100% RO Water profile with Bru'n water - Sanity check!

[cuda6pak]

I am brewing with RO water for the first time. I will be using 100% RO water so I can build it how I want it with less unknowns than my local water report. To date I have only brewed with charcoal filtered home water with campden tablets.

I will be brewing a pale ale (Russian River Two Hill Row 56 clone in recipe section) so I chose the pale ale profile and set my RO dilution level to 100%. I entered my grist in the Mash Acidification profile and began to adjust my numbers via gypsum, CaCl2, and epsom salt. I am trying to reach the Bru'n Water sheet numbers and also some numbers that Yooper gave out as her favorite pale ale profiles here -https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/share-water-profiles-you-have-dialed-425358/#post5410351

So for what I have entered in, does everything look OK (Click on the picture and it will zoom in so you can see the numbers easy)? Are there any changes you recommend? My mash pH is 5.4 which is right where I want it, this is without acidulated malt or lactic acid. My plan is to check mash pH and record it and adjust with 88% lactic acid if necessary. Few questions -

1) How many minutes into the mash to I check my pH and is it OK to adjust with lactic acid at that point if I have a high mash pH

2) Since I am using 100% RO water, do I need to treat my entire volume of water (mash + sparge) or should I only treat my mash water and use 100% RO water for sparging? Does the Actual Water Adjustment value indicate your final water profile as mash + sparge or is it only for mash? I cannot seem to find an option in Bru'n water for final water profile to only account for mash. When I check with EZ water and unclick the treat sparge water option with the same amount of salts the water profile numbers drop way out of range.

3) I cross-checked with EZ water and it has a higher pH around 5.63, but after doing research it appears this is common and I should just make a note of my pH measurement and go from there. Both are just a tool to use as a guide, though it seems Bru'n water is usually closer. Am I on target here?

4) What do I need to do with the Sparge Acidification sheet with what I'm trying to do? Currently I have left it on whatever default it was set to.



Is there anything else I'm missing? Looking forward to seeing how this brew turns out with a dialed in water profile! Thanks!

 

[mabrungard]

If you are using 100 % RO to brew with, you don't need to acidify the sparging water. The alkalinity of RO water is already very low. Do check your RO source with a TDS meter to assure its really RO quality. The TDS should be less than 25 ppm and its often half that value in a well-operating machine.

If you are adding a bunch of hardening minerals like CaSO4, CaCL2, and MgSO4, then it is possible that your mash may not need any acid. I typically have to add a little pickling lime to my mash when brewing with the pale ale profile. However, I see that you have moderated those additions and are only taking the sulfate and chloride levels part way there. That is fine and it also avoids the need for lime in the mash. That should be a fine place to start.

As always, mix your minerals into the mashing and sparging water BEFORE combining with any grains. The minerals do take a minute to dissolve, but they will dissolve. Keep stirring and they will dissolve in a minute or so.

With the minerals and acids fully mixed into the water, when you combine with the grain, they will be evenly distributed. I find that taking a pH sample at around 10 and 20 minutes into the mash is reasonable. Be sure to cool the sample to room temp. If the pH is within a tenth of my target, I typically leave it as-is.

I don't recommend trying to chase pH blindly. If you want to be prepared, use Bru'n Water to see how much acid or lime it will take to move the pH value by a tenth and just keep that in mind. If you really feel that the pH is too far off, use that value to guide you with any supplemental addition.

Enjoy!

 

[cuda6pak]

Mash pH ended up right in between the two spreadsheets at 5.53. Probably was fine but I went ahead and put 1.0mL of 88% lactic acid to bring it down to 5.4. I sparged with untreated RO water. Currently boiling now and looking forward to the final product. Thanks for the help Martin!

 

[mabrungard]

Good to hear. By the way, how confident are you that the RO water had really low ionic content? Did you have a TDS reading on the RO water? If the water was not as pure as assumed, that would likely move the pH up.