Adding non iodine salt to water treatment

[Beer-lord]

In my ever quenching thirst for better water to brew with, I've done a bit more researching and recently listened to a podcast by some small town brewer in small town America who won lots of awards with many different styles of beer and he said his semi secret was adding some table salt (non iodine) to his water profile. I know that's not new but almost everything I've read leaves this out lately.

What he does with a water calculator, (he uses Brewer's Friend) using RO water, is choose the target profile then adds the salt to hit the desired NA+ first, then he goes to Epsom Salt, Gypsum and finall Calcium Chloride, in that order. He said doing it this way had given him much better water to work with. He then uses Lactic Acid to reach his desired ph. He doesn't always need all those salts depending on the beer style but he still goes in that order saying setting the sodium has made the difference for him. He's noticed the difference mostly on the hoppier beers as well as pales and pilsners and said the aromas are more pronounced as well as cleaner, sharper flavors. Others say it rounds out the malt flavor in their maltier beers. I've only used salt once and it was long ago in a faux kolsch and really liked that beer but then just forgot about it.
So, I'm going to try this in the future and see where it takes me.

Anyone else use table salt in their water profile?

[Kealia]

Nope. Never. But like you, I'm always curious to hear about new (to me) approaches to things.

[Beer-lord]

I'm pretty sure the previous owner of my LHBS suggested this in his recipes though I have no doubt the water you start with would make a HUGE difference in whether it's needed or not. So, my question is probably more for those who use RO or Distilled water.
If and when I try it, I'll certainly bore everyone here with it.

[MadBrewer]

I have done so when adjusting my water. Mostly for darker beers as Indo feel it helped round out the malt flavor as you mentioned. Its something I have gotten away from but is worth experimenting with.

[Beer-lord]

Slow day at work so I did lots more reading on the subject then I happen to go to my LHBS website and surprise, they had info on how they do it. Maybe they listened to the same podcast I do. Maybe I heard about the podcast from the LHBS, I don't know but either way, here's their take on it if anyone is interested.
FYI, I've been using Screwybrewer's EZRecipe water tool and it's been working very well for me. I've tested it beside Brun Water and 8 out of 10 times, EZRecipe is closer to what my actual PH is.

When Brewstock brews any type of beer, we build all of our brewing water from scratch using deionized water and minerals purchased at Brewstock. Deionized water is great because it is water in its purest form, two hydrogens and one oxygen. Below is a brief step by step showing how to use the invaluable Brewer’s Friend Water Tool.

Enter your water amounts where prompted as Total Water Volume, Mash Water, and Sparge Water.
Enter your Source Water profile. If using Deionized water, the numbers should all be 0 in this section. If using the very not recommended chlorine/chloramine ridden municipal Orleans Parish water profile, grab it from above and enter the minerals where prompted.
Open Target Water Selection, choose a profile from above, and enter the numbers where prompted, this should change the deltas showing less with red numbers or more with green numbers.
Scroll to Salt Additions. You have the option of adding all your salts to the mash water (click the checkbox) without adding anything to your sparge water, or treating your entire volume of water beforehand.
The main 4 minerals you will be using is Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum), Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom), and Sodium Chrlode (table salt). Be sure that your table salt has NO IODINE in it! Iodine will kill yeast and inhibit fermentation. We like to use kosher salt, or flaked sea salt.
Start by adding an amount in grams to the Table/Other Salt (NaCl) prompt until you hit the correct number for Na+ shown above. The delta should be a green number as close to the water profile as possible.
Next add an amount in grams to the Epsom Salt prompt until you hit the correct number for Mg+2 shown above. The delta should be a green number as close to the water profile as possible.
Next add an amount in grams to the Gypsum (Ca+2 SO4) prompt until you hit the correct number for SO4 shown above. Again, the delta should be a green number as close to the water profile as possible.
Last mineral (for now), add an amount in grams to the Calcium Chloride (CaCl) prompt until you hit the correct number for CaCl shown above. Get as close as you can to the target profile.
Next scroll down and open the tab labeled Grist Info, and choose the checkbox for malt bill. Enter your grain names, weight, type of grain, and estimated lovibond numbers in the prompts. Without adding this data, the calculator will not work correctly.
Next scroll back up and open the Acid Additions tab. Choose your Acid Type, the most popular choices are Lactic and Phosphoric. Add your acid amount in the prompt in grams or milliliters (they are the same), until you see your mash pH at the top of the page drop between 5.2 – 5.4.
Done! Scroll back up and write down how much of each mineral and acid to add to your strike water. Then weigh out your minerals and start brewing!

Above info taken from here.

[HerbMeowing]

I add non-iodine (Kosher; pickling) salt to every batch ... mainly PAs/IPAs ... per Bru'n Water.
For a 2.5G batch-size brewed with well water of moderate hardness ... ~0.4 grams to the mash and ~0.6 to the kettle.

At the risk of preaching to the choir ... stay away from ordinary table salt b/c it contains iodine which is toxic to yeast.

[mashani]

Salt is a pretty common water addition for me.

[Beer-lord]

Yes, I've read about salt for years but I guess the thing that stood out the most to me was adding it in the calculator first. I always start with gypsum and work towards the target profile first then, as mentioned, any lactic acid needed for ph.

[HerbMeowing]

I always start with gypsum and work towards the target profile first ...

FWIW ... Martin Brungard of Bru'n Water fame adds Mg and NA first followed by the Ca salts (personal communication - 2015)

[BlackDuck]

Not me...I use a combination of tap water and distilled. My tap water is really high is sodium, so I have to dilute most water profiles down with the distilled water just to get the sodium level to an acceptable range. Then I add the other stuff in to balance it out.

[Beer-lord]

Bringing back a dead thread because I never updated it. But, I have used a small amount (never more than 2 grams) in 6 beers since I posted this in July 2019 and while I have no side by side comparison to try, I can say that all the beers that have had salt added were perfectly fine beers! Meaning, I really can't say whether it's made a difference or that I even notice it. However, when called for, I will continue to use it. I have seen it in a few clone recipes though rarely and it's use, along with Epsom salt (which many say is not needed due to most grains giving what is needed to the mash) is discussed often. But, if you use lots of gypsum, do not add much, if any, to the water as you may get a minerally flavor in high doses.
Finally, I saw a few Ballast Point clones on their website a while back that listed table salt so it appears that there may be some pro brewers using it as well.

[mashani]

FWIW:

The minerally flavor from the Gypsum is desirable in certain British beer styles. You will not simulate any Samuel Smiths beers for example if you don't get that component and use a yeast that lets it shine and plays against it with stone fruit esters (like West Yorkshire or Ringwood).

As far as the salt, I have somewhat hard water here in the land of the Eerie Lake, but with just a little bit of salt added (and no other adjustments), I end up with an almost perfect Cologne (Kolsch) water profile and it make great Kolsch straight up with it, and that profile works well for many German and Belgian Lagers (because not all of them are BoPils, contrary to what the Internet says much of the time when it comes to lager water).

I can also match Dortmund water with a little bit of salt, some baking soda, and some calcium chloride, but unless making a Dortmund I rarely bother, as the Cologne water makes good German Lagers on its own.