Calcium chloride

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Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) is one of the main brewing salts used for water mineral adjustment because both calcium and chloride are commonly desired in the brewing water. Calcium improves mashing enzyme activity, beneficially lowers pH, improves protein coagulation, lowers oxalate, and improves yeast flocculation. Chloride provides a roundness, fullness, and accentuates the sweetness of the malt. Calcium chloride can be used in combination with calcium sulfate to control the sulfate:chloride ratio of the water, which affects the resulting hoppy vs malty balance of the beer.

Calcium chloride rapidly absorbs water from the air. This is a problem because as the amount of water increases, the amount of salt by weight decreases. Therefore, measuring by weight will not give an accurate amount of the salt content. Different commercial sources may also have different levels of purity. The best way to more accurately measure calcium chloride is to create a solution (dissolve the salt in water).

• https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/announcing-the-release-of-mash-made-easy-version-8-30-in-us-and-metric-formats.674132/

Products available online

• MoreBeer - 2 oz, 1 lb, 5 lb, 50 lb
• Pure (via Amazon) - 1 lb
• LD Carlson (via Amazon) - 1 lb

Usage

Use cool water to dissolve calcium chloride because it will generate significant heat. Add solid calcium chloride slowly while continuously mixing.

An alternate option is to bake your calcium chloride at 392°F (200°C) for at least an hour, which converts the calcium chloride closer to the anhydrous (no water) form.

Calcium chloride should be stored in tightly sealed containers and resealed promptly after use.

Chemical characteristics

Solubility 0.745g/mL (at 20 °C)

Density of 10% solution by mass: 1.0835 @ 20°C

Density of 10% solution by mass of calcium chloride in water is 1.0835 g/mL at 20 °C.

10% by weight: 1.085