We're doing a Smog City "The Nothing Clone" from BYO. Wondering about the water. I'm using my tap water for mash. Wondering if it's good for sparge or if I should be considering distilled. Water chem is something I've struggled with. Thanks.
SMOG CITY CLONE - Water Reccomendations
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I don't see the water's alkalinity anywhere in the profile but the bicarbonate is listed which suggests that it is around 0.13 mEq/L. At this level you need not worry about treating the water for sparging.
I note that you are proposing to use chalk. This is not a good idea. Use the equivalent amount of sodium bicarbonate and back off on the NaCl if you are worried about the sodium.
I note that you are proposing to use chalk. This is not a good idea. Use the equivalent amount of sodium bicarbonate and back off on the NaCl if you are worried about the sodium.
OP
OP
Thanks for the advice ajdelange. This is my water report. Why sodium bicarbonate instead of chalk just curious? Should I be worried about the sodium?
As is the case with most of the popular spreadsheets/calculators the author of this one either doesn't understand the chemistry of bicarbonate, is too lazy to implement it or is comfortable with the assumption that bicarbonate content is 61 times the alkalinity (expressed in mEq/L) because that approximation works in most cases. When it doesn't work is in the less usual cases where the pH of the source water is high. Your case, with its pH of 9.9 is such a case. As your report shows the alkalinity (what the lab measures - they calculate bicarbonate from the alkalinity) is actually 16/50 = 0.32 mEq/L which is more than than twice what your program would estimate it as being based on the approximation. The good news here is that even at 0.32 mEq/L that's low enough that you needn't worry about acidifying the sparge water though that's easy enough to do.
After having typed all that I see that I answered the question "Why is my spreadsheet in bicarbonate instead of alkalinity?" which isn't the question you asked but as I have answered it I guess I'll leave it and you can ignore it if it is of no interest. Now onto the question you did ask.
We assume the calcium carbonate is being added to neutralize malt acids. It can do this but it takes a long time to do it - longer than the time it takes to complete the mash. This means
1)Mash pH will not reach the proper level (may be too low)
2)Calcium carbonate which did not neutralize acid in the mash will be carried over into the kettle and fermenter where it will continue to neutralize acid and increase pH to the possible detriment of the ferment.
That's really a matter of personal taste. I never add table salt to my beers but as you have added quite a bit I assume you like it. I only mentioned it because you are calling for 1200/100 = 12 mmol of chalk with alkalinity of 1200/50 = 24 mEq. To get that from bicarbonate requires 24 mEq of bicarbonate which will also contribute 24 mmol of sodium which is about half a gram corresponding to the sodium from another 1.4 grams of NaCl.
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That is a pretty decent water source. You can brew many things with that.
I strongly recommend that you rely on baking soda to provide the alkalinity that you do need in your mash. Don't use chalk since it won't perform as you expect it to. With that baking soda addition, you probably won't need to add table salt to the water. However, if you do want the sodium, I would keep it in the 40 to 70 ppm range. I find that it's complimentary without being notable.
Your targeted chloride level is rather high. I'm not sure why you would want to do that. If it is to promote the "Extremely malty" condition that the program reports...forget it. Water chemistry does not make a beer malty. More accurate descriptors of the effects of sulfate and chloride on beer are: Dry (instead of bitter) and Full (instead of malty). When you substitute those terms, it will provide you better guidance.
I strongly recommend that you rely on baking soda to provide the alkalinity that you do need in your mash. Don't use chalk since it won't perform as you expect it to. With that baking soda addition, you probably won't need to add table salt to the water. However, if you do want the sodium, I would keep it in the 40 to 70 ppm range. I find that it's complimentary without being notable.
Your targeted chloride level is rather high. I'm not sure why you would want to do that. If it is to promote the "Extremely malty" condition that the program reports...forget it. Water chemistry does not make a beer malty. More accurate descriptors of the effects of sulfate and chloride on beer are: Dry (instead of bitter) and Full (instead of malty). When you substitute those terms, it will provide you better guidance.
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