Building water ?

[Maltjunkie]

I have a Munich style water that I built. I use it for pale to dark lagers. Works fIne. But Munich water has low so4 and low chloride. I found in order to bring the calcium up using gypsum the so4 was to high. If I used cacl the chloride is much higher than the Munich profile. So I opted for the high chloride for the malty lagers since sulfates bring out Hop bitterness. According to a ward labs test I had done it is identical to Munich except for the chloride being much higher.

So, what is the trick to add calcium without adding the other ions?

 

[user 51917]

chalk will raise calcium without sulfate or chloride but will affect bicarbonate
its a trade off
check out bru'n water it has changed my brewing for the best
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/home

 

[helibrewer]

I use BeerSmith to help me also....you also have table salt (NaCl) or Epsom salt (MgSO4) that can help in some of those tough cases. Just watch Mg, it will have a laxative effect it it gets too high...and of course many folks are watching their Na intake too.

 

[ChemE]

You should be using non-iodized salt as opposed to table salt. Iodine is reported to add an unpleasant chemical taste to beer.

If it were me I would add 0.5g non-iodized salt, 4.0g epsom salt, 1.0g baking soda, and 3.6g chalk to get the calcium and magnesium in range for the mash. This does raise the sulfate much higher than Munich water but the chloride to sulfate ratio of 0.2 is preserved since I've added extra chloride to keep the ratio the same.


You should look into EZ Water Calculator. I love being able to tailor my mash pH based on my grist and salts.

 

[mabrungard]

Be careful with what you assume for what a Munich water profile actually is. There are two profiles in Bru'n Water that present Munich profiles. There is a fully researched and verified profile from Munich in the program. It has huge alkalinity and calcium content along with relatively low concentrations of other ions. It fits the bill for the dark beers that Munich was originally known for.

But then there is another Munich profile that presents what that original profile becomes when the water is boiled to precipitate calcium carbonate. That profile is appropriate for the lighter colored beers that Munich later became famous for.

Pick your water to suit your beer.