Burton Salts - when to add?

[ArcaneXor]

I am about to brew an English Special Bitter, and this will be the first time that I am building up my brewing water from distilled water for a bit of added authenticity. I purchased a 1/3 oz pack of Burton Salts from AHS, which simply states "Use 1/3 oz per 5 gallon batch".

I partial mash in a standard (unconverted) 2-gal beverage cooler and a grain bag. I also partial boil. My plan is to mash the 3.25 lbs of grain for 60 minutes, starting at 155 degrees, using a water-to-grain ratio of 1.5 qts/lb (before hitting it with enough sparge water at 170 degrees to make up ca. 2.6 gallons for the boil.

So, when do I add the salts? I was considering using regular bottled spring water for the mash, and then splitting the salt between sparge water and the top-off water. Would that be appropriate?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[EvilTOJ]

If it were me, I'd add them into the mash so they ride along during the entire process.

 

[Coastarine]

I add minerals for every beer that I do. A gram of gypsum at the least. I'm still honing my water treating skills but I add before the boil. The purpose of some minerals is to adjust mash pH, but I use 5.2 stabilizer which is a blend of acids, and does not contribute minerals to the water. I add minerals for the benefits to hop utilization, flavor, and yeast nutrients. By adding after the mash I ensure that all the minerals end up in the beer.

 

[balto charlie]

water: the hardest part of brewing to understand. First you should know your water profile. You may already have enough salts and minerals. Check out John Palmer's, How to Brew, chapter 15. Talks all about water and minerals. Different beers need different water.
If you are currently staring at your brewing pot then ask yourself if your water comes from river runoff(many large city supplies are of this type) or artisian wells(lots of Mid-west water supplies ). River water tends to have less in the way of mineral so add your packet of salts. Wells generally are harder water and need NO more mineral. In fact brewers are usuallly trying to dilute or remove some of the minerals. Charlie

 

[ArcaneXor]

water: the hardest part of brewing to understand. First you should know your water profile. You may already have enough salts and minerals. Check out John Palmer's, How to Brew, chapter 15. Talks all about water and minerals. Different beers need different water.
If you are currently staring at your brewing pot then ask yourself if your water comes from river runoff(many large city supplies are of this type) or artisian wells(lots of Mid-west water supplies ). River water tends to have less in the way of mineral so add your packet of salts. Wells generally are harder water and need NO more mineral. In fact brewers are usuallly trying to dilute or remove some of the minerals. Charlie

Like I said, this will be built up from distilled water, with maybe 1.3 gallons of spring water for the mash. I rarely use my tap water for brewing - usually I use bottled spring water, but I wanted to use the distilled water and Burton salt combination for maximum authenticity for this style.

 

[balto charlie]

Like I said, this will be built up from distilled water, with maybe 1.3 gallons of spring water for the mash. I rarely use my tap water for brewing - usually I use bottled spring water, but I wanted to use the distilled water and Burton salt combination for maximum authenticity for this style.

My bad,

 

[ArcaneXor]

My bad,

Perfectly ok