Calcium Carbonate CaCO3: Brewing Salt

This is a boon to homemade winemakers.

1. It can precipitate the oxalic acid (a common problem in fruit wines) and improve the taste and stability.
2. It neutralizes the acidity and improves the taste of beverages. Unlike baking soda, it does not give a salty after-taste.
3. It is used to maintain pH balance across the beer brewing and wort mash-making process. Use it along with acid blend to achieve consistent results.
4. Ca++ ions it releases, make the brewing water hard and hoppiness more prominent. Hence used extensively to make IPAs from RO water. Calcium carbonate is an important burton salt.

Winemakers often give a few days rest after adding Calcium Carbonate to allow it to precipitate better.

Calcium Carbonate in Beer Brewing

1. It adds the necessary hardness (Ca++ ions) which increases the perceived hoppiness of IPA beers.
2. It is used during mashing to regulate the pH of the mash. The enzyme efficiency is highly dependent on the right temperature and pH.
3. It enhances the taste of the beer and improves mashing efficiency.

For the right weight to ppm calculation, remember that for Ca++ (Molar mass of calcium carbonate is 100.1). Also do monitor the wort pH as carbonate will raise it. To understand TA (Titratable acidity), please refer to this document.