Major error during mash, what happens?

[jsguitar]

OK, so what happens if you goof up and add too much slaked lime and find the ph way too high (5.64) and then over correct (5.34) with phosphoric acid 25 minutes in and then let it ride?

Making an English Mild and accidentally entered 4lbs of chocolate instead of 4oz into the calculator. This is a ten gallon batch. My calcium numbers still looked good with the addition so my mineral profile is fine. I suspect that the beer will be fine but I'm wondering if I should mash any extra time? Not sure if that would matter. It's been an hour now FWI.

 

[jsguitar]

I'm going to let it go at the lower ph until 9:30 for a 90 minute mash total. My temps were all over the place too. Started at 150 then 154 and then to 152. Next brew I'm going to make sure my coffee has fully kicked in before starting.

 

[trentm]

OK, so what happens if you goof up and add too much slaked lime and find the ph way too high (5.64) and then over correct (5.34) with phosphoric acid 25 minutes in and then let it ride?

Making an English Mild and accidentally entered 4lbs of chocolate instead of 4oz into the calculator. This is a ten gallon batch. My calcium numbers still looked good with the addition so my mineral profile is fine. I suspect that the beer will be fine but I'm wondering if I should mash any extra time? Not sure if that would matter. It's been an hour now FWI.

Hopefully the experts will chime in later. This mash pH amateur thinks 5.64 is not way too high and 5.34 is OK. Give it a few extra minutes if you're worried, I think you're golden.

 

[jsguitar]

Hopefully the experts will chime in later. This mash pH amateur thinks 5.64 is not way too high and 5.34 is OK. Give it a few extra minutes if you're worried, I think you're golden.

Thanks, hope so!

 

[agrazela]

Your beer will probably be ever-so-slightly darker than intended, but otherwise I agree that 5.62 is not way-over on mash pH. pH 6+ is another story.

 

[peterj]

Yeah I don't think the 5.62 is going to be too bad. I don't think you'll extract any tannins at that level and since you brought it back down you should be good.

Also, maybe it's just me, but I can't think of a single brewing situation where I would plan on using slaked lime or anything else to raise the pH. My tap water is fairly close to RO and I'm always trying to lower the pH. Maybe for an incredibly roasty stout (like what you entered on accident with 4 lbs of chocolate) but I've never brewed a stout that needed anything to raise the pH. Basically I'm saying if the water calculator is telling you to raise the pH, I would always check for a mistake.

 

[GotPushrods]

Making an English Mild...

Funny, last time I made Jamil's mild, I somehow hit a mash pH of 5.59. I just let it ride and turned out to be the best Mild I've ever brewed.

I generally reserve slightly higher pH for grists with roast malt, but this seemed to work. The best way I can describe it is "round"... very full without any 'edges'. The malt aroma was amazing and the hops were almost non-existent but perfect.

 

[jsguitar]

Funny, last time I made Jamil's mild, I somehow hit a mash pH of 5.59. I just let it ride and turned out to be the best Mild I've ever brewed.

I generally reserve slightly higher pH for grists with roast malt, but this seemed to work. The best way I can describe it is "round"... very full without any 'edges'. The malt aroma was amazing and the hops were almost non-existent but perfect.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm making right now. Fingers crossed.

 

[helibrewer]

You're going to be fine, those pH numbers are reasonable and your mash temp variations really aren't bad, that mass of grain probably didn't change temp as fast as your thermometer did anyway.

 

[jsguitar]

Yeah I don't think the 5.62 is going to be too bad. I don't think you'll extract any tannins at that level and since you brought it back down you should be good.

Also, maybe it's just me, but I can't think of a single brewing situation where I would plan on using slaked lime or anything else to raise the pH. My tap water is fairly close to RO and I'm always trying to lower the pH. Maybe for an incredibly roasty stout (like what you entered on accident with 4 lbs of chocolate) but I've never brewed a stout that needed anything to raise the pH. Basically I'm saying if the water calculator is telling you to raise the pH, I would always check for a mistake.

Thanks. After checking it with the right malts, the calculator suggested only 1 gram of slaked lime. I have to say that the Brewer's Friend advanced water Calculator was spot on for what I entered originally. You're probably right though, I probably could've skipped it. I'm using 80% RO and 20% filtered tap with a bit of minerals added back in. I mostly brew pale ales and IPA's and other lighter beers that need acid, so the few times I go to brew a darker beer I end up screwing up.

 

[peterj]

Thanks. After checking it with the right malts, the calculator suggested only 1 gram of slaked lime. I have to say that the Brewer's Friend advanced water Calculator was spot on for what I entered originally. You're probably right though, I probably could've skipped it. I'm using 80% RO and 20% filtered tap with a bit of minerals added back in. I mostly brew pale ales and IPA's and other lighter beers that need acid, so the few times I go to brew a darker beer I end up screwing up.

Oh yeah, I guess if you add salts to your total water ahead of time you might need to raise the pH sometimes. I usually just add salts to the mash tun as needed to lower the pH (which is little if any for stouts) and then add the rest to the kettle.

 

[jsguitar]

You're going to be fine, those pH numbers are reasonable and your mash temp variations really aren't bad, that mass of grain probably didn't change temp as fast as your thermometer did anyway.

Thanks. I guess I should've just let it ride. On the plus side, efficiency was good and it smelled like malt heaven. I think it's going to come out good.

 

[dmr]

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