"5.2" in the sparge water

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So I usually always put 1 tbsp of "5.2" in my mash water. But I got to thinking, should I be putting it in the sparge water as well?

pH is just as important during the sparge as the mash, right?
 
From what I have read it is not really as important as the mash. The mash needs a good pH so that the full conversion can happen. The sparge does continue conversion (unless you do a mash out) but not at the same level.

I always adjust my mash water, but never my sparge water. I am no expert though and would be interested to hear what the more seasoned guys have to say.
 
i use it in both mash and sparge. i don't remember why right now but thats what i do lol

i think i might have read some where that you should use it for both but i'm not sure
 
I only add it to the mash. However, I treat my water (both sparge and mash) for the style I'm brewing and for the taste I'm trying to get. In other words the water I'm using is rather specific for the color of beer I'm brewing. If my brewing waters residual alkalinity was way off from the color of beer I was brewing I would most likely add 5.2 to the sparge water as well.

I'm simply using the 5.2 as insurance if my calculations for correcting residual alkalinity are off.
 
I add it to both. But i heat all my water (strike and sparge) together since I like to boil it first to sanitize it. Then I let it drop to my strike temp. Then i put the lid on and wait about 40 minutes. The left over water i use for sparging drops to about 120-140 in that time. About 15 to 20 minutes prior to sparge time i turn the heat back on and get my sparge water up to temp.
 
If your sparge water has high residual alkalinity, particularly if you fly sparge, you want to treat your sparge water (with something) so that you don't extract a lot of tannins when you sparge. The problem probably isn't as bad if you batch sparge, depending on how alkaline your water is.
 
Yes and no. As I understand it, it is best to not have your sparge water pH below 6 (7 preffered) as, depending on your grist, the grain you are sparging may not have the buffering capacity to counter a low, or high, pH.

I used to treat my HLT with 5.2 and, via pH papers, could see it work. However, I stopped becuse I was also seeing a higher rate of sedimentation in my HLT thus requiring more rigourous cleaning.

Now, I use Lactic Acid as a amendment to pH and find that a mere 4 mL/14gal can bring my avg pH 9.3 water to pH 7 with no alteration in taste. Now, I just use the 5.2 in the mash and my HLT is happier (cleaner) for it.
 
Yes and no. As I understand it, it is best to not have your sparge water pH below 6 (7 preffered) as, depending on your grist, the grain you are sparging may not have the buffering capacity to counter a low, or high, pH.

I used to treat my HLT with 5.2 and, via pH papers, could see it work. However, I stopped becuse I was also seeing a higher rate of sedimentation in my HLT thus requiring more rigourous cleaning.

Now, I use Lactic Acid as a amendment to pH and find that a mere 4 mL/14gal can bring my avg pH 9.3 water to pH 7 with no alteration in taste. Now, I just use the 5.2 in the mash and my HLT is happier (cleaner) for it.


Jeepers, your water pH is 9.3?

I'd say that if you have high pH water (maybe 7.5-8.0 or higher) and you're fly sparging, it's probably a good idea to treat your water with some acid to get the pH down in the 6-7 range.
 
I just recently listened to a podcast from The brewing network where J. Palmer and crew talked about 5.2 and they only talked about using it in the mash if I remember correctly. They also said they only use 3/4 the amount suggested to protect against possible off flavors from the 5.2.

They said they had the same results by using 3/4 when they tested it. So I really don’t have an answer but it sounds like a good idea to possibly use 1/2 and 1/2 for mash and sparging. My only concern is that with the mash maybe most of the product is absorbed by the gains and adding it to the sparge will pass more into your wort possibly causing a slight off flavor from the 5.2 itself?
 
The instructions say to add it to the mash. They say nothing about sparging.
I have never added it to the sparge.
 
I like to sparge hot, so I add pH 5.2 to the water. Zero tannin problems and no off-flavors.
 
Thanks for the comments/thoughts.

I'll probably just stick with the mash, as that's what the instructions say - and I'll start testing my sparge water pH and runnings and see where I'm at before I tblindly inker with sparge pH management
 
Do you guys check the pH of your sparge water after adding 5.2? I'd imagine it has a different effect when being added to pure water. The water chemistry of the mash is very different than the water alone.
 
Jeepers, your water pH is 9.3?

I'd say that if you have high pH water (maybe 7.5-8.0 or higher) and you're fly sparging, it's probably a good idea to treat your water with some acid to get the pH down in the 6-7 range.

Actually, as tested with a pH meter, it's 9.5!
 
The instructions say to add it to the mash. They say nothing about sparging.
I have never added it to the sparge.

The instructions on my tub of it don't say anything about the mash. They say to use a tbsp per 5 gallons of water used during the brew. No distinction of mash and sparge water indicated.
 
Uhhh, I can only imagine that the pH when it's added to water is 5.2, since that's what the buffer is designed to do. ;)
I don't think that is the case. From Palmer:
In 1953, P. Kohlbach determined that 3.5 equivalents (Eq) of calcium reacts with malt phytin to release 1 equivalent of hydrogen ions which can "neutralize" 1 equivalent of water alkalinity.
If you have very hard water, I would guess you would need to add a lot of 5.2 to move the pH of just the water (with no malt) down to 5.2. Not sure if that would be a problem though since excess 5.2 precipitates out AFAIK. I believe that 5.2 is meant to get you the rest of the way to a proper mash pH AFTER the malt has already helped to lower your pH.
 
The instructions on my tub of it don't say anything about the mash. They say to use a tbsp per 5 gallons of water used during the brew. No distinction of mash and sparge water indicated.

Read the fine print. It clearly states to put in the mash.:mug:

DSCN2132.jpg
 
If you are batch sparging then it won't make much of a difference either way.

If you are fly sparging then I think it would be a good idea to use it in the sparge water. In a fly sparge the water is in contact with the malt for a significant amount of time and in addition to a rinsing of the converted sugars et al is also somewhat of an extended mash, even though the temperature of the sparge water should also function as a mash out if you did not already do one before sparging. I would think an incorrect sparge pH could have some effect on any further extraction from the extended mash.
 
Read the fine print. It clearly states to put in the mash.:mug:

DSCN2132.jpg

Yea... but it ALSO says "In the boil 5 will give you more consistent hop usage" which implies you can use it in the boil as well. I suppose even if you were doing extract.

I don't think the instructions are clear.
 
Yea... but it ALSO says "In the boil 5 will give you more consistent hop usage" which implies you can use it in the boil as well. I suppose even if you were doing extract.

I don't think the instructions are clear.

If it's in the mash, it's going to be in the boil. ;)
 
Not if you use extract.

Alright, I called 5 star to ask some questions. It is only necessary to use 5.2 in the mash, if you want to use it in the sparge he said have at it, it sells more product. The directions were written by chemists with extensive brewing experience and their opinion is mash only.

As for extract, he said 5.2 was designed primarily to work with grains in the mash. But he said if you want to throw some in there that's fine. He said he would have to talk to a chemist to get opinions on any benefits. His main point was you can't hurt your beer by adding it wherever you want.
 
So I usually always put 1 tbsp of "5.2" in my mash water. But I got to thinking, should I be putting it in the sparge water as well?

pH is just as important during the sparge as the mash, right?

If you batch sparge, it's not necessary to adjust pH in the spare water if your mash is at the correct pH. Have you actually measured the pH after using 5.2? I've found erratic results with it.
 
If you batch sparge, it's not necessary to adjust pH in the spare water if your mash is at the correct pH. Have you actually measured the pH after using 5.2? I've found erratic results with it.

Thanks Denny, and no I haven't measured pH before - but I do have a probe now and will do so with my next batch.
 
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