Beer Forum

I’ve been reading the new Water book from John and Colin (which is great!), but I do have a few questions that I’m hoping someone can help clear up for me.

On p. 156-159, they list some suggested water profiles by style of beer, and on p. 178 there is a table from another book that lists the ion contributions from a 10 plato wort brewed with DI water.  What I’m wondering is do the water profiles listed on 156-159 take into account the contributions from the malt, or are the suggested profiles to be added in addition to whatever comes from the malt?

Also, it sounds like adding chalk (calcium carbonate) to the mash is tricky as there is low solubility at those pH levels.  Looking at a few other resources, it looks like people often say that you should plan on getting about half of the calcium and carbonate concentrations that you expect. This would mean that you should double the chalk additions from whatever water calculator you use (after checking to see if they account for the low solubility of chalk first).  What do you guys think about this?  How do those of you who add chalk to the mash account for this?

 Cheers,

 Matt

I stopped using chalk after having mash pH issues. It just doesn't dissolve in a predictable manner. Use Slaked Lime (calcium hydroxide) instead, much more repeatable results.

Nate

I have an article on the problems with chalk in brewing water on the Bru'n Water page on Facebook. Look for 'Chalk None up for Chalk'. Chalk is not ideal for brewing use.

+1 No chalk here either. The only 4 salts I use are gypsum, calcium chloride, epsom salt & sodium chloride.

Water profiles talk about the water as it is going into the mash, so we're talking about the water by itself, not any contributions made by the malt.

peas_and_corn wrote:Water profiles talk about the water as it is going into the mash, so we're talking about the water by itself, not any contributions made by the malt.

Correct. There are many reactions, ions, and compounds elicited by the mash into the wort. It would be impossible to predict all those possibilities.

We look at just the contributions from the water as an influence on the beer. The water is one thing that we can have a better ability to tailor.

So is using chalk actually detrimental? Or does it just not add anything?

Stinkfist wrote:So is using chalk actually detrimental? Or does it just not add anything?

It adds something, the question is just "how much" due to poor solubility. I use chalk in my dark beers as it helps limit the acrid, over roasted coffee-type roast flavors. I may switch to other methods by the time I finish the water book.