[factory]

http://www.morebeer.com/products/52-ph-stabilizer-1-lb.html

If you're worried about your mash ph not getting to 5.2 you can buy this stuff. Works great!

Didn't work for me at all.

Didn't work for me either.  I tried it 3 times with 3 different grain bills.  I didn't get any off flavors that I could detect, but it just didn't work for my water.

[HoosierBrew]

5.2 is a crap product IMO.  I got off flavors and it didn't help my pH. Lose-lose.

[realbeerguy]

Wouldn't some phosphoric acid added to the water help?

BTW, campden tabs good for chloraimine too.

[mblanks2]

Phosphoric 88% is what I use along with gypsum and calcium chloride to maintain mash ph, but you need to know what you're starting with and use a spreadsheet like brunwater to get your results. And yes, campdem is good for chloramine too.

[BairsBrewing]

Go to wards labs.  Google it.  You can send a a sample spend $20 and get a full detail of your water.  Then plug that into beer smith or whatever else you may use and no more guessing.

[toby]

This will be measured in grams, not ounces or pounds!  If you're not sure what to use, start with a tablespoon each of calcium chloride and gypsum per 5 gallons of final beer, and see where that gets you.

I assume you meant teaspoon? ~15g of each in a 5 gallon batch seems high to me (and my own water is pretty bereft of those minerals).

Does it work for you?  Have you checked your pH after using it?  It not only didn't work for me (and a LOT of others), but it gave my beer weird off flavors.

Personally, I've never even tried it since the local water here is already bordering on too much sodium (our water is practically mineral free except for sodium. carbonates, and the chloramine added for sanitation).  I just treat for chloramines with campden, adjust acidity (or in our case lack thereof, i.e pH of 8.5), and add CaCl and CaSO4 to suit the style I'm brewing.

[dmtaylor]

A tablespoon of each wouldn't kill any brew starting with soft water and would certainly fix the pH issue.  If your water already has some minerals then use less.