Ok so I know just enough about water chemistry to be dangerous, but will adding calcium and or magnesium to sparge water help to buffer the ph down (or to help resist a rise in ph) during a sparge? Using ro water for mash and sparge.
I have also ran into the final running ph getting to high with the gravity still at 1.020.
Yes, with ro water. It doesn't sound right to me either, but i am having a tannin issues with 5 gallon batches. my ro system is a home unit and the TDS does vary from time to time. the ph where i cut the runnings is 5.8.
If the pH of the sparge is 5.8, that's fine. That's not too high.
If you are having tannin issues, it must be due to something else.
with that being said, i dont always get to check the ph of the final runnings. but i do always check the gravity (with the thought that above 1.010 should be fine). would it be possible to get the boil ph to high and extract excess polyphenols from the hops, but the mash ph's still be in range?
I don't see how. If the mash pH is, say, 5.4, and the sparge pH is 5.8, there can't be any way for the pH to rise.
rkorn74 said:What is RO water?
Is there any possiblity of excess tannin extraction from just running too much water through a grain bed even if the ph doesnt go over 5.8? (tho i think that they are extracted below 5.8 just not in excess)
I think that might be possible.
If you suspect tanning extraction issues, can you mash with more water and sparge less?
Kai
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