Building water - where to add the salts?

I want to build my water from some store bought distilled water. Where should I add the salts? In the strike water while it is heating up? In the mash tun with the grains?

JLem said:

I want to build my water from some store bought distilled water. Where should I add the salts? In the strike water while it is heating up? In the mash tun with the grains?

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For mash pH, you add the salts to the water/grist to get to the right pH. If you need some "flavor" salts, you can add the sparge salts to the boil kettle. I never do, but I always treat my mash water.

Yooper said:

For mash pH, you add the salts to the water/grist to get to the right pH. If you need some "flavor" salts, you can add the sparge salts to the boil kettle. I never do, but I always treat my mash water.

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I'm using the salts for both. Does it matter if they go into the strike water directly (will they dissolve properly?) or in the mash with the grain?

JLem said:

I'm using the salts for both. Does it matter if they go into the strike water directly (will they dissolve properly?) or in the mash with the grain?

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I only use calcium chloride and gypsum, and they dissolve well in the mash. For other additions, I wouldn't be able to say.

It depends on what you're aiming for, if you're just trying to hit your mash pH add them to the mash. If you're trying to match a historic or known profile from a region, you should treat all the water to the same levels. I've taken to building my water from RO and don't really worry about anything other than the calcium, chloride and sulfate levels most of the time.