MrAverage
Well-Known Member
I'm trying not to obsess over water chemistry but....
I'm planning to brew a dark mild (lots of dark malts) and according to Bru'n Water, I need to add bicarbonate to get my mash PH up to the right range. I can't do this using baking soda without blowing out the sodium levels so I'm left with adding chalk or Calcium Hydroxide (aka Pickling Lime).
I understand that chalk is pretty much insoluble in water, so it would seem like the calcium hydroxide would be the preferred method...except for the fact that I can't find the stuff anywhere, including my LHBS (they've never heard of it) and my usual online home brew suppliers.
So, what to you folks do when dealing with this problem? Do you just use the chalk in the mash and forget about the fact that it's not really going to dissolve in the water or do you all have access to a secret stash of calcium hydroxide? By the fact that the calcium hydroxide seems to be absent from the standard brewing supply inventory, I assume it's the former, but I thought I'd ask.
I'm planning to brew a dark mild (lots of dark malts) and according to Bru'n Water, I need to add bicarbonate to get my mash PH up to the right range. I can't do this using baking soda without blowing out the sodium levels so I'm left with adding chalk or Calcium Hydroxide (aka Pickling Lime).
I understand that chalk is pretty much insoluble in water, so it would seem like the calcium hydroxide would be the preferred method...except for the fact that I can't find the stuff anywhere, including my LHBS (they've never heard of it) and my usual online home brew suppliers.
So, what to you folks do when dealing with this problem? Do you just use the chalk in the mash and forget about the fact that it's not really going to dissolve in the water or do you all have access to a secret stash of calcium hydroxide? By the fact that the calcium hydroxide seems to be absent from the standard brewing supply inventory, I assume it's the former, but I thought I'd ask.