Using NaCl to increase Cl ions in Cold IPA

[BigJay13]

I'm going to brew a Cold IPA loosely based off this recipe here: Recipe: Green Cheek It Just Works

He says the water profile he uses is: Start with carbon-filtered water that tastes good. Look at your water report and weigh out enough chloride and/or sulfate to hit a 1:1 ratio, 150 ppm of each.

With my base water profile, if I only use gypsum and CaCl to get to 1:1 at 150 my calcium ions get to almost 170. I don't have any mgSo4 on hand so my other thought was to use table salt to decrease the Ca and increase the Cl. I've never put NaCl in a beer but all I can think about is some old dude at a bar in the 70's putting some salt in a light lager. What thoughts do you all have? Here's my base water profile:

 

[mabrungard]

When we were writing the Water book, John Palmer did his own experiments with sodium in beer. He confirmed that sodium in beer is not a detriment to flavor. You can have well over 100 ppm sodium and still have a very tasty beer. In fact, sodium doesn’t start to taste “salty” until it’s concentration gets to about 250 ppm.

So the bottom line is that adding sodium to brewing water is okay for brewing.

 

[Sørine Thaarup]

I have started using NaCl instead of CaCl recently. I only use 0,15 g/l to have a chloride/sulfate ratio of 100:100 in the finished product. I started doing this because my water already is high in calcium and low in sodium, and I always have salt at hand. I am very happy with the results.

 

[BigJay13]

Thanks guys! After Martin responded I went ahead and weighed out the salts and through them in the bucket with the grain. Hoping to get to this tonight!

 

[jerrylotto]

That's CaCl2 -calcium chloride adds twice the chloride ions per molecule than NaCl. On the other hand NaC l is about 60 g per mole and CaCl2 is about twice that (110 g per mole) so per weight they both add about the same concentration of Cl-.

 

[Dgallo]

i build from my tap water, which has a higher lever of Ca, so to adjust both so4 and Cl to the my target I need to use nacl or my mg & ca gets too high. I brew many NEIPAS where my na is in the high 80s. I feel this benefits the flavor and mouthfeel.

I would not recommend going over 120 ppm with your calcium.

 

[AlexKay]

I use up to 0.5 g/gallon (0-50 ppm) in my non-Gose beers. Never any problem, possibly a benefit.

Edit: also, Gose is delicious.

 

[A1sportsdad]

Just make sure it’s Non-Iodonized salt you are using.

 

[whattabrau]

I put salt into pretty much every beer, usually to boost the Na that my water is low in, but sometimes also the Cl.

You *can* go overboard, which I discovered when I brewed an experimental batch with >50% of the grainbill being leftover bread, but then again bread is several percent salt, i.e. a kilo contains tens of grams. No, it wasn't good, but I thought about the problem only when I was already mashing.

You can get epsom salt (MgSO4.7H2O) from a lot of places, should you want to have some on hand. Look in the bath salt aisle at the grocery store; the pharma grade one suitable for brewing might be hidden between the lavender- and citrus-flavored ones.

 

[Sørine Thaarup]

Just make sure it’s Non-Iodonized salt you are using.

Because of taste or is there some chemical/biological effect?

 

[Dgallo]

Because of taste or is there some chemical/biological effect?

Iodine is not good for yeast health.

 

[A1sportsdad]

Because of taste or is there some chemical/biological effect?

No discernible taste. Not good for the yeast.

Because of taste or is there some chemical/biological effect?

 

[Sørine Thaarup]

Does anyone know at which concentration iodine becomes problematic for yeast health? My table salt has 20 microgram of iodine pr. gram, so I have been putting 3 microgram of iodine in each liter of beer for a while now. No apparent ill effects, but I have not done a real comparison.

 

[jerrylotto]

If you're putting it in before your mash the iodine/iodide is going to be bound up with amylose to form a pretty blue complex. This is typically done with potassium iodide as a conversion test to see if any starch remains in the mash. In microgram quantities it's not going to to be noticeable or make any difference.

 

[quantumguy]

It's pretty easy to find non-iodized salt, e.g., Kosher salt, and this is what I always use. I have it around for barbecue anyway.