Water Additions

[Jdub in TX]

Hi, Jdub in Texas here. New to the forum. Question....i'm brewing an all grain ipa tomorrow. the recipe i'm using calls for 1 gram/gallon of both calcium chloride, and calcium sulfate. I have both ingredients, and I understand that you add them either in the mash or the boil. question...I use Wal Mart spring water to brew with. Is it ok just to add these water additions to the recipe as suggested? or, is this for brewers who are starting with a blank slate, like distilled water?

some people may suggest that i send a water sample off for analysis. not real interested in doing that just yet.

thanks!

Jdub

 

[Jag75]

Most use RO or distilled water . The bottled spring water has minerals added . I dont know how much though. I use the water kiosk in Walmart mart or the Glacier one outside the gas station. If your going to add minerals I would suggest getting some of that water . Calcium chloride , lactic acid ect... goes into your mash water . Check out the science section forum and theres a sticky called water primer I think . It's a good read . It was nice to know what my water report said but tbo I use RO water most of the time unless I'm brewing stouts. Get a TDS meter 10$ to check your RO water and get a ph meter to keep up on your mash ph . Theres programs to help with water profiles as well . I use Bru n water , but theres others like mash made easy , brewersfriend , beer smith I think .

Welcome to HBT and good luck with your brew tomorrow.

 

[IslandLizard]

I echo all that @Jag75 said. ^

some people may suggest that i send a water sample off for analysis. not real interested in doing that just yet.

A water test is just a snapshot in time. Only valid until things change... and how would you know when that happens?

That's why buying RO or distilled water, or making your own RO water, would be better than using "Spring Water" of unknown composition. Who knows what's in there, and is it the same next month, next year?
Most Spring water contains bicarbonates (HCO3-), which is not useful in most mash water, and especially counterproductive in sparge water. You'd need to add an acid to remove the bicarbonates, but the Sodium (and/or Potassium) ions that came along, remain.

RO water is a blank slate, the simplest to use, you may add anything you see fit to get the intended profile.

Now your tap water may be fine to use, depending on its source(s) and how the water company treats it. You could call them and ask for the minerals we brewers are interested in, ask to talk to the right person in charge of water quality. They have the numbers.
I'm lucky to have extremely good brewing water right from the faucet. I just add some Campden or Meta to remove the chlorine.

Yes, welcome to HBT and have a wonderful brew day!

For a regular West Coast style, non-NEIPA/Hazy, IPA aim at 100-150 ppm Ca, 50 ppm Chloride, and 150 ppm Sulfate. A Sulfate to Chloride ratio of 3 is common for IPAs, to accentuate crisp hop bitterness. For NEIPAs it's the other way around. But... personal preference is what counts most, IMO, so feel free to use what works for you and your beer.

 

[cire]

OK, so you don't wish to dive deeply into water as yet, so this will be rough and ready.

A gram per gallon of gypsum and calcium chloride flake will add about 133 ppm of calcium to your water. That would seem to be a level suitable for RO water, although here in UK an IPA would likely be made using a bit more calcium.

Assuming your spring water hasn't a great mass of calcium I wouldn't be too concerned about extra calcium, but more importantly is the amount of alkalinity a large level of calcium might supply. If that spring water has alkalinity much greater than 50 ppm (mg/L) it would not normally help this brew. Alkalinity is measured in terms of calcium carbonate or bicarbonate, both different units, but for this rough and ready case, don't be concern. If however the figure for alkalinity is 100 ppm (mg/L) you might wish to avoid it for this brew and find another, more suitable, bottled water.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

i'm brewing an all grain ipa tomorrow. the recipe i'm using calls for 1 gram/gallon of both calcium chloride, and calcium sulfate. I have both ingredients, and I understand that you add them either in the mash or the boil. question...I use Wal Mart spring water to brew with. Is it ok just to add these water additions to the recipe as suggested? or, is this for brewers who are starting with a blank slate, like distilled water?

What water source does the recipe suggest? Why are your questinion the recipe (especially if you haven't brewed it)?

some people may suggest that i send a water sample off for analysis. not real interested in doing that just yet.

Brewing Better Beer (Strong) and Homebrew: Beyond the Basics (Karnowski) discussion approaches to brewing with RO water, brewing salts, and either measuring spoons or accurate scales. This can be either a good starting point or the final destination.

 

[mabrungard]

Spring water is not a great starting point for brewing since its content can vary from provider to provider. For the mineral doses that were mentioned, you’re probably better off starting with RO water.

 

[Jdub in TX]

Spring water is not a great starting point for brewing since its content can vary from provider to provider. For the mineral doses that were mentioned, you’re probably better off starting with RO water.

 

[Jdub in TX]

i realize that you have forgotten more about brewing water than i know, but.....

I found a 2018 water report for the major grocery store chain spring water that I usually use. Are there a few key stats that I would look at like calcium and chloride....etc. that would be helpful to me in terms of making water additions? thanks for the help.

i should also mention that I have been brewing for almost 2 years and i think my beer tastes great. just trying to take it to the next level.

 

[mabrungard]

I found a 2018 water report for the major grocery store chain spring water that I usually use. Are there a few key stats that I would look at like calcium and chloride....etc. that would be helpful to me in terms of making water additions? thanks for the help.

i should also mention that I have been brewing for almost 2 years and i think my beer tastes great. just trying to take it to the next level.

If the provider presents the water profile information, then you can use that to your advantage. Then it becomes the same task of amending what you have to what your beer needs.

With regard to any ionic content, its main impact on beer is flavor. But you can brew successfully with distilled water with no added ionic content. This is because all-grain wort provides almost everything needed for brewing yeast metabolism. It won't be ideal, but it can be adequate. We as brewers can move our water from adequate toward ideal. But its still important to recognize that there are wide varieties of "ideal".

For someone starting out, the most important concept to recognize is that ALL brewing requires some sort of acid. Sometimes that might be an addition of liquid or solid acid, or the addition of something like acid malt or saurergut. But we also need to recognize that some grists already have plenty of acidity from roast or crystal and then we need to neutralize some. But a successful and desirable beer is going to have some acid.

 

[IslandLizard]

i realize that you have forgotten more about brewing water than i know, but.....

Are you referring to @mabrungard? What exactly do you mean with this?
We (us, homebrewers) seriously doubt @mabrungard has forgotten anything about brewing water. Chances are he's still refining his knowledge. Take a look at his signature. And the Brunwater spreadsheet.