Chimay (Scourmont Abbey), Belgium. Moderately hard water with high residual alkalinity - suited to dark, roasty beers, with sulfate and chloride roughly in balance.
| Ion | ppm |
|---|---|
| Calcium (Ca²⁺) | 70 |
| Magnesium (Mg²⁺) | 7 |
| Sodium (Na⁺) | 7 |
| Chloride (Cl⁻) | 21 |
| Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) | 21 |
| Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) | 216 |
| Brewing numbers | |
|---|---|
| Total hardness (as CaCO₃) | 203.6 ppm |
| Alkalinity (as CaCO₃) | 177.1 ppm |
| Residual alkalinity (as CaCO₃) | 123.1 ppm |
| Sulfate-to-chloride ratio | 1.0:1 |
Salts to add to reverse-osmosis or distilled water, calculated by the BrewWaterSolver solver with the most common homebrew salts.
| Salt | 5 gal (18.9 L) | 20 L |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) | 0.70 g | 0.74 g |
| Epsom salt (MgSO₄) | 1.01 g | 1.07 g |
| Chalk (CaCO₃) | 3.09 g | 3.26 g |
| Baking soda (NaHCO₃) | 0.29 g | 0.30 g |
Closest match with these salts; it can't reach Ca 78.5 ppm vs 70 exactly.
Chalk (CaCO₃) doesn't dissolve well directly in mash or sparge water without dissolved CO₂ - slurry it in carbonated water (e.g. sparkling water) before adding it, rather than mixing it into still water or sprinkling it in dry, or the calculated amount may not fully dissolve. How to dissolve chalk with CO₂
Stan Hieronymus, Brew Like a Monk (Brewers Publications, 2005), via a water-chemistry compilation (Bru'n Water) that independently corroborates the same Ca/Mg/Na/SO4/Cl (70/7/7/21/21) - HCO3 (216 here vs. 205 in that compilation) is a minor rounding difference.