2.5 gal. Brews and salt additions

[Romex2121]

I’ve gotten myself very confused and aggravated with trying to figure out salt additions and hoping for some guidance. Im wanting to do a half batch of a Czech style Pilsner and was trying to figure out the salts with
Brewers Friend , this is what I’ve come up with
Right at 5 gal. of RO water for both mash & sparge (1.5Q/per lb of grain)
4.22 lb of Pilsner malt , 3 oz of carapils & 1.5 oz of acid malt
1.3g of Ca (23)
.7g of Mg (3.7)
.3g of so4 (23.9
With all this put into BF water calculator it’s showing a PH of 5.44
Does this look somewhat right or am I way off ??
I have looked at the water primer post but still not 100% sure especially when doing half batches of 2.5 gallons.

 

[McKnuckle]

The most common additives gypsum, calcium chloride, Epsom salts, and baking soda all scale evenly with water volume. There is nothing special about a 2.5 gallon batch vs. 5 gallons or any other size.

What are you trying to notate with your numbers, though? Ca, Mg, and SO4 are target ions, not something you add. You don't add 1.3g of calcium, for example. You get calcium from gypsum (which also adds sulfate) and calcium chloride (which also adds chloride). You get magnesium from Epsom salts (which also add sulfate).

Can you clarify a bit better what you are adding and what the target ions are in the mash and finished beer?

Mash pH in the 5.4 range is what I would seek as well.

 

[Romex2121]

what I was trying to do was match a water profile said to be a good soft water for a Czech style Pilsner the profile was
Ca 21 , Mg 5 , So4 21
For me to get close to the above water with the grain bill I’m using I needed to add ( according to BF)
1.3g of Ca , that gave me 23 for Ca
.7 of Mg (epsom) , that gave me 3.7 Mg
.3g of gypsum , that gave me 23
All close enough to what I was targeting,, Even with the little bit of salts I still Had to add 1.5 oz of acid malt to get to a Mash PH of 5.4 ...
since I was using RO water I was only adding salts to the mash ,,,
I’m trying to get at least close to the profile said to be good for the style...
Hope this makes since.....

 

[NSMikeD]

I can’t run ez water calculator on my iPad for some reason to check with a different software. Which CA are you adding CaCl? In any case your grain would yield a pH around 5.75 in RO water. I can’t say for sure what the alkalinity would be after the salt additions but the bicarbonates buffer the pH increasing the amount acid to lower pH.

Your numbers don’t look off. Fwiw, Acidulated malt has a much lower percent of acid that lactic acid

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Using 'Mash Made Easy' I have it projecting to mash at between 5.49 and 5.54 pH, depending upon which options I choose for the Grist Buffer Multiplier and the Kolbach mineralization pH Shift Multiplier, and requiring from 0.6 Oz. to 1 Oz. of additional Acidulated Malt (above and beyond the original 1.5 Oz. added) whereby to hit a room temperature measured pH of 5.4 during the mash.

BF at a prediction of 5.44 pH isn't all that different from what I'm seeing. It's within 0.05 to 0.1 pH units of being a match with my spreadsheet. Given the variables and presumptions (educated guesses) that these spreadsheets are being asked to work with, the pH numbers are all effectively in the same acceptable ballpark. The output of any spreadsheet is after all merely a prediction.

 

[Romex2121]

I went back and played with it a little more and went with 3g of Ca and 1 oz of acid malt, according to BF that gave me a mash PH of 5.4 with my grain bill , I didn’t add any epsom or anything else .
brewed yesterday evening and one thing I noticed was more hot break foam than I usually see in past boils , after all was said and done everything looked and tasted ok thus far , guess I’ll find out in a month or so ...

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I don't understand what you mean by adding 3 grams of calcium. Did you perhaps mean 3 grams of calcium chloride (CaCl2), or 3 grams of Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O)?

It would require the addition of 11 grams of CaCl2.2H2O whereby to add 3 grams of pure calcium ions (Ca++). Or alternately 8.31 grams of anhydrous CaCl2. The same would require the addition of 12.9 grams of Gypsum.

 

[McKnuckle]

Right, that's what I alluded to in my first reply to this thread. One doesn't add calcium as an ingredient. Calcium is augmented by adding gypsum and/or calcium chloride.

 

[Romex2121]

It was Calcium Chloride ,

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

It was Calcium Chloride ,

Anhydrous or dihydrate or other (trihydrate, etc...)?

 

[jerrylotto]

This has always worked for me:
NaCl (canning salt) to hit sodium - canning salt is iodine free
MgSO4 (epsom salt) to hit magnesium
CaCl2 (calcium chloride) to hit chloride (adjusted for Cl- contribution from prior canning salt addition)
CaSO4 (gypsum) to hit sulfate (adjusted for SO4-2 contribution from prior epsom salt addition)
CaCO3 (chalk) to hit calcium (adjusted for Ca+2 contribution from prior gypsum and calcium chloride additions)
Adjust pH (lactic or phosphoric acid to lower pH, NaHCO3 aka baking soda to raise pH and reduce the NaCl next time!).

Some helpful numbers:
Atomic Weights g/mol
H 1.008
C 12.01
N 14.01
O 16
Na 22.99
Mg 24.31
S 32.07
Cl 35.45
Ca 40.08

Molecular weights g/mol
NaCl 58.44
MgSO4 120.38
CaCl2 (anh) 110.98 - add 18.016 for each molecule of water
CaSO4 136.15 - add 18.016 for each molecule of water often sold as a dihydrate
CaCO3 100.9 - - add 18.016 for each molecule of water often sold as a hexahydrate (6)
NaHCO3 84.008

So (for example) the Na contribution of 1g NaCl is 22.99/58.44 or 0.39g.
Or Cl contribution to 1g CaCl2 is 2*35.45/110.98 or 147.02 or whatever the hydration level is

​

 

[Romex2121]

. Thank you jerrylotto,,,