Brewing Salts

[Shawn0522]

I am using RO water. I have been treating with mostly Gypsum and CaCl based on style. I will also add small amounts of NaCl and Epsom to match a certain water profile. I have been treating both strike and sparge water proportionately. I have also been adding Lactic acid to Strike water only to get my Mash PH down.

Is this the right way to do this? Could I just add all the salts to the strike water only then I could use less lactic acid to get PH in line for mash. Also would be less measuring as I would not be splitting proportionately with the sparge water.

If using RO water should i be treating sparge water with acid as well? How much? I dont have a PH meter and have been relying on software for PH.

Thoughts?

 

[jerbrew]

I gather all my water and treat it with brewing salts to desired ion levels. Then I pull out my sparge water and set it aside. I then add the required amount of acid to both (I use 10% phosphoric) to get into my predicted desired range. Then I measure to make sure everything worked the way I thought it would.

My biggest suggestion is to get a pH meter. messing with water and pH without being able to confirm what your results are is kind of incomplete. Without being able to take notes how do you know what you're doing is working or needed? Calculators can get you close and sometimes spot on but you need to be able to verify and adjust. Especially since RO sources can vary pretty widely in salt content.

 

[Shawn0522]

PH meter is in the future but still curious on adding salts to just the mash. Doing 10gal batches i cant really treat my water all at once in one container and it disolves much easier in the HLT.

 

[ajdelange]

I am using RO water. I have been treating with mostly Gypsum and CaCl based on style. I will also add small amounts of NaCl and Epsom to match a certain water profile. I have been treating both strike and sparge water proportionately. I have also been adding Lactic acid to Strike water only to get my Mash PH down.

Is this the right way to do this?

Yes. You must supply enough acid to neutralize (to mash pH) the alkalinity in all the water. The easiest way to do this is to treat the entire volume. As you are using RO water there is so little alkalinity that you can skip this addition. You must also supply enough acid (and sometimes base) to neutralize to mash pH the alkalinity (acidity) of the malts. If you add this acid to the entire volume of water then there will not be enough in the portion used for the mash to get the mash to proper pH. If you add enough to the entire volume that the amount in the mash liquor is sufficient to set mash pH then there will be extra in the sparge water and the pH might go to low in the kettle.

Could I just add all the salts to the strike water only then I could use less lactic acid to get PH in line for mash.

Yes, you can add all the salts to the entire volume and acid just to the strike water. I like this way of doing things because it recognizes that the acid (or base) that you add to set mash pH is part of the mash - not the water treatment.

If using RO water should i be treating Stike water with acid as well?

You would be adding to only the strike water in this case.

How much?

Enough to neutralize the alkalinity of the malts. I know that isn't much of an answer but it is the correct one. Without a pH meter you have to guess or let some brewing software package guess for you.

 

[rhys333]

What I've been doing is using 100% RO water, with mineral and acid additions to the main mash only, then sparging with straight RO water (no minerals or acid). This approach was recommended as a way to go when I started into all-grain. I've always wondered though, why is it necessary to get the main mash into the correct range, but it's okay to forget about all of this with the RO sparge? Couldn't straight RO sparge throw the pH out and cause off flavors?

 

[ajdelange]

No. As RO water has 0 alkalinity (well, almost 0) it cannot move the pH of the mash appreciably.

 

[rhys333]

No. As RO water has 0 alkalinity (well, almost 0) it cannot move the pH of the mash appreciably.

Well that explains why it's working just fine for me AJ.

 

[Shawn0522]

@ajdelange

so i realized in my original post in the last paragraph i had ment to say "if using RO water should i be treating SPARGE water..." not strike water.

So i can keep just treating strike water with the acid.

What about the salts. Can i add all the salts that i would use to treat all the water just to the strike water? This way i wont need as much acid to get PH down?

 

[Shawn0522]

Actually rhys333 is saying exactly what im asking. So it sounds like this is a good way to do it. Less measuring, less acid, less steps.

 

[Shawn0522]

Thanks everyone!

 

[rhys333]

Actually rhys333 is saying exactly what im asking. So it sounds like this is a good way to do it. Less measuring, less acid, less steps.

We're saying the same thing Shawn, but I should clarify that I think AJ is as well. I learned the dark arts from AJ and others in the brew science section... and was just unsure about why it was okay sparging with pure RO. AJ clarified that for me nicely.

 

[Shawn0522]

We're saying the same thing Shawn, but I should clarify that I think AJ is as well. I learned the dark arts from AJ and others in the brew science section... and was just unsure about why it was okay sparging with pure RO. AJ clarified that for me nicely.

Yeah i replied to AJ before i read the rest. I think we are all on the same page. Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I spent more time reading online than it took for everyone to respond with exactly what i needed.