nhraj700
New Member
For years, I have always struggled with achieving a desirable mash ph with my lighter beers. After lurking in this forum for some time and reading the Water book, I knew what I needed to do, get a water report and look into water adjustment. A quick look at the free version of Bru N Water and subsequent donation to obtain the enhanced version was definitely a step in the right direction too. But here is my dilemma...
I received my Ward Water report and applied what I generated in Bru N Water to my first brew using some lactic acid and brewing minerals. Water modification definitely helped, but I still missed my ph target(s). I tried it again with another brew and same result. So on the third brew session, I really spent some time slowly adding acid for the sparge water and precisely measuring each addition to get to 5.6 PH. I am noticing in my situation, Bru N Water is undershooting the necessary acid by about 15%. Using a 15% acid boost to my mash water, for the first time I got my mash to 5.3 ph. Woohoo.
So here is the kicker. If I use the Bicarbonate value supplied by Ward, 91 ppm, I undershoot the acid addition. If I use Bru N Waters estimated figure of Bicarbonate (102.5 ppm) in Row 14 using the 8.1 PH and Total Alkalinity of 85 ppm reported by Ward, my acid addition matches almost perfectly with the acid I need to get my mash and sparge ph down. So here is my water report from Ward.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 137
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.23
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.4 / 2.3 ppm
Sodium, Na 13
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 26
Magnesium, Mg 6
Total Hardness, CaCO3 90
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 6
Chloride, Cl 5
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 91
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 85
Total Phosphorus, P 0.13
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01 "<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
I have two questions regarding Bru N Water and one general question.
1. This question isnt directly related to my issue, but I noticed when using the enhanced version of Bru N Water and in the Water Report Info worksheet, I noticed that inputting an entry into A14 (Reported Total Alkalinity) of 85 and an entry into B14 (Reported PH) of 8.1 results in a calculated formula in D14 of 0.6 PPM estimated Carbonate value. Shouldnt it be 6 ppm that perfectly matches my water report or is this even the same? Seems like it is off 10 fold
2. Is it acceptable to use Bru N Waters estimated 102.5 ppm of Bicarbonate in lieu of Wards 91 ppm figure? Two benefits occur when not using Wards Bicarbonate value, the cation/anion difference balances to zero and I seem to hit my ph targets because the acid is boosted.
3. Regarding my Ward report, general thoughts on the water and the report itself? Because of this issue, I wonder if the report is somehow flawed. Seems like my water isnt too bad. Ive seen worse water reported by some of the folks on here.
I received my Ward Water report and applied what I generated in Bru N Water to my first brew using some lactic acid and brewing minerals. Water modification definitely helped, but I still missed my ph target(s). I tried it again with another brew and same result. So on the third brew session, I really spent some time slowly adding acid for the sparge water and precisely measuring each addition to get to 5.6 PH. I am noticing in my situation, Bru N Water is undershooting the necessary acid by about 15%. Using a 15% acid boost to my mash water, for the first time I got my mash to 5.3 ph. Woohoo.
So here is the kicker. If I use the Bicarbonate value supplied by Ward, 91 ppm, I undershoot the acid addition. If I use Bru N Waters estimated figure of Bicarbonate (102.5 ppm) in Row 14 using the 8.1 PH and Total Alkalinity of 85 ppm reported by Ward, my acid addition matches almost perfectly with the acid I need to get my mash and sparge ph down. So here is my water report from Ward.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 137
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.23
Cations / Anions, me/L 2.4 / 2.3 ppm
Sodium, Na 13
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 26
Magnesium, Mg 6
Total Hardness, CaCO3 90
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 6
Chloride, Cl 5
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 91
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 85
Total Phosphorus, P 0.13
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01 "<" - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
I have two questions regarding Bru N Water and one general question.
1. This question isnt directly related to my issue, but I noticed when using the enhanced version of Bru N Water and in the Water Report Info worksheet, I noticed that inputting an entry into A14 (Reported Total Alkalinity) of 85 and an entry into B14 (Reported PH) of 8.1 results in a calculated formula in D14 of 0.6 PPM estimated Carbonate value. Shouldnt it be 6 ppm that perfectly matches my water report or is this even the same? Seems like it is off 10 fold
2. Is it acceptable to use Bru N Waters estimated 102.5 ppm of Bicarbonate in lieu of Wards 91 ppm figure? Two benefits occur when not using Wards Bicarbonate value, the cation/anion difference balances to zero and I seem to hit my ph targets because the acid is boosted.
3. Regarding my Ward report, general thoughts on the water and the report itself? Because of this issue, I wonder if the report is somehow flawed. Seems like my water isnt too bad. Ive seen worse water reported by some of the folks on here.