Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' 7.00, now with 'Kettle pH Made Easy'

[Silver_Is_Money]

1) Now contains the revolutionary 'Kettle pH Made Easy' version 1.00, an assistant that works either post 'Mash Made Easy' to fine tune Wort pH to the ideal room temperature measured post boil and cooling range of 5.0 to 5.2 pH, or in many cases can be used as a stand alone pH adjustment tool, whereby pH adjustment is not carried out within the mash at all, and is instead accomplished downstream, either via acidification addition immediately prior to the boil step, or (using pre-boil collected data), via acidification added at the juncture of ~30 minutes remaining in the boil.

2) The sparge water pH acidification sheet now permits you to select your desired sparge water pH target, wherein previous versions targeted only pH 5.4. The range of permitted sparge water pH adjustment targets now spans from pH 5.0 to pH 5.8.

3) Now comes pre-set to a room temperature mash pH target of 5.6, in keeping with my new philosophy in regard to the ideal mash pH target (and with the presumption that 'Kettle pH Made Easy' will also be utilized, so as to assure the ideal pH post boil and cooling). You are of course free to adjust this cell and target any mash pH you desire.

3) Numerous other small to large internal refinements intended to increase the precision of both mash and sparge water acidification recommendations.

As always, Mash Made Easy is both free and complete, but your donations in a show of appreciation are welcomed to sustain this free effort.

 

[enkamania]

Thanks so much for doing this.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Thanks so much for doing this.

Kettle pH Made Easy is my initial attempt to bring the worlds of the commercial and home brewers together and on the same page. Whereas home brewers have long concentrated upon mash pH monitoring and control, it is my opinion that commercial brewers have vastly ignored this aspect of brewing, and instead have long concentrated their effort at achieving a room temperature measured post boil and cooling Wort pH of between 5.0 and 5.2.

By adding Kettle pH Made Easy (the process for which is indeed amazingly simple for the home brewer to intuitively understand and carry out, and leagues less intensive, confusing, and time consuming vs. the end users effort leading to mash pH control) to Mash pH Made Easy a different paradigm of process control is now within the reach of all home brewers. But Kettle pH Made Easy does require the proper and careful use of a pH meter, and whereas mash pH prediction software has sadly bread an entire generation of home brewers whom for the most part seem willing to substitute blind faith in software based mash pH prediction for actual properly executed pH measurement, Kettle pH Made Easy will not allow for such egregiously false presumption, as it fully demands that pH monitoring via meter be undertaken post all stages of lautering and run-off and immediately pre the initiation of the boil step. And lastly a post boil and cooling pH reading must be taken to verify that Kettle pH Made Easy's recommended acid addition (if required) did indeed achieve the targeted goal of 5.0 to 5.2 Wort pH.

 

[enkamania]

Did my Christmas Ale this weekend, target ph 5.15, actual ph 5.2. I added spruce tips, not sure if that affects ph or not.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Did my Christmas Ale this weekend, target ph 5.15, actual ph 5.2. I added spruce tips, not sure if that affects ph or not.

I'd love to try that, but being botanically deficient, I have a fear of picking hemlock tips by mistake. Glad to receive yet another report of a nearly spot-on pH result for Kettle pH Made Easy.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Did my Christmas Ale this weekend, target ph 5.15, actual ph 5.2. I added spruce tips, not sure if that affects ph or not.

I've measured spruce and concolor fir tip tea pH and found after steeping overnight their pH was 4.28 when sampled at 25C/77F. The pH of the Amber Ale wort I added it to measured 5.10 when sampled at 25C/77F. After carbonating for a week it's already a delicious 5.7% beer and pouring clear and bright.

 

[AkTom]

I'd love to try that, but being botanically deficient, I have a fear of picking hemlock tips by mistake.

Shoot me a message next spring. If I’m still in Alaska, I’ll send you some. No hemlocks any where nearby. Spruce everywhere.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of Mash Made Easy version 7.10 in both the standard and metric formats.

1) Improved and simplified the Sparge Water Adjustment sheet. Mash and Sparge water are now far more fully independent. Plus the acidification of Sparge Water and/or mash water via the use of AMS/CRS now correctly reflects both the mash and sparge ppm (mg/L) contributions of Cl- and SO4-- ions as sourced from the AMS/CRS acid blend in your beer (whereas in earlier additions this was done for the use of CRS/AMS within the mash, but not within the sparge water). Therefore AMS/CRS can now be used (or not used) at your choice and convenience fully independently within the mash and sparge, with the assurance that the ions it brings along with it to both are fully accounted for.

2) Numerous small precision related internal calculation refinements.

3) The standard version now shows recommended acid malt additions in both ounces and grams, separated via a comma.

As always, 'MME' is both free and complete. There is no stripped down teaser version leading to a pay version.

 

[TheMadKing]

Announcing the release of Mash Made Easy version 7.10 in both the standard and metric formats.

1) Improved and simplified the Sparge Water Adjustment sheet. Mash and Sparge water are now far more fully independent. Plus the acidification of Sparge Water and/or mash water via the use of AMS/CRS now correctly reflects both the mash and sparge ppm (mg/L) contributions of Cl- and SO4-- ions as sourced from the AMS/CRS acid blend in your beer (whereas in earlier additions this was done for the use of CRS/AMS within the mash, but not within the sparge water). Therefore AMS/CRS can now be used (or not used) at your choice and convenience fully independently within the mash and sparge, with the assurance that the ions it brings along with it to both are fully accounted for.

2) Numerous small precision related internal calculation refinements.

3) The standard version now shows recommended acid malt additions in both ounces and grams, separated via a comma.

As always, 'MME' is both free and complete. There is no stripped down teaser version leading to a pay version.

Thanks Larry! I'm going to be switching to this for kettle acid additions

Any chance you could add a "biological acid" option for Sauergut?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Thanks Larry! I'm going to be switching to this for kettle acid additions

Any chance you could add a "biological acid" option for Sauergut?

Sorry, but I have never made it, used it, or had any level of understanding of it. Is it possible for you to ratio equate it somehow to 80% or 88% lactic acid"???

 

[TheMadKing]

Sorry, but I have never made it, used it, or had any level of understanding of it. Is it possible for you to ratio equate it somehow to 80% or 88% lactic acid"???

It is at maximum 2% lactic acid by volume (actually somewhere between 1-2% but can only be really known by titration of each batch), and I usually approximate it's effect pretty closely by using 2% lactic acid in BeerSmith. It usually get's me within a pH of +/- 0.02 pH units. So it should come with a warning that states it is an approximation only.

If this is too vague I completely understand. You've done an outstanding job with this software and I don't want to mar it with sub-par estimating

 

[Big Monk]

Sorry, but I have never made it, used it, or had any level of understanding of it. Is it possible for you to ratio equate it somehow to 80% or 88% lactic acid"???

The basic calculations says the following:

In the mash, 60 ml of Sauergut with a Lactic Acid content of 0.8% per 1 kg of malt used will drop the pH by 0.1.

In the kettle, 30 ml of Sauergut with a Lactic Acid content of 0.8% per 1 kg of malt used will drop the pH by 0.1.

In the spirit of giving back what we know, here is the calculation I have used in all my previous sheets (We have been modelling Sauergut for A LONG TIME) and what will be in my new sheet coming out sometime in the future:

Δ pH (Sauergut) =( ( ( ( Amount (ml) / ( 0.008 / Strength (%) ) ) / ( IF ( Mash , 60 , 30 ) * Grain Total (kg) ) ) * 0.1 ) )

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 7.15, Standard and Metric.

I noticed after publishing 7.10 that I had forgotten to include Citric Acid crystals as an acid option on the new sparge water acidification page. It has been in previous versions, and now it is in version 7.15 as well. But along the way I also expanded the pH target range on the sparge acidification page, and also tweaked the weak acid mEq/L with respect to pH slopes for Lactic Acid and Citric Acid.

If you never intend to use Citric Acid, and you only ever indend to adjust sparge water to a narrow range of pH 5.4-5.5, you will not notice much difference between 7.10 and 7.15, and for that case you can skip 7.15 if you have already downloaded 7.10, but if you want the features of an expanded range of sparge water pH adjustment targets, and you just may decide to use Citric Acid (adds a bit of citrus for the likes of IPA's), or to adjust your sparge water across a broader spectrum of pH choices, then please do proceed to make the upgrade from 7.10 to version 7.15.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of Mash Made Easy version 7.20 in both the Standard US and Metric formats.

With due apology, this one is a major bug fix. With the introduction of version 7.10 and then carrying over into version 7.15 I messed up the reported tally summations of added minerals big time. Version 7.20 fixes this major bug as far as I can tell from admittedly limited testing. All users are urged to replace versions 7.10 and/or 7.15 with version 7.20 immediately.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Would anyone like to see Citric Acid crystals added as an acid option within the 'Kettle pH Made Easy' module of 'Mash Made Easy'?

 

[IslandLizard]

Would anyone like to see Citric Acid crystals added as an acid option within the 'Kettle pH Made Easy' module of 'Mash Made Easy'?

Yes please!
Anhydrous?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Yes please!
Anhydrous?

Anhydrous unless the most common solid physical state of citric acid is something other than anhydrous. I have it nearly ready for launch. Coming soon.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

After some quick investigation I've discovered that citric acid exists both in the anhydrous and in the monohydrate form. I'm considering it to be anhydrous.

Edit: Per Wikipedia:

The monohydrate can be converted to the anhydrous form at about 78 °C.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 7.25 in both the Standard/US and Metric formats.

Changes include:

1) Added anhydrous citric acid crystal as an acid choice within the 'Kettle pH Made Easy' module.

2) Minor acid strength modifications.

3) Minor bug fix.

Due to the bug fix alone it is advised that users of earlier versions replace them with version 7.25.

As always, 'Mash Made Easy' is both free and complete.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 7.30 in both the Standard/US and Metric formats.

Changes include:

1) Mash pH adjustment acids are now regulated as to strength via the acids pKa(s) in conjunction with the pH Target.

2) Added Pickling Lime (also called Slaked Lime) quantities visually below Baking Soda on the main page at center/low so those wishing to choose this base as opposed to Baking Soda will no longer have to hunt and peck for this materials proper addition quantity before entering it into the Ca(OH)2 cell in the upper right (wherein minerals are subsequently updated accordingly).

3 Made adjustments to both Baking Soda and Pickling Lime addition quantities to be added to hit the mash pH Target.

This should be seen as a major revision release, and everyone is urged to transition to version 7.30 accordingly.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

NOTE: After some review, I now recommend that MME version 7.30's "Grist Buffer Multiplier" is best set to a value of 0.67, and a fresh download (as of about 1/2 hour ago) will now default to the 0.67 buffer multiplier value, but if you have already downloaded 7.30 it is likely easier to simply change this cells value to 0.67 yourself (whereby when 7.30 was first placed on the website yesterday this value was set to 0.60).

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 7.35 in both the Standard/US and Metric formats.

Changes include:

1) There was a major bug in the Metric versions grist selection entry columns "drop down" selector that had rendered the Metric version broken. This error has been fixed with version 7.35. The Standard/US version did not have this issue.

2) While fixing and testing the above I noticed an error in coding which was causing grist buffering to alter the correct ppm (mg/L) readout for alkalinity. This error has been rectified within version 7.35 for both the Standard/US and Metric versions.

With due apology, yet again I urge that you please upgrade all earlier versions of MME to version 7.35.

Unless your well appreciated user feedback once again points out a problem and/or error to me, I think I'm going to take a breather now and rest from upgrading MME for awhile. The version 7 series rollout has taught me that alterations and fixes applied to one area can and do cause downstream problems up to occasional outright breaks in other area(s). I'm hopeful that version 7.35 rectifies all of the damage I've caused via my well intended attempts at continual improvement. Your feedback as to version 7.35 functionality is sincerely appreciated. The download is at no cost. MME is a free spreadsheet.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thank you for all your hard work and diligent updates.

I hear you on revisions and the increasing complexity of interdependent calculations.
We also know you can't resists the urge for perfection. There may even be a "v8.0 Final" some day.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

The good part is that none of the computed acidification or caustic addition recommendations to hit a chosen mash pH target were altered via the alkalinity display correction. Only the displayed alkalinity value was somewhat off in earlier releases, and only by a generally small amount, the magnitude of which varied with changes in any given grists computed buffering capacity value. Many will not likely notice (or care about) the revision, but I do.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Announcing the release of 'Mash Made Easy' version 7.40 in both the Standard/US and Metric formats.

Changes are as follows:
1) Modified and improved the downward shift associated with calcium and magnesium mineral additions.
2) Corrected the internal handling of inherent alkalinity from source water.
3) Did away with several user adjustment/tuning capabilities due to the above modification/correction/improvements rendering them unnecessary.

The modifications and corrections are substantial, so all users of earlier versions are urged to transition to version 7.40.

As always, the spreadsheet is free, and can be downloaded at the link seen below. The free version is complete. There is no pay version.