Ok, thanks. Than it will be 0.2g/l gypsum and 0.1g/l calcium chloride. I saw that my cousin level is quite low. What's the effect of sodium in brewing water?Yes, I think you will be fine.
Ok, thanks. Than it will be 0.2g/l gypsum and 0.1g/l calcium chloride. I saw that my cousin level is quite low. What's the effect of sodium in brewing water?Yes, I think you will be fine.
Ok, could have eplained that to myself actually... Kind of the same thing it does to sweet stuff like cake and so on, a little bit is acting like a flavour enhancer, too much gets salty.Paired with chloride at low levels it sweetens. Try adding a wee bit of table salt to a glass of beer. Obviously at higher levels it starts to taste salty but look at the salt content of some of the carbonated water products sold. It is quite high and there, I believe, to offset the sourness of the carbonic acid.
<snip>How would I adjust that recipe to account for the 2% sauermalz?
Ah ok that makes sense, thanks for the clarification.Just add 2% of the total malt bill as Sauermalz. The way A.J. has explained it in the past, the difference either way is not significant enough to matter a great deal.
I have read the first few pages of this post, but not all, so I apologize upfront if I am asking what has already been covered; there's a few years of posts here.
1st of all, based on the initial water recommendations, I should be diluting my existing water profile of Alk 98 (Bicarb 119), So4 9, Cl 4, Na 28, Ca 9, and Mg 4 by 2:1 of DI water. Is that correct?
The recommendations of adding CaCl and/or Gypsum to a 5 gal batch for different styles, does that mean I split the addition proportionately between the mash water and the sparge water or is the addition intended for just the mash?
I do have a pH meter (MW102) and can perform a test mash. Before I came across this Primer post, I was planning on making the mash additions based on Bru'n Water recommendations and then adjusting accordingly or would it be better to make these primer additions to the test mash first, or not make any additons. I am assuming that Bru'n Water is pretty accurate at calculating desired mineral additions.
Right now, I'm just trying to figure out my initial starting point/approach to the chemisty will be when I start a new brew. So far my experience without doing a test mash is that I'm not even close to the estimated pH from Bru'n Water. (+- .2 -.3) which I now understand is not unusual at all. I suppose I went into the water chemistry thinking that this was an exact science; just plug the numbers into a spreadsheet of choice, add the recommendations and wallah, you hit your numbers. Well, after being sufficiently humbled, I believe I'm getting a better feel for the "science" and the "art", much of the art being what our individual tastes are. Most of that education I can thank AJ and his tireless devotion to this forum.
Maybe opening up a hornets nest here, but related to the subject of mineral additions, is there any value to targeting a mineral profile for a particular style or specific brew. Bru'n Water has a lot of different mineral profiles and you can find tons of these on the internet. How about the Sulfate to Chloride ratio? How important are the mineral levels compared to getting the pH right?
What else should I order to keep on hand?
In order of liklihood that you will actually use them:
1)Calcium chloride
2)Calcium sulfate
3)Sodium bicarbonate
4)Sodium chloride
5)Magnesium sulfate
6)Calcium hydroxide
7)Sodium hydroxide
8)Potassium hydroxide
9)Sodium sulfate
10)Magnesium chloride
11)Potassium chloride
The first 6 should cover almost everything. The latter 5 would be for those who obsess about getting within a percent ion concentration for a particular profile they have obtained somewhere.
Acids will be needed. In order of liklihood of use
1)Lactic
2)Phosphoric
3)Hydrochloric
3)Sulfuric
3)Blend of hydrochloric and sulfuric (AMS/CRS)
4)Citric
Or the DI pH of one or all of the grains have changed.Bru’n Water is pretty accurate. If you didn’t even get close something went wrong with either your entries or with your brewing. Double back and review your process to try to figure out what it is.
For the same thing as the other acids which is to neutralize the bases in the malts you use and to convert bicarbonate ion (main source of alkalinity) in your water to CO2 thus neutralizing its alkalnity:Lactic and citric I get, but
Sulfuric, phosphoric, and HCl? Why do we use *those*?
Forgive me if it was stated in one of the 38 pages, but where is the best place to get your water tested to see what amounts of minerals are in it? I have well water with a Gordon Water Filtration system installed and want to find out what's left in my water.
This is essentially what I was getting at, I just saw a thread that talked about zinc, and how it's essential to yeast health and I thought to myself, "I wonder what other essential minerals/additions I'm leaving out with the new RO system".A very small amount of zinc is a necessary fermentation nutrient for yeast and some claim that it reduces harshness.
Does yeast nutrient provide zinc?[/USER]
PS: I'm willing to guess that up to 95+% of mash pH software assistant users don't check their mash pH because they (just as for you) have read that 'software product XXX' is always right under all circumstances. And then they go on to further perpetuate the myth since, hey, this is the internet, and whatever they say and we subsequently read on it is 100% guaranteed to be right. And as for those who do pH check, many take readings too early, say at 10-15 minutes into the mash (instead of the more appropriate 30 to 60 minute mark), and I believe that reading early often results in false low mash pH readings. Or worse yet, they use inadequate $10 class pH meters, or heaven forbid, pH paper. Or they apply a healthy dose of "confirmation bias".
And if a serious amount of baking soda make the beer taste too salty?The real question to be answered here is of course: Will this recipe mash at pH of 4.91 to begin with, and as such, should a ton of baking soda be pre-mixed into the mash water in advance (where it can be most efficacious to the peak of enzyme activity)?
4.91 pH must call for some serious baking soda, and I have my doubts about it.
And if a serious amount of baking soda make the beer taste too salty?
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