smyrnaquince
Well-Known Member
My wheat beers do not taste right. I finally realized that my water pH is too high. Using my water department report (yes, I know, not as good as a water test) I plugged my recipes into the EZ Water Calculator.
As expected, the lighter the beer, the higher my pH. Based on a few beers I've brewed:
Brown Ale 5.55
Stout 5.64
Hefeweizen (with acidulated malt) 5.66
APA 5.74
Hefeweizen 6.02
(I have no explanation why the Brown Ale would come out with a lower pH than the stout.)
I want to brew a Witbier and EZ Water shows my pH coming up at 5.99.
Should I use Acidulated Malt or chemicals (e.g., gypsum, epsom, calcium chloride, lactic acid)?
Is there a general rule when to use or not use Acidulated Malt, i.e., are there styles it is good for or bad for? I assume you would just substitute it for some of the base malt.
Right now, using EZ Water, doing a 6-gallon BIAB mash for 2.5 gallons of beer, my plan is to add:
4 g Gypsum (CaSO4)
2 g Epsom Salts (MgSO4)
4 ml Lactic Acid
This combination predicts a pH of 5.4 and puts my water profile into Palmer's ranges and gets me in the ballpark of Hoegaarden's water profile.
As expected, the lighter the beer, the higher my pH. Based on a few beers I've brewed:
Brown Ale 5.55
Stout 5.64
Hefeweizen (with acidulated malt) 5.66
APA 5.74
Hefeweizen 6.02
(I have no explanation why the Brown Ale would come out with a lower pH than the stout.)
I want to brew a Witbier and EZ Water shows my pH coming up at 5.99.
Should I use Acidulated Malt or chemicals (e.g., gypsum, epsom, calcium chloride, lactic acid)?
Is there a general rule when to use or not use Acidulated Malt, i.e., are there styles it is good for or bad for? I assume you would just substitute it for some of the base malt.
Right now, using EZ Water, doing a 6-gallon BIAB mash for 2.5 gallons of beer, my plan is to add:
4 g Gypsum (CaSO4)
2 g Epsom Salts (MgSO4)
4 ml Lactic Acid
This combination predicts a pH of 5.4 and puts my water profile into Palmer's ranges and gets me in the ballpark of Hoegaarden's water profile.