Where can I buy Magnesium Chloride?

[ASantiago]

I've been looking for Magnesium Chloride for some time now without much luck. My usual hang outs for on-line shopping don't carry it. I've tried

heartshomebrew.com
austinhomebrew.com
williamsbrewing.com
northernbrewer.com
midwestsupplies.com

Any ideas? I don't know why it's so difficult to find. It seems to me it would be a good addition to the water chemistry toolkit of any brewer.

Thanks!

 

[Irrenarzt]

Fisher Scientific will have it.

 

[BigEd]

I'm curious as to why you would want it. Magnesium is required in only tiny amounts and you want to be careful not to add excessive chloride. Unless there is some very unusual requirement small additions of Epsom salt (Magnesium sulfate) and Calcium chloride should easily take care of any deficiencies and both are readily available.

 

[ajdelange]

http://www.cynmar.com/SearchByKeyword?word=magnesium chloride

But I too am curious as to why you would want it. Magnesium is not generally considered flavor positive.

 

[ASantiago]

Re: Why I want it

It's a fair question. I agree the amounts required when or if it's ever required, will be minute. What I'm finding out is that, as I create water profiles, using the other salts may (or may not) provide a desired amount of some other mineral. For example, magnesium sulfate (Epson salt) may add more sulfate than I need in a case where I still need the magnesium and could use the chloride.

I brew with distilled water and go from there. It's an experimental thing, although as I accumulate results, I will probably go for using specific profiles and by then I should have a nice set of them.

 

[ajdelange]

My spreadsheet has a column for magnesium chloride but I never use it because I never need to. I have found that I can emulate any realizable profile to within 1 % tolerance on all matched ions without it. Realizable is in italics because most of the profiles ones sees in books and magazines and even the ones that come from your water authority aren't. You cannot closely emulate something which cannot exist. Another thing to be aware of is that most spreadsheets, calculators and brewing programs do not model carbonate, bicarbonate and carbonic acid correctly. This also contributes to inability to get a good match to a profile even if it is realizable.

Finally, it is generally a waste of time, effort, brewing salts and CO2 (CO2 is required to properly match most realizable profiles) to try to match profiles. The reasons for this have been posted here dozens of times.

[Edit] The statement that I can match any profile without MgCl2 is too strong. Obviously I can't match a profile with nothing but some magnesium chloride in DI water without using MgCl2. It would have been better to say that when people used to request information about how to match a particular profile and I would work out additions for them I never found it necessary to use it. Nor did I in any profile I tried to match for my own use before I learned that this was not the way to the best beer.

 

[mabrungard]

There are a few water profiles that are difficult to duplicate without magnesium chloride, but I'm not sure that I would really worry about trying to nail a profile.

Over the past few months, I've come to the conclusion that there is no reason to add Mg unless the brewer wants the flavor contributions of Mg. Wort supplies all the Mg the yeast need. I've previously stated that there are lab studies that prove that Mg is required as a trace element for good yeast health and flocculation performance. That test report used a sugar based fermentation medium and was purposely Mg deficient. Wort delivers plenty of Mg for yeast health and flocculation.

You can also find mag chloride at health food and supplement stores. Unfortunately, I can't vouch for its purity and ionic strength. Some vendors might adulterate the stuff.

 

[ASantiago]

I'm not exactly trying to nail any given profile. My blade scale has its margin of error and when I measure if I go up by a little, I don't fuzz about it. And my water measurement is not exact, my malt weights are not precise to the milligram, and there have got to be a million other details that get fudged throughout the brew day, although in the best, more accurate way possible.

The MC is more to have available and to make it somewhat easier to calculate the adjustments by +/- a single compound instead of playing around with three others. That's all.

I'll just keep an eye open for the stuff and get it when/if I see it. Not having it hasn't stopped me from brewing yet.

Thanks all for the comments and links, though.

 

[adamreef]

Magnesium Chloride can be found through aquarium suppliers. Try www.bulkreefsupply.com. It is also sold as an ice melter as "mag flake". I think mag flake comes in #50 bags, so you could probably supply every HBT member for life with one bag!

Adam

 

[tammyrupa]

Magnesium chloride can be used to make magnesium oil which is supposed to help people suffering from exema.

 

[MaxStout]

This place sells chemicals in small quantities.

 

[trentm]

This place sells chemicals in small quantities.

Thanks for the link. Also here: http://cynmar.com/SearchByKeyword?word=Magnesium Chloride

 

[mabrungard]

Be aware that Reagent grade is the purer form. Lab grade could have some impurities. While it can't say this, Reagent grade is more likely to meet food-grade criteria than Lab grade. Don't be cheap.

 

[MaxStout]

Get the USP grade. I would think 4oz. will last you quite a while. I wouldn't use the ice melter. Who knows what else is in that.