Gypsum / Calcium Chloride - Which One Improves Style.

[Hogan]

I have been reading a lot of posts on adding salts to tank water to improve pH and conversion. The pH side of things does not worry me now that I am going to start using 5.2 pH stabiliser. The recommendation from their blurb is that, in addition to the stabiliser, salts should also be added.

There seems to be differing opinions in some posts on what Calcium Sulphate (gypsum) and Calcium Chloride (damprid) will do to improve the mash conversion process and subsequent boil for light and dark beers.

Most opinion is that Calcium sulphate (gypsum): "enhances hop bitterness and dryness." Both these improvements seem to be well suited to a Pilsner but only one of them (enhances hop bitterness) would seem appropriate for, say, an ESB where you are moving into the alpha amylase conversion zone.

Further that Calcium chloride (damprid): "provides fuller texture, maltiness and enhances sweetness." This does not seem to be of help to those who want a dry pilsner.

Other opinion is that Calcium sulphate should be added for ales and Calcium chloride should be added for lagers. This seems to be a complete reverse of the above opinion.

What do you do? Do you only use Gypsum in light beers and Cal. Chloride in dark beers or do you add both?



Cheers, Hoges.

 

[Jye]

If you are assuming your tank water is very low on minerals then you need to add salts not only for the desired final product. Calcium levels are important for mashing and magnesium for healthy yeast. But you would have read this in How To Brew.

I agree with how you think about salts and think that beer colour has nothing to do with which one you use. It will come down to style and your personal preference.

I have been using calcium sulphate in most of me beer because I like the dry finish which accentuates the hops. The latest beer was a german pils and I decide to add calcium sulphate after reading the style guidelines and felt it would fit the style.

There wont be a definitive answer like dark or light, ale or lagers but will come down to style and your preference on which salt or combination to use.

Hope that made it clearer

 

[Stuster]

Both have uses. They both reduce the pH of the mash. So, both are useful with lighter coloured beers. Which one you use partly depends on the style you want to brew, and on your water composition. Generally, I use gypsum for beers where I want to emphasise the hops, CaCl2 for maltier beers, and a bit of both when I can't decide.

I can't really see what the connection is to the alpha amylase zone in relation to this, and definitely what yeast you are using is not relevant. For darker beers, you want to raise the pH, so adding either of these chemicals is counter-productive and you want to use some chalk or baking soda instead.

If you want to do anything to your water, I'd read Chapter 15 of Palmer first, http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15.html and then use the spreadsheet that he has on the third page of that chapter. You need to know what your water has in it of course, and I'm not sure what you can do to find that out for your tank water. I guess it might have some chemicals in there, but probably so low you can ignore them.

 

[Hogan]

I can't really see what the connection is to the alpha amylase zone in relation to this.

Thanks Jye and Stuster. The ref I made to the alpha amylase concerned the dryness / sweetness temp range during conversion. I mash my pilsners in the low 60's to get a dry finish and ESB at 67 for a finish that is not dry. If adding calcium chloride resulted in a sweetening of the wort then you would not want to do that for a style which converts in the beta amylase spectrum.


After googling for the most part of the day and since this posting, I have now come across the following article which has made this much clearer. I hope that it may also assist others in clarifying the calcium additions. It's called 'Key Concepts in Water Treatment:' but I can't link the web page to this post in either Firefox or IE. Maybe the skin is not completely fixed. Will upload later.


Edit: Here is the web address for that article: http://www.vicbrew.org/Files/Basic%20Conce...20Treatment.doc

Cheers, Hoges.

 

[blackbock]

Thanks Jye and Stuster. The ref I made to the alpha amylase concerned the dryness / sweetness temp range during conversion. I mash my pilsners in the low 60's to get a dry finish and ESB at 67 for a finish that is not dry. If adding calcium chloride resulted in a sweetening of the wort then you would not want to do that for a style which converts in the beta amylase spectrum.
After googling for the most part of the day and since this posting, I have now come across the following article which has made this much clearer. I hope that it may also assist others in clarifying the calcium additions. It's called 'Key Concepts in Water Treatment:' but I can't link the web page to this post in either Firefox or IE. Maybe the skin is not completely fixed. Will upload later.
Edit: Here is the web address for that article: http://www.vicbrew.org/Files/Basic%20Conce...20Treatment.doc

Cheers, Hoges.

Hogan, I think the "sweetness" is only a perceived sweetness due to the presence of the chloride ion = not really anything to do with fermentability or mash temperature. Likewise the "dryness" from Gypsum is also only a perception due to the sulphate. Personally I don't like the taste of Gypsum - I think it tastes strange. Other people claim to recognise Calcium Chloride in a brew, I don't think I can.

PS. I had no idea Damprid was Calcium Chloride. Is that where some brewers are sourcing it? :-S

 

[Hogan]

PS. I had no idea Damprid was Calcium Chloride. Is that where some brewers are sourcing it? :-S

Yes blackbock - Damprid is a product that removes moisture from the air. Tablets are made of Calcium Chloride. It is sold in Woolies, Bunnings and other home stores. Here is the product link: http://www.kendler.com.au/html/damprid.html


Cheers, Hoges.

 

[tangent]

for SA brewers, Gaganis Brothers have calc-chlor for sale in packets cheap as... (used as a brine additive)

 

[///]

Remember calcium also helps not only in the mash but in fermentation - helps to increase flocculation. Hence why it is added to water that is extremly soft.

Calcium Chloride loves water, as I found out when i splits some recently! Came back to a puddle....

Scotty