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Author Topic: "Brewing Better Beer" - calcium chloride, calcium sulphate  (Read 26611 times)

Offline jared long

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Re: "Brewing Better Beer" - calcium chloride, calcium sulphate
« Reply #15 on: April 26, 2011, 02:05:25 pm »
thank you for this very thoughtful reply.

i realize that, given no specifics about my water, it would be hard to make a recommendation.  having said that, how would you treat water that is characterized by high alkalinity and has lots of temporary hardness?

cut it with distilled water?  simply add acid?

thanks,
jared

Offline gordonstrong

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Re: "Brewing Better Beer" - calcium chloride, calcium sulphate
« Reply #16 on: April 26, 2011, 02:21:54 pm »
I enjoyed Gordon's commment in the book where he says, 'don't mess with the water too much'.  Since creating RO or DI water is 'messing with' water to the extreme, I'd say that what Gordon needs to revise that statement to is: 'don't add too many salts to water'.  In my discussions with Gordon, that is what he really cautions against since he and I have tasted too many beers at competition that have a minerally soda water flavor that doesn't go away.  There are too many water calculators in the brewing world that don't really provide good guidance for mineral and acid additions.  Even Palmer's sheet has some outrageous upper limits for some ions that end up letting the brewer 'hang themselves' with too much mineral content in the water.  I've tried to make it apparent to brewers using Bru'n Water where the limits are and why they shouldn't go there.  

That's fair.  Spreadsheets are models, and not all models are accurate.  Some only work within certain ranges.  Most will get you into trouble if you trust them blindly.

My comments were in response to seeing how perfectly reasonable data could be misunderstood and misapplied, and result in beer that didn't taste right.  So I was giving a hard caution to the contrary.

Personally, I like the taste of beers with light mineral additions.  Taste is subjective, though.  But when I stop tasting the beer and start tasting the water, I know there is something wrong.

Martin, was your tool new when you announced it here?  I don't remember hearing about it before.
Gordon Strong • Beavercreek, Ohio • AHA Member since 1997 • Twitter: GordonStrong

Offline denny

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Offline denny

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  • Noti OR [1991.4, 287.6deg] AR
    • Dennybrew
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

Offline homebrewgamecock

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Re: "Brewing Better Beer" - calcium chloride, calcium sulphate
« Reply #19 on: April 26, 2011, 03:14:14 pm »
Great info and links for water chemistry.  Thanks everyone.  Water chem is one area I want to gain some more knowledge.  Maybe time to submit a test to Ward Labs as well.