Beer Forum

I'm using Beersmith to match Tasty McDole's water profile, specifically, to get the sulfates up to 350 ppm. But I am not sure if I calculate my mineral additions based on my batch size (5.5 gallons), on the total strike water, or on the total water used (including sparge water). For example, inputting 5.5 gallons says I need 8 g of gypsum and 5.4 g of Epsom salt. But I am using 8 gallons *total* (including sparge water), which changes the calculation to 11.7 g of gypsum and 7.9 g of Epsom salt. Obviously a big difference.

Does anyone know what water volume I should be focused on when calculating mineral additions to get my sulfates up to 350 ppm?

I would use Ez water to bru'n water for the calculation, they'll provide a much better result. You calculate twice, once for total mash volume and then total sparge volume (this addition can be added directly to the boil).

NervousDad wrote:bru'n water

+1
If you want Tasty's profile, your going to have to treat all your water.

Okay. I tried Ez Water, and that cleared everything up. Thanks for the tips! Total water, got it.

NervousDad wrote:I would use Ez water to bru'n water for the calculation, they'll provide a much better result. You calculate twice, once for total mash volume and then total sparge volume (this addition can be added directly to the boil).

BeerSmith doesn't break it down for you?

I still use ProMash (tried BeerSmith, didn't like it, ProMash works just fine) & it does the same thing. Punch in your numbers once & it tells you how much to add where.

It just gives totals for the given quantity of water, no pH for Mash/Sparge either.

And I couldn't tell from Beersmith whether to calculate just based on strike water for the mash or also the sparge water. Ez Water cleared that right up.

NervousDad wrote:It just gives totals for the given quantity of water, no pH for Mash/Sparge either.

Wow... just wow.

There's a reason ProMash isn't being updated... it doesn't need to be. Honestly my biggest complaint is that you can't enter your refract readings in SG... but almost all refracts with SG are dual scale (or take a second to do simple math), it's not that big of a deal.