After my recent post on how I manipulate my brewing liquor, I received a few requests asking for a more detailed look at how I calculate mineral additions. The following video is way longer than I intended, I apologize if it gets a bit boring. It starts with BeerSmith and ends with Bru’n Water. Keep in mind that I’m just another homebrewer, I’m not a paid advertiser for either of the calculators, and I’m certainly not the best versed when it comes to water. What I do has been working well for me, things may be different for you. If after watching the video you have any questions, please ask and I’ll do my best to help out. Cheers!
I completely forgot to crop the video to the proper aspect ratio, hence the reason you can’t see the Bru’n Water spreadsheet tabs. Sorry about that. If you notice any other errors, please don’t hesitate to point them out to me so I can note it in this post.
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3 thoughts on “Brewing Water Primer: Using BeerSmith and Bru’n Water”
Classic old school:Brewing Articles and Info > “Use of Water Salts in Brewing” Use of Water Salts in Brewing by Byron Burch Most brewers don’t worry about the fine points of water treatment until they become somewhat advanced. However, those who do venture into this area often find the rewards significant. Assuming that your water tastes reasonably pleasant, you can normally use it in making beer. Obviously, such problems as a high iron or salt content might require getting water from an alternate source, but in most situations, your water is probably okay. Different types of water supplies, however, will affect your results, either positively or negatively, depending on the type of beer you’re trying to make. Often the reason a particular city became renowned for a certain type of beer was because the water supply was especially suitable. If you’re starting with de-ionized or distilled water in your brewing, this table gives you some guidelines for treating the water to make ten gallons of several types of beers. If using tap water, as most of us do, you should test your water, or have it tested, and adjust these amounts accordingly. Note that if you’re working with harder water than is appropriate for the style you’ve selected to brew, you may need to adjust with a percentage of de-ionized, or distilled, water. If you’re on a municipal water system, getting the statistics on your water is relatively easy. You can usually call your water company and get figures on both the permanent (sulfate) and temporary (carbonate) hardness, as well as the salinity (salt content) of your water. If you’re working with well water, you can get approximate hardness figures with a water hardness test kit. Figures in the following tables are expressed in parts per million (ppm.). * One tsp. Gypsum (calcium sulfate) = approximately 100 ppm. in 10 gallons. * One tsp. Salt (sodium chloride) = approximately 140 ppm. in 10 gallons. * One tsp. Powdered Chalk (calcium carbonate) = approximately 150 ppm. in 10 gallons. * One tsp. Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) = approximately 130 ppm. in 10 gallons. Beer Type Salt Gypsum Chalk Epsom Salts Classic Pale Ale or IPA 50-75 350-450 0-130 0-30* Bitter 40-70 200-350 0-130 0-30* Altbier 70-80 100-150 – – Light Ale 20-40 250-400 0-50 – Cream Ale 20-40 50-100 0-50 – Mild Ale 70-100 80-150 50-100 – Brown Ale 100-150 50-100 50-100 – Scottish Brown Ale 60-80 75-125 80-125 – Sweet Stout 30-50 50-80 150-200 – Porter 30-50 50-80 150-200 – Dry Stout 30-50 70-100 150-200 – Classic Pilsner 5-20 5-20 10-20** – Pils 20-30 40-80 ** – American Lager 20-40 60-100 ** – Light Lager 60-90 120-180 ** – Dortmunder Export 50-70 200-300 175-180 – Vienna/Okt./Maerzen 75-100 100-200 90-110 – Munich Light or Dark 10-30 75-125 130-150 – Bock 100-150 50-80 150-200 – Hellesbock 30-60 60-90 50-100 – Dopplebock 100-180 50-80 150-200 – Rauchbier 50-75 100-150 100-150 – Steam Beer 20-50 75-125 75-130 – Weizen (light) 20-30 50-100 ** – Weizenbock 70-80 50-100 125-150 – * Optional. ** If water is high in temporary hardness, boil for 5-10 minutes, and remove from the settlings before use.
Copyright © 1986, 1988, 1990 Byron Burch. All rights reserved.
Great video. There’s a way BeerSmith adds the water additions automatically to the recipe for you too. I cannot remember howit does because it’s been some time since I mess with my water, but I remember it’s there. I might have to start messing with it again, mostly for hoppy beers.
Cheers!
Excellent video!
Something to consider… using both alkaline additions (baking soda, chalk or pickling lime) along with liquid acid (lactic or phosphoric) will negate each other in the mash. Generally for pale beers, a small acid addition is necessary – and no alkalinity. However for dark beers, alkalinity is needed to raise the mash pH into the appropriate levels. As a general rule, never add both alkaline and acid additions.
Cheers! Matt