Sydney (Potts Hill) Water - Additives for a hoppy beer

[Fleabag]

Hi all.

Brewing what will hopefully be a hoppy IIPA tomorrow, and I’m after some advice on what people add to the water.

Usually I put 3tsp of gypsum in the mash for a batch that finishes up at about 23L, but I’m wondering if that is sufficient, or if there’s anything else I should be adding.

Cheers!

 

[bbqzookeeper]

Have you used Bru'N Water Spreadsheet?

Read and have a go at that. Maybe someone will be able to provide a profile as your target?

 

[hairydog]

I usually do 8g of gypsum which is about 1 tsp and 3g calcium chloride I think it is with 3 g magnesium,i use EZ water calc and live in southern
suburbs of Sydney.

 

[ABG]

@Fleabag I'm also on the Potts Hill supply. For a hoppy beer (23L), I will use 6g of gypsum (3 in the mash water, 3 in the sparge water) and 6g of calcium chloride (ditto). That gives me a nicely balanced beer where I can appreciate the flavours of the hops and the malt.

I also brew for a couple of mates, one of whom is a hop head. For him I throw in the 6g of gypsum, but only 1g of calcium chloride. The other mate I brew for is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He likes a malt forward beer. For him I use 3g of gypsum and 6g of calcium chloride. Personally I don't see the point in this approach in a hoppy beer, because it masks the flavour of all the hops you put in. I reckon he's better off going with a more balanced profile and using less hops, but he's the one drinking it and loves it that way.

3 tsp would give you about 15g of gypsum (depending on the size of your teaspoon and how heaped it is) which would end up being too bitter I reckon. Your best bet is to get some accurate scales and measure by weight.

 

[Fleabag]

Great feedback guys. I’ll tone it back and add some calcium chloride too. (Edit: I won’t be adding CaCl because LHBS is out.)

Thanks!

 

[EalingDrop]

5g looks like this if you don't have those scales. (That's Gypsum btw)

 

[ABG]

(That's Gypsum btw)View attachment 114210

Suuure it is Senor Escobar...

 

[Fleabag]

5g looks like this if you don't have those scales. (That's Gypsum btw)View attachment 114210

What are you doing at about 8am tomorrow?

 

[EalingDrop]

Bottling my BlackBerry Berliner Weisse like a trappist monk coz I haven't got any spare kegs