Chalk?

I just picked up a recipe for a Smithwick Clone and one of the ingredients was Chalk. The guy at the local beer supply store had no clue what I was talking about. The recipe also called for gypsum so it wasn't that. Can I just go into my kids classroom and bang a couple erasers together to get what I need or is this something altogether diferent?

JK

How much chalk? Does it say if it's to adjust pH or imitate a certain water quality? I would think the chalk in question is calcium carbonate. According to Wikipedia, blackboard chalk is usually made of gypsum...

If the chalk is just for pH regulation, you might be just as happy with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in a similar amount. (Although I don't know if the sodium will play havoc with the taste of your brew.)

It does not state what it is for. Get this, it also calls for 1/2 tsp of epsom salts. Yummm!

JK

Chalk, gypsum, Epsom salts... this is beginning to look like inorganic chemistry. Could be something to do with imitating the water supply where your original beer is made, but that makes little sense unless you tailor it specifically to the water where you are. Or does your recipe assume distilled water?

Would you post the entire recipe? There are more knowledgeable folks than me on this forum (quite a lot of them, actually), and that might make it easier to dispense honeyed words and golden advice.

My guess is the chalk/gypsum/epsom salts are for water profiling. Does the recipe call for starting with distilled water, or something similar with no mineral content. I wouldn't mess with the brewing salts unless I knew what my water already had in it. Where did the recipe come from?

You beat me to it, Regicider!

Grate mines think alike. Or something.

http://www.geocities.com/kjenkinsaf/bass_ale_clone.htm

is the site I got the info off of. Thanks guys.

JK

Yeah, I wouldn't play with the salts unless you knew your existing water chemestry. Your water may already have sufficient minerals. Adding more would not necessarily be a good thing.

just throw some burton salts in there and youll be allright...

water chemistry is very complicated crap only a chemist should tinker with (IMHO)

if you heat calcium carbonate, CaCO3 (s) in a liquid you yeild CaO(s) + CO2 and CaO is lime, im pretty sure you dont want quiklime in your beer!

Bjorn Borg said:

if you heat calcium carbonate, CaCO3 (s) in a liquid you yeild CaO(s) + CO2 and CaO is lime, im pretty sure you dont want quiklime in your beer!

Click to expand...

... might be good in a light cerveza.

Trapaddict said:

I just picked up a recipe for a Smithwick Clone and one of the ingredients was Chalk. The guy at the local beer supply store had no clue what I was talking about. The recipe also called for gypsum so it wasn't that. Can I just go into my kids classroom and bang a couple erasers together to get what I need or is this something altogether diferent?

JK

Click to expand...

First off, are you an extract or AG brewer?

If extract, don't add it to your beer (that goes for the other brewing salts as well) because the water profile in LME/DME is already determined for your beer. A definite advantage for extract brewers.

If you are all grain, you may or may not need it, depending on your local water profile. The best thing to do is get a water report and then use either promash or a program called BreWater 3.0 to try and match up your water profile to the style of beer you are making by adding certain chemicals.

Kep in mind adding some of these salts if you do not need them can actually add harsh flavors to your beer.

FWIW, "chalk" is Calcium Carbonate, which will raise the PH of the mash, and is generally used to counteract the dark grains because they lower the PH.

Right now Partial Mash is as far as I go. I'll let this fly without all the stuff in it and see where we end up. It's for my wife anyway. LOL

I was looking for a Smithwick's clone, Thank You Trapaddict!!

What degree of crystal are you using? (10L, 20L, 60L etc...)

Has anyone tried making this Smithwick clone? How has it turned out? Smithwick is my favorite beer (currently) and I would love to be able to make something like it.

Just FYI, chalk is calcium carbonate, gypsum is calcium sulfate, and epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. They are all used for water profiling, as the others said.

Don't go banging the erasers together to get the chalk, either. Spend a buck or two on a packet from the LHBS. It'll last you a long while.


TL

Since you are PM, how much grain are you mashing? I usually mash 5lbs and have not messed with my water. I know brewing with the exact right water is said to make beers taste better, but I really haven't noticed anything wrong with my untreated beers. I'm also pretty sure it is more important for light color ales and lagers, but I could be wrong about that.

is this an extract kit? cuz the extract should have been made with an appropriate water style. you shouldn't need to mess with water chemistry for an extract brew.

Chalk is for doing two things. One is "swamping" the water with excessive calcium ions and the other is to increase the water pH. Chalk (calcium carbonate) is about twice as potent at raising pH as gypsum is at lowering it. The carbonate also adds temporary hardness. If the recipe calls for large amounts of chalk, I would consider reducing them and/or adjusting the mash pH with lactic acid. Also, you may naturally have a lot of chalk in the local water from limestone aquifers (central PA is like this).