Beersmith water profile questions

[Jamie02173]

Im currently creating a recipe for a DIPA im keeping it simple in regards to grains but i am unsure whether or not to trust my water calculations.
Im using RO and a newbie to this but from my research i always see advice to add more calcium chloride then sulfate but my matching water profile seems to state the opposite.
Should i just trust the ingredients given by beersmith?

 

[marc1]

If you're building up from RO, you really don't need to be adding chalk and baking soda unless you have a lot of dark grain that makes the mash pH too low.

Unless you are going for a traditional British water profile, the British way, and are going to be adding AMS/CRS to neutralize and want the ion contribution from that acid.

What's your goal for the water profile?

 

[micraftbeer]

I agree that the minerals it has you adding looks odd. I just follow the water calculators, selecting my target profile. The key really lies in what your target profile is. The minerals you chose might be fine, depending on what you're aiming for.

 

[Jamie02173]

Looking to make a double ipa the water profile is hoppy pale ale so i can give the bicarbonate and chalk a miss and adjust my water ph if needed im mostly unsure of the chloride to sulfate ratio so i know if im doing something wrong maybe adding acid malt would ?

 

[marc1]

Looking to make a double ipa the water profile is hoppy pale ale so i can give the bicarbonate and chalk a miss and adjust my water ph if needed im mostly unsure of the chloride to sulfate ratio so i know if im doing something wrong maybe adding acid malt would ?

I don't use beersmith, so I don't know how it works, but I know in the past the water adjustment part was way off. I think they fixed some things with it.

What is the actual profile? I don't see the final numbers.

I also don't see where it's predicting the mash pH. If this is light grains, how are you acidifying the mash?

It might be worthwhile to try different water chemistry software for this, both Mash Made Easy and Bru'n Water are made by forum members who are helpful in troubleshooting if you have problems. They may look intimidating at first, but if you work through them they are pretty helpful.

 

[BrewHack]

One time I was using the water calculations tool in Beersmith, and for some reason it spit out a salt profile that had 2-3 times more calcium chloride than ever before. I went with it and the beer was more delicious than similar ones I've made the past.

Afterwards I could not figure out what profile I was matching my water to to get that output. I just copy the salt additions for my ales now.

 

[micraftbeer]

I use BrewFather. I love the software for many reasons (migrated after many years of BeerSmith), but the water adjustment part is great, and I've found their built-in target water profiles (Hoppy, Hoppy Lite, Dark, etc.) to be spot on with flavor outcomes. I know they have free trial where you get like 5 recipes or something. If you throw your recipe in there and want some guidance on how to use the water tool in there, shoot me a PM and I can help you out.

 

[Oginme]

Im currently creating a recipe for a DIPA im keeping it simple in regards to grains but i am unsure whether or not to trust my water calculations.
Im using RO and a newbie to this but from my research i always see advice to add more calcium chloride then sulfate but my matching water profile seems to state the opposite.
Should i just trust the ingredients given by beersmith?

The water adjustment in BeerSmith works fine, but it only does what you tell it to do. What profile are you trying to match? I would highly recommend using a profile based upon your recipe color and style. If you look down the stock profiles in BeerSmith, there should be a profile for yellow, dry which would compliment your malt and hop flavors. This is where I would recommend starting as it will simplify your mineral additions to just what you want/need.

 

[Jamie02173]

The water adjustment in BeerSmith works fine, but it only does what you tell it to do. What profile are you trying to match? I would highly recommend using a profile based upon your recipe color and style. If you look down the stock profiles in BeerSmith, there should be a profile for yellow, dry which would compliment your malt and hop flavors. This is where I would recommend starting as it will simplify your mineral additions to just what you want/need.

I was trying to match the hoppy pale ale profile im looking to make a basis ipa with plenty of hops i will have a look at some of the other apps mentioned and see if there is much of a difference thanks for the replies