36 replies to this topic

[Brauer]

Calcium Chloride dissolves very readily, in my experience. Perhaps you are seeing newly formed Calcium Carbonate coming out of solution when you add the Calcium Chloride. That is normal if you have high Carbonate water.

I tend to add it right on top of the mash...

This is what I do. I'm interested in the pH of the mash, not the pH of the water. 

Ultimately if you are at your desired pH it doesn't matter. 

This is what it comes down to.  If you hit your pH, it doesn't matter when you added anything. Any alkalinity lost by heating is accounted for in the actual pH of the mash, so adjusting the pH with acid in the mash is fine.

[positiveContact]

This is what it comes down to.  If you hit your pH, it doesn't matter when you added anything. Any alkalinity lost by heating is accounted for in the actual pH of the mash, so adjusting the pH with acid in the mash is fine.

 

 

so maybe I'm not crazy after all!

[HVB]

so maybe I'm not crazy after all!

Whoa!!  Let's not go that far

[Big Nake]

Ha. I can't believe you guys are talking about water. That is soooo 20 minutes ago.

[positiveContact]

Ha. I can't believe you guys are talking about water. That is soooo 20 minutes ago.

 

[Big Nake]

FWIW, I used to add my brewing salts to my milled grain in the MT and pour the heated water over it. I still assume that there is nothing wrong with that approach but Martin mentioned that he liked being able to predict everything ahead of time by having the salts in the mash water before heating and also adding any necessary acid to that water as well. This is what BNW is supposed to help you do. If everything is done properly, the adjustments you have to make -after everything is mixed- are smaller or not necessary at all. So I add my salts and acid to the water prior to heating. I also add acid to my sparge water before heating. I don't use BNW anymore because I just base my additions on past batches and get very close. I do like the idea of knowing ahead of time because getting sample of the mash, cooling it and getting an accurate reading with a pH meter can take some time... the less of that the better.

[HVB]

So for those of you that add the salts and acid to the water ahead of time are you only heating up enough water for strike and then you heat up more for the sparge?  just trying to clarify because I heat up a pot of water and use that for both strike and sparge.

[denny]

So for those of you that add the salts and acid to the water ahead of time are you only heating up enough water for strike and then you heat up more for the sparge?  just trying to clarify because I heat up a pot of water and use that for both strike and sparge.

 

Yep, that's what I do.  treat and heat mash water, add it, then treat and heat sparge water.

[Big Nake]

Yep, that's what I do.  treat and heat mash water, add it, then treat and heat sparge water.

Right, that's what I do too. I also add all my salts to the mash and only lactic acid to the sparge to get the bicarb neutralized and to get the pH of that sparge water into the mid 5s.

[Brauer]

So for those of you that add the salts and acid to the water ahead of time are you only heating up enough water for strike and then you heat up more for the sparge? just trying to clarify because I heat up a pot of water and use that for both strike and sparge.

What's a sparge?

[Brauer]

FWIW, I used to add my brewing salts to my milled grain in the MT and pour the heated water over it. I still assume that there is nothing wrong with that approach but Martin mentioned that he liked being able to predict everything ahead of time by having the salts in the mash water before heating and also adding any necessary acid to that water as well. This is what BNW is supposed to help you do. If everything is done properly, the adjustments you have to make -after everything is mixed- are smaller or not necessary at all. So I add my salts and acid to the water prior to heating. I also add acid to my sparge water before heating. I don't use BNW anymore because I just base my additions on past batches and get very close. I do like the idea of knowing ahead of time because getting sample of the mash, cooling it and getting an accurate reading with a pH meter can take some time... the less of that the better.

I don't find it makes any measurable difference for me, but I have very soft water, so there isn't much alkalinity to lose.

[Big Nake]

I don't find it makes any measurable difference for me, but I have very soft water, so there isn't much alkalinity to lose.

Right. The alkalinity and the buffering from the bicarb makes things a little more tricky but once you're used to brewing with water like that, you can get around it. It took me 15 years to understand that but hey... I've arrived!

[neddles]

What's a sparge?

You tell me!

[Brauer]

You tell me!

Ha!!

[HVB]

What's a sparge?

Well on 10g batches I have no choice.  Smaller batches I will do mainly no-sparge or BIAB.

[Brauer]

Well on 10g batches I have no choice. Smaller batches I will do mainly no-sparge or BIAB.

Yeah, I was just kidding, of course, but that's why I can't comment too usefully about sparge water additions.

[positiveContact]

Well on 10g batches I have no choice.  Smaller batches I will do mainly no-sparge or BIAB.

 

a small sparge still has the benefit of a reduced need to acidify.