First major beersmith3 / brun water disagreement

[Jtvann]

Working on a west coast double IPA recipe that I'm brewing tomorrow. While working on the water profile, beer smith is recommending to use approx 10ml of lactic acid, while brun water is saying less than 1.5.

Trying to hit a little over 5.2 ph

So 10ml sounds like a way too large a measure to use. I did just make a similar recipe though a few weeks back where brun water recommended 1.5ml, and my pH was 5.5 where I was aiming for 5.2.

I told myself I was going to increase my next batch up to 4mL total of acid just as a wild guess.

Don't know which to trust or where to even start.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

What is 'Mash Made Easy' saying? Be sure to select the proper base malt "type" via the "drop down" cell in the lower right-hand corner. Hover the cursor over this cell for instructions prior to clicking on it to make your selection.

 

[Jtvann]

I'm sorry, but I just don't want to download another beer program. There are so many reputable programs out there, and yours may very well be one of them, but when they don't agree even remotely it doesn't give me much faith that the next one will either.

I'd rather believe its user error somewhere in the program that I haven't clicked the proper box.

Does it sound feasible for any typical recipe you've heard of to add 10mL of lactic acid?

I can get into the particulars of the recipe as needed, but the basics of it is I am doing full volume biab, 9.25g of water in a 18.5lb grain recipe in the 8 srm color range. 16 lbs 2 row, 1.25 of dextrine and crystal 40

 

[enkamania]

Beersmith is notorious for recommending too much lactic (as much as 50%)

 

[isomerization]

I add 7 ml to 8 ish gal strike water for NE IPA that I want at ph 5.1

 

[deadwolfbones]

Check with the Brewer's Friend advanced water calc. It's easy to use.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Totally common with beersmith. Don't trust it. Maybe start with half of what it recommends. Other calculators are much closer to reality and safe dosing.

I have no clue why the guy that wrote BS wont just fess up to the issue, then ask for help or pay a bio-chem-math guru to help him get it right.