I'm an all-grain brewer and have decided to dive into the world of brewing water chemistry. I'm an aeronautical engineer by trade so I was forced to take chemistry in college but I certainly didn't want to.
Anyway I have what I think are two minor questions. First question is regarding the tablets you drop in your brewing water to get rid of the chlorine. I personally use a carbon filter but I think they do the same job. Anyway I recently got a water report from WARD labs and the water I sent them was just out of the tap (not filtered). My question is, when you add those tabs or send your water through a carbon filter does it effectively make your Cl- number zero. That could have a big effect on the calculations if it does. With the Cl-/SO4 ratio being so important I would think sending the water through a filter would completely mess up the calculations.
The second is regarding mash pH. If I use any of the numerous tools online a lot of my lighter beers end up with a mash pH of 5.8-5.9. Even after adjusting the salts to where I want them I find I always have to use about 3-4ml of lactic acid. Do you think this acid addition is worth the time and will produce a better beer. The reason I ask is because folks like John Palmer don't seem to focus that much on pH, more on alkalinity.
Anyway I have what I think are two minor questions. First question is regarding the tablets you drop in your brewing water to get rid of the chlorine. I personally use a carbon filter but I think they do the same job. Anyway I recently got a water report from WARD labs and the water I sent them was just out of the tap (not filtered). My question is, when you add those tabs or send your water through a carbon filter does it effectively make your Cl- number zero. That could have a big effect on the calculations if it does. With the Cl-/SO4 ratio being so important I would think sending the water through a filter would completely mess up the calculations.
The second is regarding mash pH. If I use any of the numerous tools online a lot of my lighter beers end up with a mash pH of 5.8-5.9. Even after adjusting the salts to where I want them I find I always have to use about 3-4ml of lactic acid. Do you think this acid addition is worth the time and will produce a better beer. The reason I ask is because folks like John Palmer don't seem to focus that much on pH, more on alkalinity.