Adjusting pH

[GDoucet]

I’m about to brew the BCS recipe for a dry stout. My understanding is that with dark malts, pH can be an issue and at this point in my brewing, I’m not really interested in messing around with water chemistry…..yet. That being said, I feel like I should do something for this recipe. I read in BYO that one easy way is to take measurements during the mash and adjust accordingly. They say to mash in, wait 2 or 3 minutes, take a reading then add either calcium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. Then keep checking and adding more as required. The next part in the article confuses me. They say to record the amount you added in the mash and add the same amount into your first wort. What is this second addition for? Is it so when you add the runnings from the sparge to the first wort, the pH is where it needs to be? If so, couldn’t I just take readings of my full boil and adjust during the boil? Also, this might be a dumb question but sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, so does this mean I can use baking soda from the grocery store to adjust my pH?

[LiverDance]

You could always just hold back the dark malts until you sparge and then not have to worry about them messing with your normal pH. I wouldn't get into worry about adjusting pH until you understand your water profile a bit better anyway.

[LeafMan66_67]

You could always just hold back the dark malts until you sparge and then not have to worry about them messing with your normal pH. I wouldn't get into worry about adjusting pH until you understand your water profile a bit better anyway.

^^^ What he said ^^^

[NASH]

I’m about to brew the BCS recipe for a dry stout. My understanding is that with dark malts, pH can be an issue and at this point in my brewing, I’m not really interested in messing around with water chemistry…..yet. That being said, I feel like I should do something for this recipe. I read in BYO that one easy way is to take measurements during the mash and adjust accordingly. They say to mash in, wait 2 or 3 minutes, take a reading then add either calcium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. Then keep checking and adding more as required. The next part in the article confuses me. They say to record the amount you added in the mash and add the same amount into your first wort. What is this second addition for? Is it so when you add the runnings from the sparge to the first wort, the pH is where it needs to be? If so, couldn’t I just take readings of my full boil and adjust during the boil? Also, this might be a dumb question but sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, so does this mean I can use baking soda from the grocery store to adjust my pH?

Are you on hfx city water?



Transmitted from the Hop-phone.

[GDoucet]

You could always just hold back the dark malts until you sparge and then not have to worry about them messing with your normal pH. I wouldn't get into worry about adjusting pH until you understand your water profile a bit better anyway.

If did hold back until the sparge, would I change anything in my procedure?...change the sparge water temperature, rest time for sparge? Also would I still get conversion from these grains or would I need to compensate by adding more base grain?

[GDoucet]

I’m about to brew the BCS recipe for a dry stout. My understanding is that with dark malts, pH can be an issue and at this point in my brewing, I’m not really interested in messing around with water chemistry…..yet. That being said, I feel like I should do something for this recipe. I read in BYO that one easy way is to take measurements during the mash and adjust accordingly. They say to mash in, wait 2 or 3 minutes, take a reading then add either calcium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. Then keep checking and adding more as required. The next part in the article confuses me. They say to record the amount you added in the mash and add the same amount into your first wort. What is this second addition for? Is it so when you add the runnings from the sparge to the first wort, the pH is where it needs to be? If so, couldn’t I just take readings of my full boil and adjust during the boil? Also, this might be a dumb question but sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, so does this mean I can use baking soda from the grocery store to adjust my pH?

Are you on hfx city water?



Transmitted from the Hop-phone.

Yeah I'm on Halifax city water. According to the BCS recipe, there's 25% flaked barley and 12.5% roasted barley. Do you think I will still get decent efficincy if I mash them with the other grains? I would prefer to do a regular mash instead of saving them for the sparge.

[NASH]

I’m about to brew the BCS recipe for a dry stout. My understanding is that with dark malts, pH can be an issue and at this point in my brewing, I’m not really interested in messing around with water chemistry…..yet. That being said, I feel like I should do something for this recipe. I read in BYO that one easy way is to take measurements during the mash and adjust accordingly. They say to mash in, wait 2 or 3 minutes, take a reading then add either calcium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. Then keep checking and adding more as required. The next part in the article confuses me. They say to record the amount you added in the mash and add the same amount into your first wort. What is this second addition for? Is it so when you add the runnings from the sparge to the first wort, the pH is where it needs to be? If so, couldn’t I just take readings of my full boil and adjust during the boil? Also, this might be a dumb question but sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, so does this mean I can use baking soda from the grocery store to adjust my pH?

Are you on hfx city water?



Transmitted from the Hop-phone.

Yeah I'm on Halifax city water. According to the BCS recipe, there's 25% flaked barley and 12.5% roasted barley. Do you think I will still get decent efficincy if I mash them with the other grains? I would prefer to do a regular mash instead of saving them for the sparge.

IMO, you should always do a 'regular' mash. PH will pretty much always look after itself, sometimes it might approach the high or low end of the scale but almost always still be within acceptable range. There's more important factors than trying to achieve a mid-range or 'ideal' ph imo.

Regardless, in general you should add some salts to bring ion and mineral concentrations up into the preferred range. For stouts and porters it's really useful to bring the carbonate levels up to at least the 200 ppm range, it has huge impact on flavour perception, and for the better. Think Dublin water profile. So hammer the baking soda to it, which will also be of some help in the PH department. For a 5 gallon batch of dry stout on Halifax water I'd add this (assuming about a 4 - 5 kg grist)....

Added directly to mash:
0.6g Gypsum
1.0g Epsom Salt
3.2g Baking Soda
1.3g Calcium Chloride

Added directly to kettle after full rolling boil begins:
0.9g Gypsum
1.3g Epsom Salt
4.2g Baking Soda
1.7g Calcium Chloride

I don't first wort salt anything. The reason I add salts after achieving full rolling boil is so I don't end up with a sludge of salt on the kettle floor (it's happened). Some salts don't like to stay in suspension very well.

[GDoucet]

Are you on hfx city water?



Transmitted from the Hop-phone.

Yeah I'm on Halifax city water. According to the BCS recipe, there's 25% flaked barley and 12.5% roasted barley. Do you think I will still get decent efficincy if I mash them with the other grains? I would prefer to do a regular mash instead of saving them for the sparge.

IMO, you should always do a 'regular' mash. PH will pretty much always look after itself, sometimes it might approach the high or low end of the scale but almost always still be within acceptable range. There's more important factors than trying to achieve a mid-range or 'ideal' ph imo.

Regardless, in general you should add some salts to bring ion and mineral concentrations up into the preferred range. For stouts and porters it's really useful to bring the carbonate levels up to at least the 200 ppm range, it has huge impact on flavour perception, and for the better. Think Dublin water profile. So hammer the baking soda to it, which will also be of some help in the PH department. For a 5 gallon batch of dry stout on Halifax water I'd add this (assuming about a 4 - 5 kg grist)....

Added directly to mash:
0.6g Gypsum
1.0g Epsom Salt
3.2g Baking Soda
1.3g Calcium Chloride

Added directly to kettle after full rolling boil begins:
0.9g Gypsum
1.3g Epsom Salt
4.2g Baking Soda
1.7g Calcium Chloride

I don't first wort salt anything. The reason I add salts after achieving full rolling boil is so I don't end up with a sludge of salt on the kettle floor (it's happened). Some salts don't like to stay in suspension very well.

Thanks a bunch for the additions. Much appreciated. I'll read up more on water chemistry before the next batch but for now I'll just follow these since I'm trying to get this batch down this weekend. For the baking soda and the epsom salt, can I just use what's on the shelves in the grocey store or do I have to get these from another source?

[mr x]

I use stuff off the shelf. Just watch the Epsom salts. Iirc, some have aromatics added.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

[Jimmy]

I use stuff off the shelf. Just watch the Epsom salts. Iirc, some have aromatics added.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

I prefer the citrus scented for added aroma

Disclaimer: I'm kidding. Don't try it. Unless you really, really want to

[NASH]

Thanks a bunch for the additions. Much appreciated.

For the baking soda and the epsom salt, can I just use what's on the shelves in the grocey store

Yup

[NASH]

I use stuff off the shelf. Just watch the Epsom salts. Iirc, some have aromatics added.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

I prefer the citrus scented for added aroma

Disclaimer: I'm kidding. Don't try it. Unless you really, really want to

[adams81]

Are there any good sources for gypsum and calcium chloride outside the brewing stores?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

[LeafMan66_67]

Are there any good sources for gypsum and calcium chloride outside the brewing stores?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

For calcium chloride, check out "pickle crisp" in the canning section of the grocery store. It may be harder to find at this time of year though.

[LeafMan66_67]

Added directly to mash:
0.6g Gypsum
1.0g Epsom Salt
3.2g Baking Soda
1.3g Calcium Chloride

Added directly to kettle after full rolling boil begins:
0.9g Gypsum
1.3g Epsom Salt
4.2g Baking Soda
1.7g Calcium Chloride

I don't first wort salt anything. The reason I add salts after achieving full rolling boil is so I don't end up with a sludge of salt on the kettle floor (it's happened). Some salts don't like to stay in suspension very well.

Great information! For the full volume mash, no sparge people out there, would you still split your salt additions between mash and boil times?

[NASH]

Added directly to mash:
0.6g Gypsum
1.0g Epsom Salt
3.2g Baking Soda
1.3g Calcium Chloride

Added directly to kettle after full rolling boil begins:
0.9g Gypsum
1.3g Epsom Salt
4.2g Baking Soda
1.7g Calcium Chloride

I don't first wort salt anything. The reason I add salts after achieving full rolling boil is so I don't end up with a sludge of salt on the kettle floor (it's happened). Some salts don't like to stay in suspension very well.

Great information! For the full volume mash, no sparge people out there, would you still split your salt additions between mash and boil times?

Good question! You'd need to put it all into the mash.

[dean2k]

Added directly to mash:
0.6g Gypsum
1.0g Epsom Salt
3.2g Baking Soda
1.3g Calcium Chloride

Added directly to kettle after full rolling boil begins:
0.9g Gypsum
1.3g Epsom Salt
4.2g Baking Soda
1.7g Calcium Chloride

I don't first wort salt anything. The reason I add salts after achieving full rolling boil is so I don't end up with a sludge of salt on the kettle floor (it's happened). Some salts don't like to stay in suspension very well.

Great information! For the full volume mash, no sparge people out there, would you still split your salt additions between mash and boil times?

Good question! You'd need to put it all into the mash.

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