water report

danb · Mar 10, 2014

Tested at the house and brewshed and got 71ppm both times.

danb · Mar 10, 2014

Flagon and cask at bulwell have calcium sulphate and magnesium sulphate is this same as gypsum and epsum? These are needed along with AMS for a pale ale according to the calculator.

pittsy · Mar 10, 2014

danb said:
Flagon and cask at bulwell have calcium sulphate and magnesium sulphate is this same as gypsum and epsum? These are needed along with AMS for a pale ale according to the calculator.

You have calcium of 70 ish ppm , personally you ain't far off for a pale but your chloride to sulphate ratio gives you a malty beer as is so if you like you hops then using calcium sulphate would be ideal for you . Calcium wants to be around 100ppm ( less for lagers more for dark heavy hoppy beers) and you want around same sulphate as chloride or even 20 ppm more sulphate than chloride if you want hoppy .
You don't want to add magnesium as around 5 ppm is enough (needed for the yeast ) and you don't want it too high .
getting your alkalinity down is the main concern (assuming it needs it )

danb · Mar 10, 2014

Cheers pittsy so is the forum calculator wrong?

pittsy · Mar 10, 2014

Not so much wrong it just don't work for me and is a bit basic . I'm into using lactic acid and acid malt . My chloride and also my sulphate is high enough so using crs ain't no good for me ( i like malty beers more than hoppy so my ratio is good as is ) and my calcium is around 70/80 ppm which is enough for a hefe not quite enough for some and too much for others styles so what i need to do is bring my bicarbonate down by using acid malt and lactic acid which is easy to do . I like using lactic acid because the germans use it even with there brew law (reinhetgerbt or something lol ) and after using it at the correct amount gives me great results .

ryanshelton · Mar 10, 2014

Sorry to jump in pittsy, I've been following this thread because I'm going to start treating my water. So are you saying not to bother with the gypsum or Epsom salts and just use crs?

danb · Mar 10, 2014

Where did they get 125mg/l for calcium then pittsy?

pittsy · Mar 10, 2014

gypsum is calcium sulphate (I think) . 125 ppm calcium may be what many would recommend , I think a little too much for a lighter ale . It's never an easy answer , all depends on lots of things and what you want out of it . When you look for the ideal water profile for brewing it can vary from info to info and from style to style so I'm a fan of less crap in my beer the better unless it is doing something useful . There are some interesting pod casts on itunes from beersmith that are worth a listen , some cover water profiles and treatment .