Mineral taste from gypsum even at low levels.

beerkench · May 2, 2015

I've been experimenting with gypsum in my beers to get my calcium up to the levels recommended. As I brew mostly pales/IPA's I consider gypsum to be fitting for the style, especially as the water is low in sulfate.
I have soft water year round:

Calcium 20ppm
Sulfate 14ppm
Chloride 46ppm
Alkalinity as HC03 97ppm

I started with 1 grams per 5 gallon batch but was having clarity issues so upped it to 3 grams. With 3 grams the calcium helped a lot and resulted in a really crystal clear beer but the problem is that I can taste a mineral finish that hits the back of the throat after swallowing. I adjusted the levels on a few batches and it's the same result. With increased gypsum, I get increased dry feeling at the back of the throat.
I know I should just drop it to say 2 grams and try to hit the happy medium but the thing that leaves me scratching my head is that I've heard some of the brewers of the best IPA's out there saying that they burtonize their water to really high levels and I think some of those IPA's are great.

I'm wondering if it's just my recipes and that the great IPA's have the perfect bitterness/sweetness ratio so that the gypsum levels just add to the balance.

Any ideas?

ajdelange · May 2, 2015

You have the opportunity to learn two things here.

The first is that personal taste is a bigger factor than most people think even though that should be obvious. You don't like minerally beer. Don't use highly mineralized water then.

The second is that the balance between sweetness and bitterness really depends on the relative amount and composition of malt and hops and not so much on the amount of sulfate or chloride in the water in spite of what a lot of people try to tell you.

Brew with low mineral water and experiment with malt and hops but do fiddle with chloride and sulfate levels as well. You can do this in finished beer and get a feel for what augmented mineral levels imply in beer brewed with various amounts.

mabrungard · May 2, 2015

3 grams in 5 gallons??? That isn't much. That's roughly 40 ppm calcium and 90 ppm sulfate. In the realm of hoppy beers, that is very modest. But if that tastes too minerally to you, then don't do it.

I echo AJ's comment, sweetness and bitterness have little to do with the mineral content. Review your bittering level and also the fermentability of the wort. If you are mashing at a temperature over 152F, you might want to drop the temperature a couple of degrees to improve the wort fermentability. That should improve drinkability and enhance bitterness perception. Along with that change, the bittering may need to be reduced a bit to provide the ratio of sweetness and bitterness you desire.

The other thing that wasn't mentioned was the mash and wort pH. Hopefully you are adding some form of acidification to the water since it's too high for mashing a typical pale grain bill.

zwiller · May 4, 2015

mabrungard said:
Hopefully you are adding some form of acidification to the water since it's too high for mashing a typical pale grain bill.

+1; Your water is very similar to mine and I don't label mine soft

Dial is pH levels first then "season" to taste with gypsum. I think you have some astringency from higher pH and the gypsum is exacerbating.

Redcat · May 4, 2015

Next time try adding the gypsum during the start of the boil.

You won't be raising the PH of the mash, but you'll have enough calcium for good fermentation and clarity.

ajdelange · May 4, 2015

No, you will be lowering it. This is not a bad thing.

beerkench · May 8, 2015

mabrungard said:
3 grams in 5 gallons??? That isn't much. That's roughly 40 ppm calcium and 90 ppm sulfate. In the realm of hoppy beers, that is very modest. But if that tastes too minerally to you, then don't do it.

I echo AJ's comment, sweetness and bitterness have little to do with the mineral content. Review your bittering level and also the fermentability of the wort. If you are mashing at a temperature over 152F, you might want to drop the temperature a couple of degrees to improve the wort fermentability. That should improve drinkability and enhance bitterness perception. Along with that change, the bittering may need to be reduced a bit to provide the ratio of sweetness and bitterness you desire.

The other thing that wasn't mentioned was the mash and wort pH. Hopefully you are adding some form of acidification to the water since it's too high for mashing a typical pale grain bill.

Adding minerals especially gypsum, has to be directly involved in the balance of the beer as it accentuates the bitterness.
In a simple IPA recipe I can really tell the difference between 1 and 3 grams. The bitter after taste gives it away. I think the more complex the beer the more the mineral content blends in with the complexity. That's why I guess, a pilsner needs to have soft water and a complex IPA with lots of hops, IBU's and crystal malts would be better with some more minerals.

I would like to add that when I add more gypsum to my beers, they tend to get smoother and smoother as they age in the keg.
Do minerals drop out of solution quickly?

Mineral taste from gypsum even at low levels.

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

beerkench

Well-Known Member

ajdelange

Supporting Member

mabrungard

Supporting Member

zwiller

Well-Known Member

Redcat

Well-Known Member

ajdelange

Supporting Member

beerkench

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Latest posts