I'm from Galveston Texas. I have two broad questions, but bear with some background information first:
2016 Water report:
Ca 2+ 37
Mg 2+ 7
HCO3 - 127
SO4 2- 38
Na + 37
Cl - 51
pH 8.1 (their measurement)
pH 7 (my presumably much less accurate measurement at the faucet)
I only brew saisons, and an all wheat saison at that. Previously I just bought an 80/20 mix of dH2O and spring water and called it good. Efficiency was marginal at best despite LONG step mashes.
I finally decided to try tap water and just put a batch in the fermenter using 12 gal of tap water with a campden tablet and dH2O for the sparge. Efficiency was much better, ~80%, though the use of hot sparge water vs no sparge is a variable that caused all if not most of that improvement vs prior batches.
So on to my two questions:
1.) If I can consistently get 80% efficiency using tap water and a single campden tablet followed by a bit of heat, am I a fool for trying to modify the pH?
2.) If the answer to (1) is "yes, it'll help, do it" or "you're a fool and it won't help, but go ahead", then how do I go about it? I used the Bru'n Water spreadsheet and came out with 7.5ml of 85% phosphoric acid to treat 15 gallons (12 mash, 3 sparge). Looking over the forum threads, that seems like more than people are using (or, more to the point, it's the same volume that other folks are using for far more dilute H3PO4 solutions). I wanted to check the calculated value against collective experience before I wind up with a pot full of hot water at pH 2.
Further, I have read VERY mixed opinions about the effect that this will have on my calcium. 37 seems fine, but if I precipitate it all out with the phosphoric acid, then I have to add anions that I don't want to get it back. It appears that Palmer maintains that the phosphate will all wind up as some kind of apatite on the bottom of my kettle while others seems to think that my calcium won't change at all. I wanted to see if anyone could clarify that.
Second, it seems that lactic acid is looked down upon for acidification of the strike water. However, I am curious as to why any lactate would be left when you actually drink the beer? Presuming that it's added well before yeast go anywhere near the wort (i.e as a strike water modification like we're discussing here rather than to the fermenter to make a fake lacto beer), and that the wort is well oxygenated before pitching, won't the yeast eat some/most/all of the lactate? I gather that they can't metabolize lactate when they themselves are fermenting to ethanol, but with oxygen as an electron acceptor, can't they metabolize anything? I guess the only counter argument is that they'll still be preferentially chewing through the sugar when they run out of O2, though I wanted community experience to weigh in on that as well.
Best, Adam
2016 Water report:
Ca 2+ 37
Mg 2+ 7
HCO3 - 127
SO4 2- 38
Na + 37
Cl - 51
pH 8.1 (their measurement)
pH 7 (my presumably much less accurate measurement at the faucet)
I only brew saisons, and an all wheat saison at that. Previously I just bought an 80/20 mix of dH2O and spring water and called it good. Efficiency was marginal at best despite LONG step mashes.
I finally decided to try tap water and just put a batch in the fermenter using 12 gal of tap water with a campden tablet and dH2O for the sparge. Efficiency was much better, ~80%, though the use of hot sparge water vs no sparge is a variable that caused all if not most of that improvement vs prior batches.
So on to my two questions:
1.) If I can consistently get 80% efficiency using tap water and a single campden tablet followed by a bit of heat, am I a fool for trying to modify the pH?
2.) If the answer to (1) is "yes, it'll help, do it" or "you're a fool and it won't help, but go ahead", then how do I go about it? I used the Bru'n Water spreadsheet and came out with 7.5ml of 85% phosphoric acid to treat 15 gallons (12 mash, 3 sparge). Looking over the forum threads, that seems like more than people are using (or, more to the point, it's the same volume that other folks are using for far more dilute H3PO4 solutions). I wanted to check the calculated value against collective experience before I wind up with a pot full of hot water at pH 2.
Further, I have read VERY mixed opinions about the effect that this will have on my calcium. 37 seems fine, but if I precipitate it all out with the phosphoric acid, then I have to add anions that I don't want to get it back. It appears that Palmer maintains that the phosphate will all wind up as some kind of apatite on the bottom of my kettle while others seems to think that my calcium won't change at all. I wanted to see if anyone could clarify that.
Second, it seems that lactic acid is looked down upon for acidification of the strike water. However, I am curious as to why any lactate would be left when you actually drink the beer? Presuming that it's added well before yeast go anywhere near the wort (i.e as a strike water modification like we're discussing here rather than to the fermenter to make a fake lacto beer), and that the wort is well oxygenated before pitching, won't the yeast eat some/most/all of the lactate? I gather that they can't metabolize lactate when they themselves are fermenting to ethanol, but with oxygen as an electron acceptor, can't they metabolize anything? I guess the only counter argument is that they'll still be preferentially chewing through the sugar when they run out of O2, though I wanted community experience to weigh in on that as well.
Best, Adam
