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Aha....we may be getting somewhere. I do get my water tested every year and it is a bit high in alkalinity. I think I just went from really confused to just a little. 👍 Good to know it's me and not the software (which I assumed anyway). Thanks for the replies.

I do understand that software only provides an estimate based off of the SRM of the grain used. I'm not personally too concerned with any of this since I don't completely rely on estimates but rather use them as a starting point. I am just trying to make sense of what seems to be odd (to me)...

This is exactly what I am seeing.

I bought this years ago and it's perfect for small batches. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072NZKQXC

Yes, I am referring to mash pH measured at 15-20 minutes into the mash. So does it make any sense that using the same grain bill with RO water and minerals (chloride, sulfate and magnesium) added back in would result in the opposite behavior?

Because that is what I have experienced in the past. I noticed a change in mash pH when I started doing full volume BIAB brews.

Only when minerals are added back. If minerals are left out of the equation, the behavior is what I would expect, which is that the pH actually rises with a higher water to grain ratio.

Also, as I noted earlier, I was not expecting this behavior, so logic tells me that you are absolutely correct.

Chalk it up as software miscalculations then? I'm no chemist, so I am not doubting what you are saying. All I can say is that I was able to duplicate this behavior in Bru'n Water, Beersmith and Brewfather. Each one calculated it slightly differently, but were each consistent in that using a...

I should add that this is purely based on the pH calculations of software, I don't have notes of what the measured pH was.

Looking back, I believe Bru'n Water didn't calculate as drastic of a change in pH as other software did with RO water when doing full volume mash BIAB. It was several points higher, but it largely depends on the amount of minerals being added back to build up the water profile. The pH without...

In most cases, I would say yes, but it may depend on your water to grain ratio. With RO or distilled, I believe that the water to grain ratio has an opposite affect on pH as it does when using tap water. A full volume BIAB mash for a pale beer may not need much if any acidification, but the same...

+1 on the Little Big Mouth Bubbler. I have three that I use when I brew smaller batches. I think it's technically 1.4 gallons, and I ferment 1.25 gallon batches in them which is right at the top ring. Headspace has never been an issue at all and I get anywhere from 10 to 12 beers depending on...

When you say it was sealed with a clip, is the packet just sitting like that in the fridge, or did you store the packet in something else like a ziplock bag? I frequently do smaller batches and use partial packets of yeast. I store them similarly, but I also put the sealed packet into a ziplock...

I'm not so sure that this would be a good idea with all-grain since the majority of key nutrients would be missing or far too low.

A high mash pH can lead to astringency as well. If your water is high in pH, that risk remains regardless.

Perhaps it was just an older pack than you normally use or you had a bad pack...maybe this was just a one-off issue for you. If the use by date on the pack was March of 2022, then the manufactured date was September of 2021. Underpitched beer will certainly ferment, but I am surprised you've...

Oh, I get it, but hey, it's a natural reaction for home brewers to want to chime in and try to offer help...even when it's unsolicited, lol. As for your original post, I'm a pretty simple BIAB brewer myself.

If you only used one pack, you definitely underpitched. How much of an underpitch depends on how old the yeast was. but with that particular yeast at that OG, at the very least you should have pitched two packs or made a starter. It should start fermenting eventually, but it's going to put a...

Out of curiosity, did you direct pitch your yeast or did you make a starter?