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Author Topic: Calcium required in kettle  (Read 3388 times)

Offline BrewBama

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Calcium required in kettle
« Reply #30 on: February 04, 2021, 10:17:22 am »

That doesn't seem outrageously high to me. I wouldn't expect it to taste particularly minerally based on my experience. Somewhere around 300-400ppm of sulfate + chloride is where I start to notice it. And even then it's not necessarily a bad thing if it fits the style.

A lot of my beers end up with a relatively low level of calcium,  but it's not because I'm trying to avoid it so much as I'm targeting other ions. I use relatively soft water for a lot of my beers, so my calcium ends up in the 60's to 80's ppm. I haven't noticed any deleterious effects because of it so far.

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+1

Yesterday, I mixed a 5000 ppm solution/suspension of chloride and one of sulfate using CaCl and Gypsum. I poured three 4 oz beers and began dosing at 50 ppm of each while maintaining a undosed control.

I didn’t begin tasting anything until 300 ppm.

However, the CaCl dosed beer seemed to become ‘softer’ as the gypsum dosed beer began to become ’sharper’ (if that makes any sense) ...but those changes weren’t evident to me until 150 ppm.

Of course, I am the one pouring, dosing, and tasting so my play time was far from any kind of legit study.

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« Last Edit: February 04, 2021, 11:44:34 am by BrewBama »

Online denny

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Re: Calcium required in kettle
« Reply #31 on: February 04, 2021, 11:09:39 am »
Nice test!
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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Offline Megary

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Re: Calcium required in kettle
« Reply #32 on: February 04, 2021, 12:32:32 pm »


Reading an old CB&B magazine, Feb-Mar 2016, on IPA’s...

There’s a recipe in there (p63) for Block15’s House IPA.  The brewer’s notes are “We add Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulfate to the mash to achieve 125ppm calcium, 180ppm sulfate and 85ppm chloride.  Adjust your water accordingly.”

At least some American brewer, at one time, in a particular beer, was using a fair amount of calcium in the mash.  It’s unlikely this is a unique example.

I’m not familiar with this beer, probably never having made it across the country.  Anyone think this tastes minerally??

That doesn't seem outrageously high to me. I wouldn't expect it to taste particularly minerally based on my experience. Somewhere around 300-400ppm of sulfate + chloride is where I start to notice it. And even then it's not necessarily a bad thing if it fits the style.

A lot of my beers end up with a relatively low level of calcium,  but it's not because I'm trying to avoid it so much as I'm targeting other ions. I use relatively soft water for a lot of my beers, so my calcium ends up in the 60's to 80's ppm. I haven't noticed any deleterious effects because of it so far.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yeah, that was my point.  There is a well respected beer/brewer that has no problem exceeding 100ppm of Calcium in the mash.  Now whether he does because that's where he ends up after setting his Cl and SO4 levels - or - because he's targeting 125ppm Ca - or - both...I'm not sure.

Offline RC

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Re: Calcium required in kettle
« Reply #33 on: February 04, 2021, 12:36:01 pm »

That doesn't seem outrageously high to me. I wouldn't expect it to taste particularly minerally based on my experience. Somewhere around 300-400ppm of sulfate + chloride is where I start to notice it. And even then it's not necessarily a bad thing if it fits the style.

A lot of my beers end up with a relatively low level of calcium,  but it's not because I'm trying to avoid it so much as I'm targeting other ions. I use relatively soft water for a lot of my beers, so my calcium ends up in the 60's to 80's ppm. I haven't noticed any deleterious effects because of it so far.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

+1

Yesterday, I mixed a 5000 ppm solution/suspension of chloride and one of sulfate using CaCl and Gypsum. I poured three 4 oz beers and began dosing at 50 ppm of each while maintaining a undosed control.

I didn’t begin tasting anything until 300 ppm.

However, the CaCl dosed beer seemed to become ‘softer’ as the gypsum dosed beer began to become ’sharper’ (if that makes any sense) ...but those changes weren’t evident to me until 150 ppm.

Of course, I am the one pouring, dosing, and tasting so my play time was far from any kind of legit study.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I haven't done testing quite this controlled, but I've played around with ppm's plenty and 300 is about where I also begin to notice a difference, especially with sulfate in my hop-forward beers. Below this concentration, I don't notice any difference between adding salts and adding no salts whatsoever (and don't even get me started on the "importance" of the chloride-to-sulfate ratio). There are reasons beside flavor to add calcium salts, of course.

Online denny

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Re: Calcium required in kettle
« Reply #34 on: February 04, 2021, 01:08:03 pm »


Reading an old CB&B magazine, Feb-Mar 2016, on IPA’s...

There’s a recipe in there (p63) for Block15’s House IPA.  The brewer’s notes are “We add Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulfate to the mash to achieve 125ppm calcium, 180ppm sulfate and 85ppm chloride.  Adjust your water accordingly.”

At least some American brewer, at one time, in a particular beer, was using a fair amount of calcium in the mash.  It’s unlikely this is a unique example.

I’m not familiar with this beer, probably never having made it across the country.  Anyone think this tastes minerally??

That doesn't seem outrageously high to me. I wouldn't expect it to taste particularly minerally based on my experience. Somewhere around 300-400ppm of sulfate + chloride is where I start to notice it. And even then it's not necessarily a bad thing if it fits the style.

A lot of my beers end up with a relatively low level of calcium,  but it's not because I'm trying to avoid it so much as I'm targeting other ions. I use relatively soft water for a lot of my beers, so my calcium ends up in the 60's to 80's ppm. I haven't noticed any deleterious effects because of it so far.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yeah, that was my point.  There is a well respected beer/brewer that has no problem exceeding 100ppm of Calcium in the mash.  Now whether he does because that's where he ends up after setting his Cl and SO4 levels - or - because he's targeting 125ppm Ca - or - both...I'm not sure.

Knowing the beer and brewery, it's because that's what they got, not a target for Ca.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell