Adding Gypsum to a light lager?

[JONNYROTTEN]

I'm in the middle of a brew day brewing my first lager. I went the LHBS yesterday and while I was there I bought some Gypsum and calcium Chloride. The store owner recommended 1 teaspoon of Gypsum per 5 gallons. Another local member says they use Gypsum also. My water company says we have soft water. Couldn't get any more info out of them but I'm at 7.4 PH. Everything I'm reading says Gypsum RAISES hardness. My LHBS says it lowers it. My super light lager benefits from soft water it seems. I still need to get a WARD report but in general, very general,does Gypsum help a light lager/pilsner type beer?

10 gallon
14# 2 row
3.5# flaked rice

 

[McKnuckle]

Gypsum raises hardness by increasing calcium (Ca). What it does lower is pH. Maybe that's what the person is getting confused about.

In general, I have read and follow the guidelines to keep water largely un-mineralized for something like a Pils. Ca level of 40 ppm with CaCl, nothing else. Then lactic acid to adjust mash pH.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I chose not to add the gypsum based on the advise given. Working on a Ward report.

 

[JLump]

Are you brewing extract or all grain. You dont have to worry so much about water when your brewing extract. Obviously you can get really deep into it but another simple piece of knowledge you might find useful at this point is that gypsum will also increase sulfates which accentuates dryness/bitterness. CaCl will increase chloride which accentuates maltyness. Both increase calcium which is good for yeast health.

 

[helibrewer]

I chose not to add the gypsum based on the advise given. Working on a Ward report.

Good move, soft tap water is perfect for pilsner/light lagers. That said, there is some evidence that having >50 ppm of Calcium is beneficial for your yeast and I try to get at least that much in all of my pilsner-styles.

The Calcium also helps get the pH down. With soft water and an all light malt bill you usually need about 4oz of acid malt per 5 gallon batch OR an acid addition (Lactic or Phosporic) to get the mash pH in the 5.2 to 5.4 range.

The pH of your starting water is irrelevant

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Good move, soft tap water is perfect for pilsner/light lagers. That said, there is some evidence that having >50 ppm of Calcium is beneficial for your yeast and I try to get at least that much in all of my pilsner-styles.

The Calcium also helps get the pH down. With soft water and an all light malt bill you usually need about 4oz of acid malt per 5 gallon batch OR an acid addition (Lactic or Phosporic) to get the mash pH in the 5.2 to 5.4 range.

The pH of your starting water is irrelevant

I came across this Ward water repot from someone on the forum in my water district. What do you think.

pH: 7.9
Total Dissolved Solids(TDS) Est. ppm: 215
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm: 0.36
Cations / Anions, me/L: 3.2 / 3.2

PPM

Sodium, NA 18
Potassium, K 1
Calcium, Ca 30
Magnesium, Mg 11
Total Hardness, CaCO3 121
Nitrate, NO3-N 4.5 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 6
Chloride, Cl 34
Carbonate, CO3 <1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 94
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 78
Total Phosphorus, P 0.05
Total Iron, Fe <0.01

 

[mabrungard]

You might want a teeny bit of gypsum in a light lager to help dry the finish, but you would probably be better off with a light dose of calcium chloride instead. I'm not sure what a tsp of either mineral would create in terms of ppm, but you do want the concentrations to be low in a light lager.

 

[helibrewer]

Martin beat me to it...