NaCl - Salt

[quixoticgeek]

I have a water report for my area, and in the list of things it recommends adding a few grams of salt to the liquor when making dark beers.

I have the Water book, but it doesn't have any info on why you would add table salt to beer.

So, what is the idea behind adding salt to the beer liquor?

J

[Piscator]

Hi J - go back to pg 148 and re-read the paragraph about chloride and all will become clear.

If you want to use salt, I would suggest sea salt or kosher salt rather than table salt which has various anti-caking agents added.

Cheers
Steve

[quixoticgeek]

That makes a little more sense. The water report recommends 4.3g per 25L. I have some sea salt in the cupboard, so shall give this a go on my next brew.

Cheers

J

[Aleman]

On the other hand rather than using table salt add calcium chloride. . . That way you are adding two good ions to the mash rather than one good ion and one potentially detrimental ion

[Piscator]

That makes a little more sense. The water report recommends 4.3g per 25L. I have some sea salt in the cupboard, so shall give this a go on my next brew.

Cheers

J

J - what overall levels of calcium, sulphate and chloride are you aiming for? As Tony says many home brewers would use calcium chloride in preference to salt as it also boosts the calcium level which is important for creating optimum mash conditions.

Cheers
Steve

[quixoticgeek]

The water report suggests adding AMS, Calcium Chloride, Calcium Sulphate and NaCl.

J

[orlando]

The water report suggests adding AMS, Calcium Chloride, Calcium Sulphate and NaCl.

J

Where did you get this water report from, sounds suspiciously like Murphy's?

[Aleman]

I thought that too, but they normally only suggest AMS and DWB additions . . Plus salt of course.

It is also odd that those recommendations have not changed in over 25 years, in spite of changes in beer styles and the improved knowledge of the waters to brew them.

[Eric]

I too think it will be from Murphy.
They didn't recommend any DWB for my water either, which is right with it already heavily biased to sulphate and in need of chloride in pale beers for one with any substance.
They also advised salt additions to darker beers, where the chloride is essential to smooth dark malts and avoid the astringency higher sulphate levels might cause. My water has a relatively low level of salt (sodium chloride) compared with that of its calcium components and think that is most probably the case for the OP's water where there might greater scope using salt to increase chloride while avoiding a potential excess of calcium.

I don't use Murphy's recommendations and normally add calcium rather than sodium chloride. Murphy's advice does tend to be a one size fits all approach, but in my opinion there are abundantly worse sources of advice for treating tapwater to make any sort of traditional British Beer.

[Aleman]

In that case Eric it would make more sense for them to recommend using hydrochloric acid to treat the water, for a dark beer, than AMS, which as you are well aware will boost chloride leaving calcium and sulphate untouched. This would then negate the requirement of adding common salt.

That of course does not fit with their one size fits all approach

[orlando]

In that case Eric it would make more sense for them to recommend using hydrochloric acid to treat the water

Not much profit in that.

[Eric]

In that case Eric it would make more sense for them to recommend using hydrochloric acid to treat the water, for a dark beer, than AMS, which as you are well aware will boost chloride leaving calcium and sulphate untouched. This would then negate the requirement of adding common salt.

That of course does not fit with their one size fits all approach

Indeed it would make more sense from a brewing perspective, but maybe not from their own commercial one. You know the strength problem they had with their sulphuric acid, so I'd bet they would have an even harder time should hydrochloric acid be in their product list. On the other side of the coin AMS from Murphy and the Malt Miller, or as Brewpac's CRS from various homebrew shops has always been close to spec for me. It mightn't be a perfect solution to the biggest brewing problem for most brewers excepting infections, but it works.

Despite all their shortcomings, Murphy and Son supply a huge proportion of British Brewers with the ingredients necessary to transform whatever water supply they have into liquor that makes a saleable beer liked by many. It might take more effort and imagination to make better ones, but that will take one into territory that some believe you should not venture, and that is a very much worse approach.