Will adding Gypsum improve the Hop character in my beers?

[bwible]

It's really not the ratio that matters, but the absolute concentrations. For example, you could have a 10:1 ratio where one of the ions is at 1 ppm and the other at 10 ppm, so neither have any effect. Or 1:1 where both are at 200 ppm. Both will have a significant effect at those concentrations. It's the concentrations that matter.

Chloride is not so much malty as it is full. And sulfate is not bitter, but rather dry. Try to keep those descriptors in mind, as they are more accurate.

Your water likely has enough residual alkalinity, judging by the bicarbonate and sodium, to produce a sub-optimallly too high mash pH. That can cause pale beers to have some issues.

Here's my backseat driver's K.I.S.S. advice: You have plenty of chloride, so add gypsum until Ca is at 50 ppm or above. Do not add Epsom salts. See where the mash pH prediction falls after the gypsum is in the mix. Then add acid malt until it's at 5.4.

Thank you, I will give that a shot

 

[bwible]

I posted my water numbers earlier in this thread.

So today I brewed a chocolate stout for my wife who gave me cocoa nibs as part of my christmas gift (hint, hint). I ran the recipe through the water calculator and didn’t need acidulated malt due to the dark grains but I added 3g Gypsum to the mash water to make the ph adjustment. This was a 3 gallon recipe.

I calculate all my 3 gallon recipes through my software as 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5 so that I actually get 3 gallons in the fermenter after losses. I have been using 70% for efficiency and almost every recipe I’ve done this way has been about spot on.

So this was using 6.8 total pounds of grain. Expected result was 3.5 gallons at 1.046. To my surprise, I way overshot gravity and wound up with 3.5 gallons at 1.060. The only difference from anything I have ever done in the past is that 3g of gypsum added to the mash water. I’m reading how mash ph affects efficiency. So hopefully, this is a good indication I got this right.

This bothers me, though, because when I go back to my software and adjust efficiency to reach 1.060, I have to change it to 90%. Is 90% efficiency even possible?

5 lbs Breiss 2-row
.75 lb chocolate malt
6 oz crystal 40L
3 oz crystal 60L
3 oz crystal 120L
3 oz British Black Patent
2 oz Roasted Barley

.5 oz First Gold 9.2% 60 min
.5 oz Fuggle 4.7% 25 min

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

I added some cocoa powder at the end of the boil. I plan to use cocoa nibs soaked in rum along with some chocolate liquer after fermenation and then chocolate syrup and chocolate flavoring at bottling. Chocolate in every step of the process.

 

[bwible]

My understanding is you can add the salts at anytime in the process. So you could add a little gypsum to your current beer is the glass and see if it makes a significant difference. If this is not correct someone please speak up.

I also tried this today with 2 of my beers and found yes, it makes a big difference. You figure I’m using 3g for 3 gallons and there are about 10 bottles in a gallon so it’s a tenth of a gram per bottle. Hard to measure exactly. But I found a small pinch changes the beer significantly.

 

[Genuine]

I found that water was the final piece of the puzzle to take my beers from being good to great. Water and the make up of it makes a greater impact on the final product. Consider sulfates and chlorides the salt and pepper of the brewing world. Too much of either isn't a great thing however using the right amount, on certain things really ups the satisfaction.