Ph and Weyermann Acidulated Malt and beersmith

Maybe the wrong forum here - if so, I apologize...but it all started here!

I have ordered some Weyermann Acidulated Malt from Northern Brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/weyermann-acidulated.html) to use as part of the water correction process.

Stupid question - but I don't see this grain in the beersmith 2 database. I can probably add it, but wonder if there is a more common name that I would use to add it to my inventory?

Don't worry about spreadsheets/calculators. Just use Weyermann's rule of thumb: each percent, by weight, of grist which is sauemalz will lower the pH of the mash by about 0.1 pH unit relative to what it would be without the sauermalz. Pretty accurate in my experience.

I tested the rule of thumb out with a few small mashes only changing the percent of acid malt added, same grain & water for the mashes and got a similar trend to the Weyermann rule-of-thumb. I'd also just use 0.1 pH change per each % of 2% Acid Malt added to the mash.

pH meter was a Hanna pHep5 with fresh 7.01 & 4.01 buffers.

Sorry - I'm a bit confused. The primer baseline reads: Add 1 tsp of calcium chloride dihydrate (what your LHBS sells) to each 5 gallons of water treated. Add 2% sauermalz to the grist.

My RO has a pH of 7.1. Does the 2% guidline apply, or do I need to be closer to 18-20% to get my pH down in the 5's?

Omigosh no! The pH shift is relative to the distilled water mash pH. This is typically 5.6 - 5.8 for base malts and lower for darker malts so that for a typical base malt plus a bit of cara or crystal you might expect 5.6 - 5.7. Thus 2% would bring you down to 5.4 - 5.5.

As a side note it is unlikely that your RO water's pH is really as high as 7.1 as it picks up carbon dioxide from the air quite quickly resulting in a pH in the high 5's or low 6's. Erratic behaviour of pH meters in low ionic strength water is pretty typical though. They are difficult to measure.

Okay - thanks for straightening that out for me.

I was wondering about this also ,the EZ water cal says with with bout
half (for a 5gal batch) distilled water and 6 oz. of acidmalt is will bring
the PH into the right ball park (low to mid 5's) which is just right for
the ales and ipa's ,that I want to brew, for my water ,what i was
wondering about is taste ? what can i expect as to flavors /if any from
this addition ? thanks all

The 2 - 3% level is used commonly in lager brewing without any noticeable taste other than subtle complexities (not lactic flavor) that this malt lends. Most people don't even notice that.