EZ Water Adjustment Calculator  
    For Brewing Beer  
                         
    Starting Water Calcium Magnesium Sodium Chloride

Sulfate

-     Bicarbonate (HCO3 ppm)    
      (Ca ppm) (Mg ppm) (Na ppm) (Cl ppm) (SO4 ppm) -     Alkalinity (CaCO3 ppm)    
    Starting Water Profile:      
    (ppm = mg/L)            
      Mash Water Sparge Water Distilled Water        
      Volume (gal) Volume (gal) Dilution Rate        
    Volumes/Dilution:            
                         
                         
    Adjustments Chalk Gypsum Calc. Chloride Epsom Salt Baking Soda Non-Iodized Salt HCL Acid Lactic Acid    
      CaCO3 CaSO4  CaCl2 MgSO4 NaHCO3 NaCl (Lowers RA) (Lowers RA)    
      (Raises RA) (Lowers RA) (Lowers RA) (Lowers RA) (Raises RA) (No affect on RA)    
      (No Affect Cl:SO4) (Lowers Cl:SO4) (Raises Cl:SO4) (Lowers Cl:SO4) (No Affect Cl:SO4) (Raises Cl:SO4) ml ml    
    Mash Additions (grams):    
           
    Sparge Additions (add to boil):    
                         
                         
    Results Calcium Magnesium Sodium Chloride Sulfate Alkalinity      
      (Ca ppm) (Mg ppm) (Na ppm) (Cl ppm) (SO4 ppm) (CaCO3 ppm)        
    New Water Profile:        
    Recommended Range: 50-150 10-30 0-150 0-250 50-350 See RA below      
         
                       
      Residual Best for   Chloride to Best for        
      Alkalinity this color   Sulfate Ratio this style        
               
           
      Below .50 = Very Bitter        
     

 

 

   .50 to .77 = Bitter        
        .77 to 1.3 = Balanced        
      1.3 to 2.0 = Malty        
        Above 2.0 = Very Malty        
                         
             
     

     
     
 
Instructions:                
Step 1:  Enter your starting water profile, mash & sparge volumes, and dilution rate (if any).
Step 2:  Examine the results.
1) Residual Alkalinity (RA) - See if the corresponding color range (SRM) matches the beer you are brewing.   If not, the RA will need to be adjusted in order for the mash to be at the proper pH.
2) Chloride to Sulfate Ratio - Determine if this needs to be adjusted in order to match the style/flavor of your beer.
3) Individual Mineral Levels - Take note of which mineral levels need to be adjusted in order to fall within the recommended ranges shown.  Alternatively you can try to match these levels to a particular region or other set of guidelines.
Step 3:  Modify the results by making salt additions.  The goal here is to get: 1) The RA to coincide with your recipe color, 2) The chloride to sulfate ratio to a desired flavored profile, and 3) The individual mineral levels to within recommended ranges.
               
Notes:
Add mash salts directly to the mash.  Add sparge salts directly to the boil (not the sparge).  You may choose not to add certain salts for the sparge water in order to keep some minerals lower in the total water (sodium for example).  In this case, simply uncheck the appropriate box (available on the spreadsheet versions only).
               
For an excellent video series about adjusting water using this spreadsheet (courtesy Bobby M), go here:      
Water Modification Videos, TH's Spreadsheet              
               
For more information about how this works and why, I highly recommend reading John Palmer's entire chapter on water found here:     
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15.html            
               
Source:  The recommended mineral ranges, RA to SRM recommendations, and Cl to SO4 ratio recommendations are all based on John Palmer's RA spreadsheet and pH nomograph.
               
Created by: TH                
Version 1.6 (1-20-10)