Quick soft water pH question

[beerbeer95648]

Hope my tone is not abrupt, squeezing this in on my last minutes of lunch break but,

Here is my water report:

http://www.eid.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=3538

But what is confusing to me is that all of my beers from porters to northern browns to milds to pales, all seem to fall in the 5.3-5.8 range using a calibrated Omega meter? Why dont I have to add alkalinity to get my pH up. More often I am adding lactic to bring it down. I usually add gypsum anc CaCl to get the Ca to 100ppm and the chloride and sulfate into the 100ppm range. Then 1-2 ml of lactic to bring down the pH.

Awesome info on this sub-forum, somehow I always missed it.

Cheers

 

[mabrungard]

That water is nearly pure and should be a great starting point for brewing water. The pH range you cite is typical. A pale malt mashed with that water would likely fall in that upper limit while a more acidic grist along with the hardened water could easily fall at the lower limit. The limited need for acidification is no surprise.

Very few beers need significant alkalinity and its no surprise that you haven't had to add it. I'm assuming that a beer like a Porter might have produced the lower pH readings. That pH is fine in some styles, even some dark styles. However, better porters and stouts are often created with a slightly higher pH. So a bit of alkalinity might be useful in some brews.

You are raising the calcium content a bit high for some styles. If it is the result of wanting more sulfate or chloride in the water, then its fine. I generally recommend less mineralization unless you want it in the water for a flavor effect. 50 ppm is a reasonably safe Ca level, but beer can still be made without adding any calcium minerals. So don't just aim for high calcium without reason.

 

[beerbeer95648]

That water is nearly pure and should be a great starting point for brewing water. The pH range you cite is typical. A pale malt mashed with that water would likely fall in that upper limit while a more acidic grist along with the hardened water could easily fall at the lower limit. The limited need for acidification is no surprise.

Very few beers need significant alkalinity and its no surprise that you haven't had to add it. I'm assuming that a beer like a Porter might have produced the lower pH readings. That pH is fine in some styles, even some dark styles. However, better porters and stouts are often created with a slightly higher pH. So a bit of alkalinity might be useful in some brews.

You are raising the calcium content a bit high for some styles. If it is the result of wanting more sulfate or chloride in the water, then its fine. I generally recommend less mineralization unless you want it in the water for a flavor effect. 50 ppm is a reasonably safe Ca level, but beer can still be made without adding any calcium minerals. So don't just aim for high calcium without reason.

Beautiful. I really appreciate the insight. I will drop back on some of the additions in the next month and try and find my stride with this water. Again I appreciate the timely and details info.

Cheers.

 

[ajdelange]

But what is confusing to me is that all of my beers from porters to northern browns to milds to pales, all seem to fall in the 5.3-5.8 range using a calibrated Omega meter? Why dont I have to add alkalinity to get my pH up. More often I am adding lactic to bring it down.

This is quite normal. The real question is 'Why would you think that you would need to add alkalinity?' We all know the answer. It was widely propagated in home brewing circles that if a beer is dark it needs alkali when in fact, as is stated in professional brewing texts, and as you have seen, most beers require acid. It's been a struggle but I think the dark-beer-add-chalk mentality is finally fading away.

 

[beerbeer95648]

This is quite normal. The real question is 'Why would you think that you would need to add alkalinity?' We all know the answer. It was widely propagated in home brewing circles that if a beer is dark it needs alkali when in fact, as is stated in professional brewing texts, and as you have seen, most beers require acid. It's been a struggle but I think the dark-beer-add-chalk mentality is finally fading away.

I dont talk about it here too much, especially since I have learned more in the homebrewing world and on this forum particularly than in my professional life, and it makes me feel like a tool, but I have a 4 yr degree in brewing and distilling science and 10 years professional brewing experience and still have been following that mentality until today.