Making my hops pop

[killer]

Those numbers look to be in the right ballpark all right. You could push up to 2.5g Calcium chloride and add 2 or 3 more grams of gypsum but I doubt you'd pick out much of a difference in the finished product...

One thing to watch out for when you buy your salts is to check if they are dry - Many salts come as anhydrous - the pure dry salt. Sometimes they come as a hydrate - they pick up water from the recrystallization process. It's not a problem at all but means you need to slightly recalculate your additions as they can be 50% (or more or less) water by mass - come on here if you need a hand with calculations.

[hophit]

I disagree. Making the hops pop can't be achieved by more hops. Without water treatment the hop zing is not possible unless you already have water that allows for that. My water is very similar to mcbrewer's and with added sulphate I get zingy hops every time. It's like putting salt on your chips.

Sorry I wasn't very clear. Didn't mean to suggest you can correct the problem with more hops, or that treatment won't make them pop. More that they won't pop if you aren't using them correctly in the first place. You can't polish a turd, as it were.

[Mcbrewer]

One thing to watch out for when you buy your salts is to check if they are dry - Many salts come as anhydrous - the pure dry salt. Sometimes they come as a hydrate - they pick up water from the recrystallization process. It's not a problem at all but means you need to slightly recalculate your additions as they can be 50% (or more or less) water by mass - come on here if you need a hand with calculations.

Is the brupaks salts you get from brew uk the dry salts and what do you use for the sodium chloride addition,is it just normal table salt.

[killer]

I would presume so... They don't note that they contain water on the label so I would hope so. I have certainly given them the benefit of the doubt.

I don't use table salt but many people do. Plain table salt with Sodium Chloride on the label is fine - just try to make sure it's one without iodine in it.

[Mcbrewer]

Thanks killer you've been a great help

[Mcbrewer]

Sorry I wasn't very clear. Didn't mean to suggest you can correct the problem with more hops, or that treatment won't make them pop. More that they won't pop if you aren't using them correctly in the first place. You can't polish a turd, as it were.

You have given me a great name to call my next brew,Polished Turd IPA.
Thanks

[WallyBrew]

Gypsum by its name is the dihydrate of calcium sulphate so it will contain 2 waters

Calcium chloride is a desiccant and will absorb water until it no longer appears as a solid. The dihydrate is stable.

I think someone on here once dried some brewpaks salts and the calcium chloride then became a desiccant and they ended up with a soggy mess.

[southcoastjim]

If you have beersmith 2 you can add water profiles to your brew sheet, and it will tell you the exact additions you need based on your water to achieve a given profile. Very handy!