I am trying to build my water for a Black IPA. It's going to be very high in IBU (about 100). Grain bill will be fairly straightforward (15.5# of 2-row, 1# of Crystal 60, 1# of Carafa III). SRM estimate is 38.
Here is my water profile
Ca 56
Mg 26
Na 23
Cl 10
So4 9 (adjusted because it is SO4-s)
HCO3 302
I have been using the spreadsheet put together by -TH- to determine how to treat my water. I'll be using 6 gallons of mash water with a dilution of 2:1 distilled:my tap water (67% for purposes of the spreadsheet). I do this primarily to cut the alkalinity of my water and reduce my RA.
The precision on my pH meter is only .1, however, I have noticed that my pH readings are generally pretty close to what the sheet estimates.
With this dilution and no other mineral additions, the spreadsheet anticipates a mash pH of 5.03. However, it still puts my RA at 63 and my Ca, SO4 and Mg are all below the recommended ranges for brewing.
If I add Gypsum, CaCl, and perhaps a tiny amount of Epsom salt in order to bring my RA down and move my minerals into acceptable ranges, that works, but it further drives down my already low mash pH.
I have also tried looking at a smaller dilution% of distilled, but while that helps raise the estimated pH a bit, I have to add a large amount of minerals to bring my RA in line. This in turn starts to throw my ppm measurements on the various minerals out of whack (and again starts bringing the pH fairly low).
I seem to have this thing on a scale that I can't balance. I tip too far one way and it throws the other out of whack. I can either get mash pH into the 5.2-5.5 range or bring RA below 50. But I am having trouble doing both. I have thought about one of the pH raising mineral additions and it only serves to drag RA with it.
At this point, my only other option is to reduce the amount of either crystal or carafa and bring the SRM down and the pH up a bit.
Any ideas?
Here is my water profile
Ca 56
Mg 26
Na 23
Cl 10
So4 9 (adjusted because it is SO4-s)
HCO3 302
I have been using the spreadsheet put together by -TH- to determine how to treat my water. I'll be using 6 gallons of mash water with a dilution of 2:1 distilled:my tap water (67% for purposes of the spreadsheet). I do this primarily to cut the alkalinity of my water and reduce my RA.
The precision on my pH meter is only .1, however, I have noticed that my pH readings are generally pretty close to what the sheet estimates.
With this dilution and no other mineral additions, the spreadsheet anticipates a mash pH of 5.03. However, it still puts my RA at 63 and my Ca, SO4 and Mg are all below the recommended ranges for brewing.
If I add Gypsum, CaCl, and perhaps a tiny amount of Epsom salt in order to bring my RA down and move my minerals into acceptable ranges, that works, but it further drives down my already low mash pH.
I have also tried looking at a smaller dilution% of distilled, but while that helps raise the estimated pH a bit, I have to add a large amount of minerals to bring my RA in line. This in turn starts to throw my ppm measurements on the various minerals out of whack (and again starts bringing the pH fairly low).
I seem to have this thing on a scale that I can't balance. I tip too far one way and it throws the other out of whack. I can either get mash pH into the 5.2-5.5 range or bring RA below 50. But I am having trouble doing both. I have thought about one of the pH raising mineral additions and it only serves to drag RA with it.
At this point, my only other option is to reduce the amount of either crystal or carafa and bring the SRM down and the pH up a bit.
Any ideas?