First built water Profile

[Jbt]

I built my first water profile yesterday. I wanted to see if I am did things right.

I started with 10gal of RO water mixed all my in additions to make a London profile for a porter. I all so added a table spoon of Ph5.2 I did this to all 10gal to start.

Then I proceeded as normal mashing and sparging..

Thanks

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

I have recently been building my water, maybe last 7-8, 10 gallon batches.

I would definitely recommend splitting your additions between the mash and brew kettle.

Most important is your mash pH, so adding the proper amounts of salts to dial in your pH is key.

Which spreadsheet are you using?

What was your ending profile assuming your RO is zero across the board?

I like TH's EZ Water Calculator, but I also like Bru'n Water's calculator.

I find TH's to be the simplest to use, but Bru'n Water has a couple more salt addition options that helped me target London's water profile for my last stout that I brewed.

In addition, adding 5.2 buffer along with your salts is unnecessary, especially if your pH target is accurate. I have done it once in the past, but have learned since then it can be counter productive to mash pH.

Post your numbers and additions.

 

[Jbt]

I have recently been building my water, maybe last 7-8, 10 gallon batches.

I would definitely recommend splitting your additions between the mash and brew kettle.

Most important is your mash pH, so adding the proper amounts of salts to dial in your pH is key.

Which spreadsheet are you using?

What was your ending profile assuming your RO is zero across the board?

I like TH's EZ Water Calculator, but I also like Bru'n Water's calculator.

I find TH's to be the simplest to use, but Bru'n Water has a couple more salt addition options that helped me target London's water profile for my last stout that I brewed.

In addition, adding 5.2 buffer along with your salts is unnecessary, especially if your pH target is accurate. I have done it once in the past, but have learned since then it can be counter productive to mash pH.

Post your numbers and additions.

Starting with RO Water



Calcium: 46.47 ppm
Sulfate: 78.81 ppm
Magnesium: 6.53 ppm
Chloride: 66.00 ppm
Sodium: 88.36 ppm
Bicarbonate: 159.93 ppm
PH: 7.00

Water Additions Needed
Gypsum: 3.6
Baking Soda: 6.5
Salt: 4.0
Chalk: 2.3
Epsom Salt: 2.5
Calcium Chloride: 0.0

Notes:
Created with BeerSmith

As you can see above I used Beersmith..

Why do we split between the mash and and the Brew kettle doesn't it all end up in the kettle?

I added the 5.2 to all the water. So my Sparge would be at 5.2 Also. Is that not necessary?

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Starting with RO Water



Calcium: 46.47 ppm
Sulfate: 78.81 ppm
Magnesium: 6.53 ppm
Chloride: 66.00 ppm
Sodium: 88.36 ppm
Bicarbonate: 159.93 ppm
PH: 7.00

Water Additions Needed
Gypsum: 3.6
Baking Soda: 6.5
Salt: 4.0
Chalk: 2.3
Epsom Salt: 2.5
Calcium Chloride: 0.0

Notes:
Created with BeerSmith

As you can see above I used Beersmith..

Why do we split between the mash and and the Brew kettle doesn't it all end up in the kettle?

I added the 5.2 to all the water. So my Sparge would be at 5.2 Also. Is that not necessary?

No it doesn't all end up in the kettle if it all goes into the mash particulraly the chalk, plus the amount of baking soda you have sounds like it will drop the pH quite a bit, and your RO water is probably around 6.0.

check out these calculators:

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/
http://braukaiser.com/documents/Kaiser_water_calculator.xls
EZ Water Calculator

For an in depth read on Mash pH and water, Braukaiser.com - German brewing and more, the link will take you to his Wiki, and just search for Mash pH or water. Also, check out the sticky in the Brew Science forum titled water primer.

These articles and water calculators will get you started on a better understanding of water "building".

There is some good information on the Bru'n Water spreadsheet too, he gives a detailed explanation of how the water, and ions from salts affects the water/mash/finished beer and such.

Good Luck, there is a ton of info to grasp, but the material isn't too technical, and for brewing purposes you don't need to be a chemistry major, just understanding the fundamentals of pH will give you a much more comprehensive understanding of why it is important to split your additions, or omit some of the salts in the mash to avoid an improper pH.

Cheers!

 

[Jbt]

I will check out the links. It is alot to take in. But I'm sure it is not to hard once you understand it..
Thanks

 

[ajdelange]

Understand how carbonic acid behaves as a function of pH (Henderson-Hasselbalch equation) and you've got 98% of brewing water chemistry. For some reason, though, that is hard to grasp. If you took chemistry in school you probably remember the ionic equilibrium problems as the most unpleasant part of it. I certainly do but that's what it turns on. Yes, as with most other things it is much simpler once you get to the point where the light comes on but it seems to take a lot of people quite a bit of effort to get to that point.

You may find some of the material at www.wetnewf.org helpful starting with the two part article on Alkalinity. This goes pretty easy on the math but the critical stuff is in there. It's a bit dated in terms of what I know now (lots more experience and I should probably re-write it). If you want more detail all the ugly math is in the Cerevesia article.

 

[Jbt]

Understand how carbonic acid behaves as a function of pH (Henderson-Hasselbalch equation) and you've got 98% of brewing water chemistry. For some reason, though, that is hard to grasp. If you took chemistry in school you probably remember the ionic equilibrium problems as the most unpleasant part of it. I certainly do but that's what it turns on. Yes, as with most other things it is much simpler once you get to the point where the light comes on but it seems to take a lot of people quite a bit of effort to get to that point.

You may find some of the material at www.wetnewf.org helpful starting with the two part article on Alkalinity. This goes pretty easy on the math but the critical stuff is in there. It's a bit dated in terms of what I know now (lots more experience and I should probably re-write it). If you want more detail all the ugly math is in the Cerevesia article.

Thanks for the info. I am going to print it out part Alkalinity 1&2 and try to understand what I am reading.lol I did not have Chemistry in school but, maybe I can figure something out.
Thanks
Again