Gypsum in extract recipies?

[statyk]

Hi all,

I recently got a homebrew recipe book, and one thing that struck me is that many of the recipes call for a teaspoon of gypsum. My understanding was that gypsum is mostly for adjusting water chemistry for the mash, so I'm trying to understand why it would be listed as an ingredient in recipes that a) don't know what water chemistry I'm starting with and b) are mostly for extract brews anyway.

Is there some other use of gypsum that I'm not aware of? Some of the recipes look good and/or interesting, and I'm wondering if I should just ignore the gypsum or if it's there for a reason.

Thanks.

 

[billl]

Ignore it.

Yes, some styles may benefit from a higher mineral content, but the only way to know if adding gypsum would get you closer to that mineral profile is if you got your water tested. Just adding gypsum to an unknown water source is as likely to make the beer worse as it is to make it better.

Mineral additions to have impacts beyond the mash. The balance can impact how prominent different flavors are in the finished product. It's one of those things you might eventually look at to take your beers from great to truly outstanding, but it's not something I would lose any sleep over until you've really nailed down everything else in your process.

 

[BigEd]

Hi all,

I recently got a homebrew recipe book, and one thing that struck me is that many of the recipes call for a teaspoon of gypsum. My understanding was that gypsum is mostly for adjusting water chemistry for the mash, so I'm trying to understand why it would be listed as an ingredient in recipes that a) don't know what water chemistry I'm starting with and b) are mostly for extract brews anyway.

Is there some other use of gypsum that I'm not aware of? Some of the recipes look good and/or interesting, and I'm wondering if I should just ignore the gypsum or if it's there for a reason.

Thanks.

You're right that a lot of recipes, especially in older books, call for adding gypsum, Calcium sulphate. Yes it is important to have Calcium, Ca+, for the many things it helps with in mashing but it does do other things for the beer. It helps with yeast growth, beer stability and flavor among other things. The sulphate portion, SO4, helps accentuate bitterness and basic flavor. Gypsum shouldn't be added to all beers but a teaspoon in a five gallon batch of hoppy pale ales will make use of its properties and not overdo it.

 

[billl]

" Gypsum shouldn't be added to all beers but a teaspoon in a five gallon batch of hoppy pale ales will make use of its properties and not overdo it."

This is NOT true. For all you know, your water could already be OVER ideal Ca and SO4 levels for a given style. Adding any more at all would certainly be overdoing it.

 

[ram5ey]

It could help (like if you have water like mine). It could hurt. Just find your water report and shoot for 50-100ppm calcium in your fermentor.