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Author Topic: salt additions  (Read 2386 times)

Offline hospter81

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salt additions
« on: February 05, 2013, 12:24:00 pm »
Hi! when i add salts to my mash an HLT i always dissolve all of those in a little jar with hot water but gypsum is always very hard to dissolve. It always forms little rocks and i am afraid that it does not contribute enough sulfate and calcium to the mash....

Do you have a better way to dissolve gypsum?

thanks!

Offline majorvices

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salt additions
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2013, 12:30:10 pm »
The lower pH of the mash should dissolve the gypsum and other salts better than the high pH of the water. I would recommend adding the salts to the mash, not the HLT.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2013, 12:45:33 pm »
Hi! when i add salts to my mash an HLT i always dissolve all of those in a little jar with hot water but gypsum is always very hard to dissolve. It always forms little rocks and i am afraid that it does not contribute enough sulfate and calcium to the mash....

Do you have a better way to dissolve gypsum?

thanks!
Gypsum dissolves more readily in cold water.
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Offline mabrungard

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2013, 03:20:46 pm »
Rocks?  Gypsum is fairly soluble.  But I agree that it takes time to fully dissolve.  I note that even when you add gypsum to cold beer to check if it benefits from additional sulfate, it takes time.  I add my gypsum to my brewing water in the HLT and that too "takes time". 

The 'Rocks' thing is quite odd.  My gypsum is a fine powder and it never agglomerates into little rocks. Is this a brewing product or something else?   
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Offline hospter81

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2013, 04:14:35 pm »
just guessing if i am using the correct gypsum....is there a "food grade" gypsum? i am using the one that is used for construction...

Offline mabrungard

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2013, 06:55:03 pm »
Yes, the food grade stuff apparently is a little finer ground and it probably dissolves a little better.  Its still going to be slow...several minutes.
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Offline majorvices

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salt additions
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2013, 07:53:55 pm »
....and, the lower pH of the mash will help dissolve the salts. ;)

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2013, 07:54:24 pm »
just guessing if i am using the correct gypsum....is there a "food grade" gypsum? i am using the one that is used for construction...

Hopefully not from China!
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: salt additions
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2013, 11:40:36 am »
just guessing if i am using the correct gypsum....is there a "food grade" gypsum? i am using the one that is used for construction... gypsum scraped from my drywall ...
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