Quick Sanity Check - Mineral Additions

[Norselord]

Thanks for taking the time to visit this thread.

I live in Gwinnett County, GA.

My water is allegedly this:

6 ppm calcium
7 ppm sulfate
1 ppm magnesium
1.3ppm chloride
3 ppm sodium
22 ppm bicarbonate​

the pH is 7.6

Base/Balanced
Regardless of beer style, i am looking at adding the following to every 5 gallons of mash water to get a balanced profile:

1g epsom salt
1g calcium chloride
1g baking soda
3g chalk​

The result of this should be a 1:1 sulfate:chloride ratio, and

84 ppm calcium
28 ppm sulfate
6 ppm magnesium
27 ppm chloride
17 ppm sodium
155 ppm bicarbonate​

Malty
For a malty beer, i would then also add: 0.5 grams of table salt (to 5 gallons of strike water)
This would make it a 0.6:1 sulfate:chloride ratio

Bitter/Hoppy
For a bitter/hoppy beer, i would instead ass: 1g of gypsum (to 5 gallons of strike water)
This would make it a 2.1:1 sulfate:chloride ratio

Are these numbers in the ballpark?

It felt really weird adding 5.5grams of mineral to the (5gallons) strike water for the Helles I was brewing, and the water ended up looking pretty cloudy. I'll know in a few weeks if its too minerally, but i wanted to gather some thoughts from the pros in the meantime.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far, your experienced and expert opinions and observations are appreciated.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Get rid of the epsom salt, the baking soda, and the chalk. Baking soda is highly alkaline and alkalinity is only needed for darker beer styles. Chalk hardly dissolves in water at all, so it mostly precipitates out and does not contribute much of anything as to ions, despite a calculator indicating that it does. The calculator wrongly presumes that all of it will dissolve, when in reality little of it will dissolve. Magnesium is also totally unnecessary, as it tastes terrible and will not improve your beers flavor. And lastly, it is highly debatable as to whether or not sodium is actually necessary. Sodium and sulfate are often said to not make for a good combination.

 

[RPh_Guy]

^ this.
Posted as I was typing the exact same thing.

 

[TheMadKing]

I live just north of you in Hall County (part of the Chicken City Ale Raisers homebrew club) and my water is about the same. We're blessed with fantastic brewing water!

Gypsum and CaCl are all you need to add for salts.

Then add lactic acid or baking soda to control mash pH depending on your grist (lactic for most beers, baking soda for only very dark beers)

 

[Norselord]

I live just north of you in Hall County (part of the Chicken City Ale Raisers homebrew club) and my water is about the same. We're blessed with fantastic brewing water!

Gypsum and CaCl are all you need to add for salts.

Then add lactic acid or baking soda to control mash pH depending on your grist (lactic for most beers, baking soda for only very dark beers)

How much of each do you add for malty/balanced/hoppy on a per gallon basis?

 

[TheMadKing]

How much of each do you add for malty/balanced/hoppy on a per gallon basis?

It really depends on the beer

For an English bitter I was toward the high end of the range with 100ppm sulfate and 60ppm chloride

For a Czech Pilsner I don't add a thing, so it really depends on what you're making.

As long as you keep your ppm of each within reasonable boundaries I think you'll be fine. And with the baking soda, use the minimum amount you need! I agree with the above post that sodium is best kept in check.

 

[Norselord]

The reason I am exploring mineral additions is because my APAs and IPAs keep having this really messed up taste. It kind o tastes like sand or soil or wet cardboard.

My sanitation is very good, and I am also very careful about avoiding cold and hot side oxidation. I would also characterize the beer as “dull.” The recipes are very typical. I am at a loss and essentially trying to exclude my minerals as a source.

All the basics are covered. I’ve only had this off flavor since I’ve gone all grain...when I did extract this was not an issue...

 

[mabrungard]

IPAs and APAs can definitely benefit from Mg addition since it lends a somewhat sour and bitter flavor that is in line with those beer’s flavor profile. Its not really needed in other styles, but it’s innocuous at levels below 10 ppm.

The advice to avoid the baking soda and chalk is sound since only the darker styles need their alkalinity. Only add alkalinity when the mash needs it to keep pH from dropping too low.

 

[TheMadKing]

The reason I am exploring mineral additions is because my APAs and IPAs keep having this really messed up taste. It kind o tastes like sand or soil or wet cardboard.

My sanitation is very good, and I am also very careful about avoiding cold and hot side oxidation. I would also characterize the beer as “dull.” The recipes are very typical. I am at a loss and essentially trying to exclude my minerals as a source.

All the basics are covered. I’ve only had this off flavor since I’ve gone all grain...when I did extract this was not an issue...

Everything you're describing sounds very much like oxidation on the cold side despite working to limit it

Another thing that can cause dull flavors is high final beer pH. Are you acidifying your mash at all currently?

Adding a bit of lactic acid to the finished beer might also tell you if that is what you're missing.

You can also try adding gypsum to your finished beer and see if it improves your hop punch.

Another thing to look at is chloramine (which Gwinnett uses)

Add 0.2g of potassium Metabisulfide (campden) to your next batch

 

[TheMadKing]

If you're really desperate I could come watch you brew/transfer/keg to see if I can spot anything that might cause your issues. I live pretty close and love to help out a fellow brewer

 

[Norselord]

Everything you're describing sounds very much like oxidation on the cold side despite working to limit it

Another thing that can cause dull flavors is high final beer pH. Are you acidifying your mash at all currently?

Adding a bit of lactic acid to the finished beer might also tell you if that is what you're missing.

You can also try adding gypsum to your finished beer and see if it improves your hop punch.

Another thing to look at is chloramine (which Gwinnett uses)

Add 0.2g of potassium Metabisulfide (campden) to your next batch

I am a campden guy.

 

[Norselord]

If you're really desperate I could come watch you brew/transfer/keg to see if I can spot anything that might cause your issues. I live pretty close and love to help out a fellow brewer

Shoot me a PM. I’d be completely on board! Thanks!

 

[TheMadKing]

Shoot me a PM. I’d be completely on board! Thanks!

PM sent