I've been reading the mash section of How to Brew and tried the EZ water calculator but I've had some problems applying the information. I live in Vancouver, British Columbia and our water is very soft:
Calcium - 1.4 ppm
Magnesium - 0.2 ppm
Sodium - 1.8 ppm
Sulphate - 1.0 ppm
Chloride - 1.8 ppm
Bicarbonate - 4.6 ppm
PH - 6.7
Whenever I check the mash pH it is always very low. Even when I pull out all the dark grains and mash only pale malt, the pH always seems to be in the 4.9 range. I've tried adding chalk to the mash but even adding 2 teaspoons to a 3 gallon mash only brought the pH to maybe 5.0. The beer turns out ok, I get consistent 75+ efficiency and hit my OG and FG so what is going on? I've asked other local homebrewers and the homebrew shop and didn't get a satisfactory answer- I was told not to worry about water if I'm hitting the gravities and the local homebrewers I've talked to who do water adjustments only copy city profiles and don't check their pH. I've tried replicating water profiles on a couple batches but the addition of gypsum, epsum and CaCl made the pH even lower. I've even asked a couple of local pro brewers and they both said "the water is perfect, don't worry, just brew". I do brew, but asking me not to worry is counter to my obsessive compulsive nature! Is this some sort of brewer's secret that they don't want to share? Am I missing some critical step? Am I just not reading the pH correctly? I have the mash range pH strips, with a spoon I pull some liquid from the mash, I let it cool and then dip the strips and take a reading. As the mash sample is now at room temp, should I subtract .3 from the pH? The pH numbers I cited above are without this adjustment, does this mean that my 4.9 mash is actual 4.6? Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Calcium - 1.4 ppm
Magnesium - 0.2 ppm
Sodium - 1.8 ppm
Sulphate - 1.0 ppm
Chloride - 1.8 ppm
Bicarbonate - 4.6 ppm
PH - 6.7
Whenever I check the mash pH it is always very low. Even when I pull out all the dark grains and mash only pale malt, the pH always seems to be in the 4.9 range. I've tried adding chalk to the mash but even adding 2 teaspoons to a 3 gallon mash only brought the pH to maybe 5.0. The beer turns out ok, I get consistent 75+ efficiency and hit my OG and FG so what is going on? I've asked other local homebrewers and the homebrew shop and didn't get a satisfactory answer- I was told not to worry about water if I'm hitting the gravities and the local homebrewers I've talked to who do water adjustments only copy city profiles and don't check their pH. I've tried replicating water profiles on a couple batches but the addition of gypsum, epsum and CaCl made the pH even lower. I've even asked a couple of local pro brewers and they both said "the water is perfect, don't worry, just brew". I do brew, but asking me not to worry is counter to my obsessive compulsive nature! Is this some sort of brewer's secret that they don't want to share? Am I missing some critical step? Am I just not reading the pH correctly? I have the mash range pH strips, with a spoon I pull some liquid from the mash, I let it cool and then dip the strips and take a reading. As the mash sample is now at room temp, should I subtract .3 from the pH? The pH numbers I cited above are without this adjustment, does this mean that my 4.9 mash is actual 4.6? Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.