What is Gynsum used for in the Wort??

[jstrausss]

I know I 'm Spelling that wrong but this weekend I had a Mix that required Gynsum in the Receipt . What is that used for , and the worst part about it . I forgot to add it to the Wort , and put it in at the last 10 Minutes of Boil . Is that going to Kill My Beer ?

John

[paul84043]

It's typically added to distinctly British style beers to replicate the hardness in thier water. The higher mineral content is supposed to accentuate the bitter hop effect and give it a more authentic flavor.
You're not going to hurt your beer as long as you added it early enough to sterilize it. putting it in late may add a bit to the effect, I don't know. You'll be fine.

[jstrausss]

Thanks for your input. I hope it comes out Nice .

[YamahaXS]

yep, Paul is right and by the way its spelled Gypsum. Depending on the water hardness where you live, you may not want to add any, or as much to your wort.

[paul84043]

Is there any place that you can go to have your water professionally tested? I know that you can buy test strips, but they are historically not super accurate.
Another way would probably be to boil and let your brewing water sit and settle out for a day or two, then use the water off the top which should be less hard than it started out, and add Gypsum to that. That would at least give you consistent results.
There's also bottled water which tells you it's mineral content.

[Richard English]

The brewing centre of the UK was originally Burton on Trent where they brewed light coloured, bitter beers. This was because the water there was hard.

Soft water is better for making stouts - which is why Guinness made in Dublin is said to be so much better than that made elsewhere; Irish water is very soft.

These days, of course, it's posible to adjust the elements in the water so as to meet the demands of any recipe.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend using bottled water to brew with. If it's anything like as expensive in the USA as it is in the UK, it's cheaper to buy beer from the brewers! Bottled water in the UK costs more than petrol (gas) and our petrol costs twice as much as yours in any case!

[paul84043]

I was really referring more to the Filtered, or "purified" water that you can buy by the gallon. It's not nearly as expensive as the premium bottled water.
I just boil mine.

[YamahaXS]

Just a thought, but my dehumidifier pulls out an amazing amount of moisture from my basement air during the spring, summer and fall months.

That should be pretty pure H2O, plus a few airborn beasties.

[danno]

If you are on any sort of city water system, they are required to test their water on a regular basis and post the results. Just call them and ask for a water quality report. If you want to send a sample someplace to get tested, just enter "water testing" into Google, there are a ton out there...

Here's my city water system test report: St. Paul Regional Water Services (http://www.stpaul.gov/depts/water/pages/mineraltable.htm)

[jstrausss]

Wow - thats cool - I think I just might do that . Thanks

[Tweek]

Just a thought, but my dehumidifier pulls out an amazing amount of moisture from my basement air during the spring, summer and fall months.


Along with all sorts of bad fungus/mold spores, make sure you boil hard for at least 15 minutes if you attempt to use this water. Personally I would lean towards boiling tap water the night before brewing and then letting the minerals settle out. This is not as good as distillation but works fairly well.

[paul84043]

I guess it really depends on your water. I have a hot tub and I have to add a whole bunch of Calcium to actually harden my water because out of the tap it's way too soft. (I don't really understand that, but it's what the manufacturer recommends)
The main reason I boil is to remove the chlorine and to kill off any remaining micro-beasties.