Water building? - - - -Yooper Stout

[BrewMeister49]

I have tried Bru n water and cannot download it for some reason. I am very new at the water building thing. I am going to be doing Yoopers Oatmeal Stout with RO water. I have no clue where to even start lol. Would it hurt to just leave it as is ( RO water unmodified?) or where can I/ What should I use/do? Yooper?

 

[RedlegEd]

May I recommend reading this sticky? Before getting all wrapped up in the complexities of water chemistry, try AJ deLang's simplified solution as outlined in the sticky.

 

[tdbc2011]

This is a simple Excel spread sheet to use with RO water.
http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/

 

[BrewMeister49]

Now, is there a difference or preference between distilled or RO?

 

[adixon3]

Here's another source you could use http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/

I normally just add 1/4 tsp Gypsum and 1 tsp of Calcium Chloride to the mash and the same for the sparge. The main thing is to get you Ph down to atleast 5.3 maybe even 5.2

 

[Biscuits]

If you go the distilled water route, I would also suggest adding some baking soda to your mash to bring the pH up. Stout grain bills will drive your pH down and with distilled water it will essentially be zero/very low to begin with. I am not sure if RO is the same.

 

[jwalk4]

Now, is there a difference or preference between distilled or RO?

Yes, Distilled water is almost completely void of mineral ions as they are left behind after the water is evaporated as steam, and then condensates. Reverse Osmosis (RO) water is simply run through many filters to strip most of the mineral ions out.

However, for brewing, you could safely say that RO is pretty damn pure.

The main thing is to get you Ph down to atleast 5.3 maybe even 5.2

I don't think that is right. Both Yooper and Martin advocate for a mash PH of 5.4-5.5 (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=495185) for stouts and darker beers.

Yooper's Stout recipe should have a mash PH of 5.5-5.6

 

[Yooper]

Here's another source you could use http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/

I normally just add 1/4 tsp Gypsum and 1 tsp of Calcium Chloride to the mash and the same for the sparge. The main thing is to get you Ph down to atleast 5.3 maybe even 5.2

I'd shoot for more like 5.5 pH with this.

You may need some alkalinity, in the form of baking soda, to get this mash pH right with those dark grains.

Also, I"d use a little calcium chloride, to get the calcium to 50ppm or so, as well to bring in some chloride.

So, calcium chloride to 50 ppm of calcium, and something like baking soda to get a mash pH of 5.5, but keep the total chloride under 100 ppm or so.

 

[jwalk4]

I'd shoot for more like 5.5 pH with this.

You may need some alkalinity, in the form of baking soda, to get this mash pH right with those dark grains.

Also, I"d use a little calcium chloride, to get the calcium to 50ppm or so, as well to bring in some chloride.

So, calcium chloride to 50 ppm of calcium, and something like baking soda to get a mash pH of 5.5, but keep the total chloride under 100 ppm or so.

Would this work? (For my setup: full volume, no sparge)

RO Water
3grams Gypsum
1 gram Baking Soda
4 Grams of Calcium Chloride

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Ok, I ran some numbers based on @Yooper 's Oatmeal Stout...

If you are going to use 100% RO/Distilled water, you can do this for salt additions:

Mash: 4.1 gallons water (assuming a mash thickness of 1.5 qts/lb)
- 1.6 grams gypsum
- 1.6 grams calcium chloride
- 3.9 grams baking soda

(alternatively, you can omit the gypsum and add a total of 3.2 grams of calcium chloride)

According to Bru'n Water, this will result in the following water profile:

With gypsum & calcium chloride:
Ca: 54
Na: 77
SO4: 60
Cl: 55
HCO3: 198
Residual Alkalinity: 125

With calcium chloride only:
Ca: 58
Na: 77
SO4: 1
Cl: 106 (a little high, but should not be too much)
HCO3: 198
Residual Alkalinity: 122


This should land you right in the 5.5 pH range for the mash.

Sparge with enough RO/distilled water treated with 0.4 grams/gallon of each gypsum and calcium chloride (or 0.8 g/gal if only using calcium chloride) until you reach your pre-boil volume. Do NOT add any baking soda to the sparge water.

I hope this helps!

 

[Yooper]

Would this work? (For my setup: full volume, no sparge)

RO Water
3grams Gypsum
1 gram Baking Soda
4 Grams of Calcium Chloride

Yep, that looks good to me.

 

[Yooper]

Ok, I ran some numbers based on @Yooper 's Oatmeal Stout...

If you are going to use 100% RO/Distilled water, you can do this for salt additions:

Mash: 4.1 gallons water (assuming a mash thickness of 1.5 qts/lb)
- 1.6 grams gypsum
- 1.6 grams calcium chloride
- 3.9 grams baking soda

(alternatively, you can omit the gypsum and add a total of 3.2 grams of calcium chloride)

According to Bru'n Water, this will result in the following water profile:

With gypsum & calcium chloride:
Ca: 54
Na: 77
SO4: 60
Cl: 55
HCO3: 198
Residual Alkalinity: 125

With calcium chloride only:
Ca: 58
Na: 77
SO4: 1
Cl: 106 (a little high, but should not be too much)
HCO3: 198
Residual Alkalinity: 122


This should land you right in the 5.5 pH range for the mash.

Sparge with enough RO/distilled water treated with 0.4 grams/gallon of each gypsum and calcium chloride until you reach your pre-boil volume. Do NOT add any baking soda to the sparge water.

I hope this helps!

I think he's doing a no sparge, so I commented on his post that the numbers in that looked good to me. But this would work also!

 

[BrewerBrad82]

I think he's doing a no sparge, so I commented on his post that the numbers in that looked good to me. But this would work also!

I missed that!! :smack:

 

[jwalk4]

I missed that!! :smack:

No, I think @BrewerBrad82 is right.

I used my Brun'water set up, which is no sparge. OP may or may not sparge. But BrewerBrad82's should be right too.