A decarbonation by boiling calculator and a decarbonation by lime calculator will be coming in a future version. Its on the list. Another component is to add the Brit's CRS in the acid and water additions calculator.
A brewer does not need to worry about what the actual pH in the mash is at its typical mashing temperature. That pH is actually 0.2 to 0.35 units lower than what you would measure at room-temperature. But, its difficult to measure the mash pH at mash temperature and its very hard on the pH meter. Therefore, the industry has settled on measuring and evaluating mash pH based on its room-temperature measurement. A sample is taken from the mash and cooled to room-temp before pH measurement. As AJ has mentioned previously, numerous texts and articles mention mash pH ranges, but they sometimes fail to mention that these are based on their room-temp pH measurement. These authors fail to mention it since its a generally accepted method and procedure that they apparently feel does not need mention.
The desirable room-temp pH range for a mash is roughly 5.2 to 5.8, but most brewers tighten that to between 5.3 and 5.5. Bru'n Water includes numerous mentions throughout the instructions, the calculation sheets, and the Water Knowledge section that all pH measurement is at Room Temperature.
I started reading Gordan Strong's Brewing Better Beer this week and he refers to mash pH readings AT mash temp. From the book on page 34:
"The mash pH should be in the 5.2 to 5.5 range with a target of about 5.3. Note that mash pH is measured at mash temperatures, not cooled. If you cool the mash, the pH will read about 0.35 higher than at mash temperature."
I find it odd that he not only uses pH readings at mash temps, but he also uses roughly the same range (not the range offset by .35). Why is that?
The bottom line is that the range of pH's that Nate quotes above from Malting and Brewing Science is measured at room temperature, not mash temp.
I just started trying to use this program, and have a problem. In the Water Profile Adjustment Calculator, I didn't want to select one of the listed profiles, but wanted to set my own values for the desired mineral concentrations. I thought that selecting User Custom would allow me to do that, but I when I try to enter a mineral value, I get a message that I can't change a protected cell. Note - I'm using Open Office - same problem if I run the .xls or convert to .ods.
Nate, I did mis-speak regarding the temperatures. I even had it annotated in my copy of Briggs that the temps are at 'mash temp'. Oops.
Revised water profile information is not entered at the Desired Water Profile line. You have to scroll down the sheet and you will find a large table with the water profile information. All of those cells are editable to what ever you prefer. The only recommendation is that you make sure your water profile balances with respect to cations and anions.
I used to use EZ and now use Bru'n...if that is any indication.This is pretty cool, how do you guys think it compares to EZ calculator 2.0 it seems to be a lot more complex.
Arcane,
RA is only about the water and has nothing to do with the grist. That's why it only shows up on the water page and only changes when you mess with the water. I know Martin already responded but I figured I add my simpleton way of looking at it.
This is pretty cool, how do you guys think it compares to EZ calculator 2.0 it seems to be a lot more complex.
I have no interest in the science side of water, I just want my mash to be dialed in at 5.4-5.5 as quickly as possible.
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What we need is a Bru'n Water Front End for Dummies!
Because acid malt is part of the malt bill. RA is only a measure of the water and makes no consideration of the malt bill, it's only a measure of the actual water. If you add 88% lactic acid you are adjusting the water and it will change the RA. AFAIK, using the right amounts of 88% lactic acid and acid malt are pretty much equivalent regarding mash pH. Using 88% lactic acid lowers RA; but the malt bill, since it won't have any acid malt, won't have as much acid. Using acid malt will increase the acid in the malt bill; but the RA, since you didn't use 88% lactic acid, will be higher.The part I don't understand about that (and I'll openly admit my understanding of chemistry is limited), is that acidulated malt is coated with lactic acid (2-3%). When adding this malt to the mash, does the lactic acid not go into solution, just like an addition of pure 88% lactic acid would? I.e. what difference does it make if I add 2 mL of liquid lactic acid to the mash, or, say, powdered lactic acid that happens to be coating, say, 100 g of acid malt?
I am not suggesting you and Martin are wrong by any means, I would just like to understand. Thanks!
We have it, it's called Ez water, and it works fine.
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mabrungard said:The BJCP guidelines are not really intended to guide on ingredients and formulation. Its more about the end product's flavor, aroma, and appearance. You won't find a mention of sulfate/chloride or vice versa in the guidelines.
Its not the hardness, its the alkalinity. Is the alkalinity of your water high?
1 ml per gallon lactic acid is likely to have a taste impact in my experience. I seem to recall that the typical taste threshold for lactic acid is around 400 ppm.
mabrungard said:Its not the hardness, its the alkalinity. Is the alkalinity of your water high?
1 ml per gallon lactic acid is likely to have a taste impact in my experience. I seem to recall that the typical taste threshold for lactic acid is around 400 ppm.
Uhhhh... IF the taste threshold is indeed 400ppm, then 1ml/gal would actually fall short of that anyways.
Excuse me, but English is not my native language, so I don't quite understand what you're trying to say?
Is 1 mg/gal too much or is it not?
What's the threshold in mg/gal?
thanks!
I also find, from Brun I need to add 15 ml of lactic acid for a ten gallon batch. My total alkalinity is 259. Does this sound reasonable?
How can I easily figure out the "grain type" (for input to "Mash Acidification" worksheet) for each item on the grain bill? I scoured data sheets, searched vendor descriptions and made some guesses but I'm not convinced I'm 100% on.
Is there a specific criteria we can follow to easily determine the correct Grain type? If there were some kind of table of malt characteristics or something that would be a whole lot easier than guessing...
Hey guys,
any help would be appreciated. Although i have asked for it, i'm not going to hold my breath on receiving a better water report (Service industry in the Netherlands is...lacking to say the least).
I do not have a readin for CaCO3 in my report. does that render the spreadsheet useless? what i have been able to find is
Calcium (Ca) 45.0
Magnesium (Mg) 6.3
Sodium (Na) 61.0
Potassium (K) 0.0
Iron (Fe) 0.0
181.0 Bicarbonate (HCO3)
0.0 Carbonate (CO3)
23.0 Sulfate (SO4)
0.0 Chloride (Cl)
3.4 Nitrate (NO3)
.. entered like this, I get the red flag:
Ion Balance Results
Total Cations (meq/L) 5.42 1.91 Cation/Anion Difference
Total Anions (meq/L) 3.50
Water Report is unbalanced. The Cation and Anion totals should be within 0.5 meq/L of each other
I use the following water report (most words are very similar, and for anything unclear you can do a quick google translate from Nederlands - English):
https://www.waternet.nl/media/634131/wn_bwk_1l_2w.eff.krt.kw0313.pdf
any ideas on what i might be doing wrong?
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