First Time Using Bru'n Water, Sanity Check

[bmbigda]

Finally making the transition from Palmer's spreadsheet to Bru'n water. (thank you Martin for the excellent spreadsheet). I am building from DI so fairly straightforward but could certainly use a sanity check.

English Pale Ale, 17 SRM, 45 IBU
Again starting with distilled water
Note: I did check "add gypsum and calcium chloride to replace chalk in sparge". I *think* I need to do this to get above 40 ppm Ca but that isn't clear to me. Maybe I just need to break out the strike and sparge manually and do some math.

 

[jwalk4]

English Pale Ale, 17 SRM, 45 IBU
Again starting with distilled water
Note: I did check "add gypsum and calcium chloride to replace chalk in sparge". I *think* I need to do this to get above 40 ppm Ca but that isn't clear to me. Maybe I just need to break out the strike and sparge manually and do some math.

I think you have the right idea. However, reconsider any and all chalk additions. After some of my own reading, it appears that chalk isn't very soluble in water alone and it needs the presence of Co2 in the water to accomplish a full dissolve. (http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_chalk_does_not_dissolve_in_water)

Therefore, I would recommend removing the Chalk and boost your Gypsum amount to get at least 150ppm of SO4 to boost the perception of dryness that accentuates the hops. (See the Pale Ale profile in Martin's spread sheet. He goes up to 300ppm for SO4 in his pale ales.)

As for other additions to match magnesium and sodium levels, it's amazing how many brewers seem to do without them. I was told yesterday that, apparently, Epsom salts in beer can cause some water retention in the stomach that can lead to a feeling of bloating. So most people stick to just Gypsum and CaCl additions and acid to lower PH.

Edit: Oh, and check that you have a scale accurate enough to actually weigh the amounts you specify. I certainly don't. I trust my scale to a 1/2 gram, but to reliably measure exactly .6? I'd be stabbing in the dark.