly into the sparge water, then acidify your sparge water to your favorite pH (5.7 is typical). This should help dissolve it (to incorporate the desired concentration of calcium) while neutralizing the detrimental effects of the alkaline carbonate by lowering the pH. Remember that we're trying to emulate the makeup of the water naturally found in regions where these beers are brewed; whatever the local brewer would do to those "natural waters", we should do too.
As of this writing, I have had success with the Burton profile given here but have not personally tried the others. These recipes are based on published profiles; I make no claims as to their suitability other than that the recipes should yield the indicated ion concentrations.
Burton Pale Ale -- A toned-down, "idealized" profile. Enough sulphate to bring out the hops without overdoing it. Low alkalinity helps ensure proper mash pH. Model: Moshers 'Ideal Pale Ale". 1 gram baking soda, 1 gram canning salt, 3.5 grams Epsom salt, 9 grams gypsum. Ca=111, SO4=337, Mg=18, Na=35, Cl=32, CO3=38, Hardness=352, Alkalinity=31.
English Ale -- More or less a London water profile. Model: A. J. deLange's "Ale" from HBD1965. 2 grams Epsom salt, 2 grams chalk, 0.3 gram canning salt, 0.8 gram gypsum. Ca=52, SO4=65, Mg=10, Na=6.2, Cl=9.6, CO3=63, Hardness=173, Alkalinity=106.
Light Lager -- Very small amounts of ions; just enough to acidify the mash. Model: Mosher's "Ideal Pale Lager". 1 gram Epsom Salt, 0.5 grams baking soda, 1 gram chalk, 0.5 grams canning salt. Ca=21, SO4=21, Mg=5.2, Na=18, Cl=16, CO3=51, Hardness=74, Alkalinity=69.
Medium Lager -- Malty, amber lagers like Oktoberfest. Loosely based on Papazian's Munich. 1 gram Epsom salt, 3.5 grams chalk, 0.5 grams canning salt. Ca=74, SO4=21, Mg=5.2, Na=10, Cl=16, CO3=111, Hardness=207, Alkalinity=185.
Dark Lagers -- Bocks, for example. Model: Mosher's "Ideal Mild Ale / Dark Lager". 2.5 grams Epsom salt, 2 grams chalk, 2.5 grams canning salt, 2.5 grams gypsum. Ca=73, SO4=125, Mg=13, Na=52, Cl=80, CO3=63, Hardness=236, Alkalinity=106.
Ken Schwartz,
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