Recent content by Silver_Is_Money

There are water reports which only indicate 'Total Hardness' (TH, as CaCO3) and leave you to guess as to Ca++ and Mg++. Thanks to initial work done by Kai Troester in this area, there is a method which makes a fairly decent (on average) guess as to these two ions. This method is derived as...

At pH 6.4 the mol fraction of HCO3- equals the mol fraction of H2CO3. That's where the 6.4 factor in the simple equation is derived. Various of published charts seem to drift this equilibrium point and you may see it placed as low as about pH 6.2 on some carbonate species charts. I think 6.4...

It's often claimed that 90% of initial HCO3- must be removed whereby to bring a waters pH to (the so very often targeted) 5.4 pH. Let's now find out why this is a valid claim: 5.40 = 6.40 + log(mol fraction of HCO3- to H2CO3) -1 = log(HCO3- ÷ H2CO3) 10^-1 = HCO3- ÷ H2CO3 10^-1 = 0.10 0.10 *...

@Peebee, can you use this simple formula within your spreadsheet somewhere? I never did much with it after uncovering it somewhere across the vastness of the internet. And now that I've become a Type 2 Diabetic who refuses to accept insulin shots and thereby controls blood sugar only via diet...

If it's any consolation, human taste buds are notoriously terrible judges of ingredient changes. For example, when seasoning foods with herbs and spices it may take on the order of a 25%-30% change in spice levels before anyone begins to notice. And this is why grandma doesn't measure. The...

@Peebee, you might consider adding in a simple 'cheat' multiplicative factor which force balances the Cations and Anions.

@Peebee. perhaps you're not really asking a question that involves Cation and Anion balance, but what you're really asking is why your kits (or someone's kits) titration derived Cation and Anion values don't resolve to perfectly harmonious balance. That's a kit problem. Kit resolution and...

Remember that to remove all Alkalinity (as CaCO3) requires a pH at right near 4, and that pH 5.4ish requires only ~90% removal.

For the benefit of the OP, residual alkalinity is merely an artifact (artificial construct) of the Barth and Zaman debunked Kolbach research dating to the 1930's. The kludge of Residual Alkalinity as a means to mash pH adjustment compensation must be abandoned whereby to achieve overall better...

@Peebee, I'm not sure at all as to what is being asked here. Low Alkalinity is accounted for and countered in exactly the same way as for high alkalinity. mEq's are mEq's, and all of chemistry as regards molecular level interaction is resolved via Eq's or mEq's. You want your mash plus your...

From testing it, I'm taking the firm position that CaCl2 generally comes from the unopened container as about 94%-96% pure CaCl2, and that you can't ever buy it as specifically the dihydride. 94% to 96% is much closer to anhydrous than it is to dihydride. When it is down to about 75.5% purity...

What was your starting SG (specific gravity), and what is it presently?

Nice work there PeeBee!

As I said, I have no idea as to what makes Beersmith tick. I can only stand behind my own work.

I have no idea as to what makes Beersmith tick, but I suspect it may be a Lovibond vs. SRM color difference issue on the input side. As an aside, I see where at some juncture Briess arbitrarily changed their malts from Lovibond to SRM, but didn't change the colors intensity valuations...