Questions about Water

[CityBear]

Hey Ya'll,

I recently moved to Oklaholma and found the water here to be very chlorinated which worries me when it comes to brewing. I'd like to take this opportunity to try my hand at matching a water profile for a Belgian Dubbel brew but I'm a bit confused on the mineral additives and how much of what to add. Looking over the information on Brewer's Friend I see the typical additives are:

• Chalk – Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
• Baking soda – Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
• Gypsum – Calcium Sulfate (CaSO4 * 2 H20)
• Calcium Chloride (CaCl2 * 2 H20)
• Epsom salt – Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4 * 7 H20)
  

My question here is, do some of these overlap? For instance, when trying to meet the ppm for Calcium do you count Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Sulfate, and Calcium Chloride? The water I am going for that of Chimay so I have an idea of the ppm/mg per L I am shooting for and my plan was to use distilled water so I am starting from a clean slate but I am just not sure about calculating the grams I am adding for a 10 gallon brew. Thanks for any info and happy fall brewing!

 

[ssuhy]

I use Brewfather that after I put in my source water profile (after I've received a Ward's water analysis report)
https://www.wardlab.com/services/water-analysis/

Then in Brewfather, I select my source water (which I've saved via the report), select a Target profile, then use it's AUTOFIX feature that adds the ingredients to my recipe automatically! No more 'try and see'...soooooo much easier.

https://brewfather.app/

 

[Yooper]

You won't want to use calcium carbonate at all, unless you plan to do extraneous measures to get it to dissolve. Target a mash pH of 5.3-5.4 or so, use a little calcium chloride and you should be all set!

You don't want baking soda (raises mash pH) or the calcium carbonate in 99% of cases.

 

[marc1]

Don't try to match bicarbonate. Add it only to adjust pH if needed.
As yooper said, chalk requires extraordinary measures to dissolve, like bubbling CO2 through the solution. You don't need to do that.
There are lots of water calculators available.
It looks like most of those water profiles are fairly similar, except for the last one. I'm not sure you'd be able to taste the difference between them in a beer, assuming that you corrected for proper mash pH, and maybe not even if you didn't.

 

[marc1]

Also Calcium Chloride absorbs water from the air easily, which can throw off your amounts. The most accurate way to measure is to make a concentrated solution and them measure the density with your hydrometer. There's a formula in the brew science forum for determining actual concentration from the density.

 

[Kruger_Brewer]

Hey bud, here you go. Without knowing the recipe, you should do just fine with these amounts:

2g gypsum = 0.5tsp
2.5g Epsom salts = 0.5 tsp
6g Calcium Chloride = 1.5 tsp

This is a very good profile, especially since you are using RO water - if you put these values into a calculator it will show slightly higher values, but that's ok as you are using either dark malts or dark syrup which would be acidic. Even if you didn't you should still be ok as Magnesium is a Ph buffer. Couple more points though:
I don't think the guys at Chimay actually add Mg to their brewing water, but Westmalle does from time to time, depending on the time of year. You will get really good results with it as it boosts the perception of fullness to the flavour profile and the dubbel style works really well with it. Regarding water, even though a brewery will have its water known, I can promise you it wont look the same when it goes into the mash tun. A belgian brewer will happily tell you his whole recipe to the last detail...but they will never reveal their water secrets - its their pedigree. Trappists are even more strange when it comes to their brewing practices - Orval is a good example as it is a fantastic beer, full of flavour and rich with caramel and malt complexity (bloody hard to get hold of too it is so much in demand!) and the brewery will even give you some of their yeast! You will likely never be able to make the beer though...it contains only pilsner malt, nothing else. But a look at their kettle's underside shows years of char lol! Gotta love that kettle carammelization!

Oh yes the source for the above water profile, I am a brewmaster for Castle Malting, Wallonia, Belgium. You'll be fine. Funny as I am busy putting together a series of videos for water chemistry as we speak, will drop a link here when done.

Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know for that water profile.

P.S. Calcium carbonate? Drop kick that stuff over the fence! Not worth the hassle.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

I don't think the guys at Chimay actually add Mg to their brewing water, but Westmalle does from time to time, depending on the time of year. You will get really good results with it as it boosts the perception of fullness to the flavour profile and the dubbel style works really well with it.

My understanding is that magnesium (the cation in Epsom salts) is an essential nutrient for yeast but is very bitter. While it does provide bitterness at low levels, it tastes terrible at higher levels.

From BYO
"Recommended water levels 5–30 ppm. Magnesium’s benefits are similar in nature to those of calcium, aiding in several key steps during the mash. One important detail though is that magnesium will see a large boost in the mash as it occurs naturally in malt. It also can have an effect on the flavor profile of the beer, adding a bitterness at lower levels and astringency at higher levels. It is recommended that you do not exceed 50 ppm Mg in your brewing water and excessive amounts are also cited as causing a laxative effect. Epsom salts (MgSO4) are the most common way for brewers to boost their Mg levels"

I think the typical usage of Epsom salts is to ensure there is enough Mg from an essential nutrient perspective. Malt usually provides enough Mg, but if your source water is low in it. adding a little Epsom salt is good insurance - 10 ppm is all that is needed. Also, the SO4 (anion) in Epsom salts is known to accentuate the hop bitterness. Gypsum, which will provide the SO4 for hop forward beers may be preferred over Epsom for raising hardness (lowering PH) and providing SO4 if not concerned about Mg from a nutrient perspective.

Chloride is known to provide fullness for malt forward beers. CaCl2 and NaCl (table salt) provide good sources of Chloride.

Do a search on the SO4/Cl ratio as that is often a target of building a water profile for a particular style.