Water Of Love

[orlando]

Hi Guys,

Another water question: The water calculator on this board has suggested that with my water profile making a porter (next AG up) would benefit from the addition of Calcium Chloride. GW recommends adding this in the boil but the Brupaks label says that getting salts soluble is difficult and suggests mixing it with the grist

This All Grain lark is really confusing with so much opinion differing. I do hope I get a definitive steer from the forum, but I've got my worried look on

[Eric]

Everything on this subject is dependent upon what your water already contains, so you can understand why there are conflicting opinions and advice.
Calcium is necessary (essential) for an efficient mash, but calcium can be provided in many different forms. calcium chloride is said to benefit malt flavours in the finished beer.
There are limits to the amounts of salts that will disolve in water (saturation) and any excess will just precipitate out. In such circumstances if you mix the salt with the grain and stir well, the malt will get its calcium or whatever it is you include.

[orlando]

Thanks Eric,

I'm going to follow the Brupaks advice and add to the grist.

[Eric]

Maybe add a touch to the boil as well, it's unlikely to spoil things.
At one time brewers would adjust recipés (from experience) to suit their water supply and in turn, the local beer drinker would adjust his or her tastebuds to what was on offer. Beer drinking was then and always can be, an aquired taste.
Today it is common to alter water profiles to produce beers we prefer or what advertising tells us is better. This knowledge, of course, provides great potential, but I don't think it is essential to go headlong into complicated chemistry to produce really good beer. As long as your water contains enough of the essential minerals, by supplement if necessary, and doesn't suffer from excess alkalinity, the chemistry will reasonably look after itself. If your wish is to produce finely honed brews, you've likely got yourself a life-long subject to explore.

[gregorach]

I've never had any trouble getting calcium chloride to dissolve - the stuff's so hygroscopic that it will fuse into a solid lump if you don't store it in an airtight container, just by sucking the moisture out of the air. I chuck it in the HLT once it's up above aboout 60 degrees and it dissolves very easily. The amounts we use are nowhere near saturation (its solubility is 74.5g / 100mL, typical usage for brewing is under 20g / 25L).

I suspect that Brupaks stick that warning on all of their salts, regardless of how soluble they are...

[Eric]

Thanks for that Dunc.
After being told most folk have no trouble getting gypsum into solution, while I do and so add salts to the grist, I thought this might be similar. Water here comes from where a bore hole was drilled to supply wholesome water a decade after this town became the first in Britain to suffer a cholera outbreak. It's hard ground water extracted from magnesian limestone and generally very alkaline, so when it needs a good dose of CRS, I often wonder if the malt is able to take its pick of chloride or suphate sources of calcium and if there's any point of trying to influence that balance.

[orlando]

If your wish is to produce finely honed brews, you've likely got yourself a life-long subject to explore.

Certainly hope so.

Thanks for all the info, makes life a lot easier.