26 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

A buddy of mine is brewing a stout tonight, I'm not there. He doesn't know what his water profile is like (although I think it's a little hard due to the fact that starsan gets cloudy on him) and he doesn't have pH strips. I know some people don't need to adjust their water for stouts but most do. How much chalk should I tell him to throw into his mash? He's making a 5 gallon batch. THANKS!

[MtnBrewer]

A buddy of mine is brewing a stout tonight, I'm not there. He doesn't know what his water profile is like (although I think it's a little hard due to the fact that starsan gets cloudy on him) and he doesn't have pH strips. I know some people don't need to adjust their water for stouts but most do. How much chalk should I tell him to throw into his mash? He's making a 5 gallon batch. THANKS!

Without a water analysis, there's no way to know.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Without a water analysis, there's no way to know.

I concur - I'm just trying to think of what the best practice would be here...

[MtnBrewer]

I concur - I'm just trying to think of what the best practice would be here...

Nothing. First, do no harm.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Nothing. First, do no harm.

Not bad advice at all. I can't believe it but the guys at the LHBS told him needs to add gypsum. How the hell could they know what he needs???

[Jimmy James]

I can't believe it but the guys at the LHBS told him needs to add gypsum. How the hell could they know what he needs???

Maybe the LBS uses the same water? I agree with the advice above.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Maybe the LBS uses the same water? I agree with the advice above.

they def do not

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Gypsum would most likely be the WRONG thing to add if he's making a stout.

that's what I said as well - they also apparently didn't know calcium carbonate by the name "chalk" - holy shit I'm thinking about calling this place tomorrow and giving them some monkeyfighting instruction on brewing...

[zymot]

Not bad advice at all. I can't believe it but the guys at the LHBS told him needs to add gypsum. How the hell could they know what he needs???

Wait a minute. It is very possible that the LHBS knows what the water profile is like for the area. "What town do yo live in?" "Springville." "Springville's water is pretty soft, for a stout you should add X grams of Mineral Y for stouts per 5 gallons"Some the most common topics on brewing forums are about water and water adjustments. If I owned a LHBS, I would research the local water supplies and have safe rule of thumb answers at the ready. I would not want to have a customer suffering from homebrewer's nervousa in my shop saying "What should I do? What do I need?" Then I tell them, "Go look it up."Not knowing any more of the story than the quote above, I can't jump to any conclusions about the validity of the advise, one way or the other.However, I agree with Mtn, do no harm. Do not add anything unless you have some information that leads you to the addition. Otherwise, you are just guessing and hoping.One way to go is to start with RO water or distilled water. Then you are working with a clean slate. Mineral additions should then be fairly easy to determine.zymot

[djinkc]

Yeah, leave it alone. My water clouds pretty fast but that doesn't mean much. I don't do any salt additions for any styles. Don't have great water here but pretty good for about anything. J. Palmer told me once after looking at a H20 report that I might need some chalk, never added any - they turn out nice.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Wait a minute. It is very possible that the LHBS knows what the water profile is like for the area. "What town do yo live in?" "Springville." "Springville's water is pretty soft, for a stout you should add X grams of Mineral Y for stouts per 5 gallons"Some the most common topics on brewing forums are about water and water adjustments. If I owned a LHBS, I would research the local water supplies and have safe rule of thumb answers at the ready. I would not want to have a customer suffering from homebrewer's nervousa in my shop saying "What should I do? What do I need?" Then I tell them, "Go look it up."Not knowing any more of the story than the quote above, I can't jump to any conclusions about the validity of the advise, one way or the other.However, I agree with Mtn, do no harm. Do not add anything unless you have some information that leads you to the addition. Otherwise, you are just guessing and hoping.One way to go is to start with RO water or distilled water. Then you are working with a clean slate. Mineral additions should then be fairly easy to determine.zymot

two things jump out at me:1. I don't believe he told them where he is from and I find it unlikely they'd know what his water is like since it's a small community well2. They didn't know what chalk was when he asked for it and I know they sell calcium carbonate there

[Stout_fan]

This fits in with the folks that grab a salt shaker and start madly adding it to their food before tasting it.My water is high in chlorine and is perfect for brewing stouts....go figure.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

This fits in with the folks that grab a salt shaker and start madly adding it to their food before tasting it.My water is high in chlorine and is perfect for brewing stouts....go figure.

you are lucky given the type of beer you apparently like best

[Deerslyr]

Zymot, good answer. He could use distilled water and just add what he needs for a good stout. The better answer would be- If he was to use his tap water he should not add anything. If he uses distilled he can add what minerals an ions he needs.

Matt... I completely agree with you and was going to post the same. If he want's to hit his profile, he should go purchase the distilled water and add the minerals. Would likely be the best way to approximate the water. Otherwise, if its tap... do nothing unless he's willing or can find the report. Although it would be a great service, I'd be surprised if either of my LHBS's knew the water profile for my town.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So the poor guy's chiller burst on him last night. He got it used (for free) so I don't know what happened but apparently the copper actually broke - I've never heard of this happening...

[consumptionjunction]

corrosion maybe? it's good to let them drain after use.

[stangbat]

So the poor guy's chiller burst on him last night. He got it used (for free) so I don't know what happened but apparently the copper actually broke - I've never heard of this happening...

I'd guess it was left in a cold garage over the winter and froze and cracked. The first use probably found the weak spot. Too bad, but it can probably be fixed. Hope the beer is okay.