Mash water help!

[Brewskii]

Sorry for this, but I am trying to help myself but it ain't working!
Tomorrow I will brew in the first of two American IPA's 60 IBU 4.5.-5 lovibond. 5.5 gal batches calling for ~ 8 gallons of water for the mash.
I have beersmith and have the calculator for the water styles. I have tried to download brun water but can't open the spreadsheet ( says is encrypted) .
1) I figure I'm gonna shoot for deer park spring water so I don't absolutely HAVE to make adjustments and I figure I'll add 1-2 tsp gypsum to the mash water.
- does this sound ok? Is there a better way?

2) I am going out today to try and find food grade phosphoric acid for adjustments to my mash pH. I have no idea how much of what to add because as near as I can tell BS2 won't do that but figure I need to do something and I've read phosphoric will do it...... I need help

 

[Yooper]

I don't really know what's in Deer Park spring water. I'd start with reverse osmosis water. They tend to have it in those big "water machines" at places like Wal-Mart. Then you are starting with a blank slate. You won't need much at all in the way of additions- just a little gypsum and/or calcium chloride- for most beers.

Phosphoric acid is good for reducing sparge water pH as well as in the mash. If you can't find it, lactic acid is good too but you can't use too much as it does have a tangy taste if overuse it.

 

[Brewskii]

I don't really know what's in Deer Park spring water. I'd start with reverse osmosis water. They tend to have it in those big "water machines" at places like Wal-Mart. Then you are starting with a blank slate. You won't need much at all in the way of additions- just a little gypsum and/or calcium chloride- for most beers.

Phosphoric acid is good for reducing sparge water pH as well as in the mash. If you can't find it, lactic acid is good too but you can't use too much as it does have a tangy taste if overuse it.

Thanks Yoop... Is there somewhere I can find lactic/ phosphoric acid that is not the (L) HBS? That's not an option and I'm in a pinch.

Thanks again for the hep'

 

[mabrungard]

You may be clicking on the wrong icon on the Bru'n Water download page. You have to click on the little downward pointing arrow that is at the right side of the page. If you click on the .xls file name, it takes you to Google's stupid file viewer and you won't be able to do anything with the program. I'm sorry I can't get that 'feature' out of this download page.

 

[Brewskii]

You may be clicking on the wrong icon on the Bru'n Water download page. You have to click on the little downward pointing arrow that is at the right side of the page. If you click on the .xls file name, it takes you to Google's stupid file viewer and you won't be able to do anything with the program. I'm sorry I can't get that 'feature' out of this download page.

Trying to open with Works...I get a window "import XL spreadsheet; select the worksheet you want to import: 0.instructions, 1. Water Report Input, 2. Sparge acidification..." no matter what I click on it says it's encrypted or password protected.

FWIW, BeerSmith says Deer Park is Ca:3.8, Mg:1.2, Na:2.8, SO4:6.0, Cl:0.5, HCO3:32.9

 

[Homercidal]

I've used Muriatic acid before. It's hydrochloric so it will add a bit of chlorides to the water as well, but bru'nwater adjusts for that. I switched to phosphoric due to safety issues, but you can get jugs of muriatic acid at walmart or a pool supply store.

I'd install open office, or even better libre office. They are full office suite replacements and work well with the spreadsheet. You should be able to make full use of it in one of those if you don't have M$'s office product. The spreadsheet is protected to keep you from screwing it up somehow, but I've manage to crack it so I can add reminders about things. Other than that it should work fine. You will have to enable macros too I think, so check your security settings.

I don't' think Works will run it.

 

[mabrungard]

Forget MS Works. Download Libre Office, its much better.

 

[frankieboy007]

Have you tried the EZ water calculator?? It uses the same water calculations as John Palmer's How to Brew, and is very easy to use.

http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/

I've used this for mutiple batches and have had great success, I prefer it over Beersmith. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Brewskii]

I've used Muriatic acid before. It's hydrochloric so it will add a bit of chlorides to the water as well, but bru'nwater adjusts for that. I switched to phosphoric due to safety issues, but you can get jugs of muriatic acid at walmart or a pool supply store.

I'd install open office, or even better libre office. They are full office suite replacements and work well with the spreadsheet. You should be able to make full use of it in one of those if you don't have M$'s office product. The spreadsheet is protected to keep you from screwing it up somehow, but I've manage to crack it so I can add reminders about things. Other than that it should work fine. You will have to enable macros too I think, so check your security settings.

I don't' think Works will run it.

I actually have open office... I guess it's
Not set as my default... I'll have to work on that tonight.
Muratic acid, I've used that to etch concrete before. Sounds delish .... Seriously though, thanks for the info... I'll prob hit ACE hardware tomorrow and see. If I can't get phosphoric there ( minus cleaner chemicals) I may get the Muratic instead ... I know they have that.

 

[ajdelange]

I'm just a little nervous about using a technical product intended for etching the laitance off concrete in my beer.

 

[Homercidal]

Phosphoric would def be better. Check to make sure the muriatic is pure hydrochloric acid.

You can order phophoric acid online. There is a place that sells large bottles for not much money. Hydrochloric is pretty concentrated, so you use less, but you have to be very careful as it WILL burn easily. Any drops on your concrete will bubble up instantly. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Brewskii]

Phosphoric would def be better. Check to make sure the muriatic is pure hydrochloric acid.

You can order phophoric acid online. There is a place that sells large bottles for not much money. Hydrochloric is pretty concentrated, so you use less, but you have to be very careful as it WILL burn easily. Any drops on your concrete will bubble up instantly. Pretty cool stuff.

Yup, Roger that... I ain't putting anything in there I am not confident in being inside me at some point.

 

[bobbrews]

I've used Deer Park Spring Water. They have an estimate of the typical breakdown in an online PDF via a simple google search. Here are the averaged figures:

Ca 22
Mg 4.6
S04 11.1
Na 4.7
Cl 8.5
HC03 75

For an IPA, try to get your Calcium around 75-100 ppm, Sulfate at 120-150ppm, and Chloride at 50-75 ppm -ish. I wouldn't worry about adjusting the Magnesium.

Sodium and Bicarbonate should be quite low, like below 20 ppm each. Keep your alkalnity low.