My first foray into water adjustment

[Edcculus]

I'm brewing Flyangler's Howl At The Moon Smoked Porter tomorrow.

I'm going down this road because of he results from my Ward Labs test (see second quote below - starting water). My calcium and magnesium are low. They need to be bumped up regardless of the style. Also, my chloride and sulfate levels are very low. My plan is to eventually find a sweet spot with my chloride as far as taste goes, then adjust the sulfate levels around that depending on the beer.

Recipe is:

5gal
OG:1.059
IBU: 45 (Rager), 34 (Tinseth)
Color: 30 SRM


5lb Smoked Malt
3lb dark munich
1lb carapils
12oz Dark Crystal
12oz Chocolate

1oz Magnum (10.4%) at 60 min

Washed Wyeast 1728 from Scottish 70/-, on stirplate now

I'm using the E-Z water spreadsheet, targeting a RA that will be good for a darker beer (its not black, but pretty dark). My Chloride and sulfate levels are low, so I bumped up the chloride to acceptable levels, then added sulfate to get the ratio in the "malty" range. I like my porters to be on the maltier side, instead of too roasty/bitter.

I currently have these additions available to me: Chalk, epsom salt (only 2oz), calcium chloride, kosher salt, and lactic acid.

Here is what I've come up with. Any suggestions would be helpful:

Starting Water:
Ca: 33 ppm
Mg: 9 ppm
Na: 15 ppm
Cl: 22 ppm
SO4: 10 ppm
CaCO3: 92 ppm

Mash Vol: 3.69 gal Sparge water vol: 4.39
Dilution Rate: 0%

Adjustments:
CaCO3: 2 grams
CaSO4: 0 grams
CaCl2: 1 grams
MgSO4: 1 grams
NaHCO3: 2 grams
NaCl: 0.5 grams
HCL Acid: 0 ml
Lactic Acid: 0 ml

Results:
Ca: 110 ppm
Mg: 16 ppm
Na: 68 ppm
Cl: 78 ppm
SO4: 38 ppm
CaCO3: 282 ppm

RA: 194 (21 to 26 SRM)
Cl to SO4: 2.06 (Very Malty)

 

[Evan!]

I dunno, I just draw the lines on the nomograph, then go into JP's RA Spreadsheet and adjust until I get my C:S ratio where I want it. Your results look good, I like the "very malty" C:S range for a porter. I guess you could go a little higher on your residual alkalinity, but other than that, looks just fine to me.

 

[Edcculus]

Thanks, I kind of wanted a sanity check to see if I was on the right path. I'll see what I can do to bump up the RA. What would be the best to do this, chalk?

 

[StAnthonyB]

Gosh! His water before adjustment is dandy fine to me. I wouldn't even bother adjusting. His chlorides are already higher than sulfates... And, that'll give him the maltiness he's looking for. Well I suppose he could use a little water treatment, but you got my idea: lovely water from brewing ambers.

But this is coming from a guy who's water hardness is truly low (that's 4ppm Ca, and 1ppm Mg)


I would add 3g Gypsum, 1/2g Epsom, and 3g Baking Soda to the mash. And, I would add 3.5g Gypsum to the wort during the boil.