Does 52 ph stabilizer add anything to your water profile?

[CanadianNorth]

so,


I've been doing some AG brews for a while now, praying my local water is good, and using 52 stabilizer.

Things are going good, but I'd like to start adjusting my water chemistry. I got a copy of the local water profile, and using Palmer's spreadsheet (http://howtobrew.com/section3/Palmers_Mash_RA_ver2e.xls) I have done up a profile for my next brew.

My question is, is using 52 Ph stabilizer going to change the chemistry of my water? And, will it affect the residual alkalinity that I'm trying to achieve?

Am I better staying away from 52 stabilizer and using acids to adjust my mash?

 

[BigEd]

The 5.2 product does not really change the water profile and it does not provide any essential brewing ions to the water. It is not a substitute for having a correct brewing water profile. If your brewing water is properly adjusted with traditional brewing salts to provide the right balance and essential ions the mash pH should fall into the correct range.

 

[CanadianNorth]

The 5.2 product does not really change the water profile and it does not provide any essential brewing ions to the water. It is not a substitute for having a correct brewing water profile. If your brewing water is properly adjusted with traditional brewing salts to provide the right balance and essential ions the mash pH should fall into the correct range.

Thanks,

My local water profile looks like this:

Source Water
Calcium (ppm) 2
Magnesium (ppm) 1
Alkalinity as CaCO3 7
Sodium (ppm) 4
Chloride (ppm) 6
Sulfate (ppm) 0
Water pH 7


After additions I am looking at:

Calcium (ppm) 43
Magnesium (ppm) 15
Alkalinity as CaCO3 175
Sodium (ppm) 70
Chloride (ppm) 46
Sulfate (ppm) 69

with an effective hardness of 41, and a residual alkalinity of 109.
the estimated SRM value is 14-19 (my goal is a 17 SRM English Bitter).

All done with Palmer's spreadsheet.

I'll check my PH on mash day and see if I need to add anything buffer, or maybe I'll pick up some acid.

 

[BigEd]

That's way too much alkalinity for a pale ale IMO and seems more suited to something like a porter. Both the calcium and the sulphate seem too low. I would suggest adding more gypsum (calcium sulphate) and reducing the amount of whatever you used to increase the alkalinity. You won't need acid to adjust the mash but you may want to consider using some to keep the pH of the sparge water down.

 

[CanadianNorth]

That's way too much alkalinity for a pale ale IMO and seems more suited to something like a porter. Both the calcium and the sulphate seem too low. I would suggest adding more gypsum (calcium sulphate) and reducing the amount of whatever you used to increase the alkalinity. You won't need acid to adjust the mash but you may want to consider using some to keep the pH of the sparge water down.

Thanks,

I was incorrect in the beer, I meant Northern English Brown Ale. I had my next two batches mixed up! That would definitely be too much alkalinity otherwise!