Jim's Beer Kit

Liquids in the liquor, salts in the grain. One generally waits 10 minutes before taking pH measurements of the mash and then corrects it (with lactic acid, that is liquid). If you want to include the effects of salts you have to add them before that. So salts at mashing in, lactic a bit later and m...

As the alcohol is meths (methanol) you do not want to be using it, although the dilution rate is so low, and you use it drip dry, some might consider that you could 'get away with it'!! The risk to health is not worth it IMO

I usually brew with water that has very little in it, and never have to increase alkalinity AND add acid! I follow three rules 1) Adjust alkalinity IF Required either by adding acids (I use hydrochloric and sulphuric), or some form of easily dissolved hydrogen carbonate salt (Usually potassium, but ...

Not sure if the calculator means uk or us liters,I am thinking us as per the spelling. Sorry to be picky but a Litre is a Liter is a Litre! It is defined by international standards as (IIRC) "the volume occupied by 1000g of water (IIRC) at standard temperature and pressure". Can't help thinking tha...

I brew in a 100% nitrogen atmosphere

I actually don't think 5.6 is out of an acceptable range ... I normally accept anything within 5.2 to 5.8, which is where pH tends to fall anyway even if you do nothing :D One of the issues here is different 'author'ites quoting different acceptable ranges, and they are getting narrower and lower as...

Calcium levels ??

Account for all the liquor in the water treatment, You may find that you need to drop the alkalinity further than you would normally to get the mash pH to fall in the right zone. When I was mashing in my 3V kit at 2.5L/Kg I would drop the alkalinity to 25-30mg/L since switching to the Braumeister I ...

Suggests your alkalinity is exceptionally high ... Where are you based? I know that around Reading alkalinities of 325-375mg/L are not impossible!!

Thanks for the info, went with the sparging method this morning. I have done full volume mashing previously but wasn't sure about salts in the boil. All the salts in all the liquor as I'm filling the BM ... Job done. Actually that's not strictly true, Partially fill the BM and add 2/3 of any requir...

It's in the acceptable range, at the beginning and end, why worry??

What Martin is saying is correct, ... What??? When I saw this thread with you and Eric in it, and then Martin ambles along I thought it was time to climb into the bomb shelter :wall . But you are agreeing with him :shock: ? No Martin is completely correct the pH does change in the mash with time .....

Always add the acid in two lots .... 2/3 of the recomended amount, stir wait 5 minutes, test with Salifert ... Adjust final amount of acid to take into account the salifert reading. Wallybrews test was a point in time, your water changes daily ... sometimes it's significant. Always test alkalinity b...

Thats why I like authors who asay stuff like a sample of the mash taken after 10-15 minutes should be between pH 5.2 and 5.7 ... No Bullshit, and using a series of test mashes and water treatments you can determine what treatments do that for grist you've chosen.

What Martin is saying is correct, which means that when you report the pH, or attempt to predict it you must specify the time into the mash that the reading was/should be taken ... Otherwise no one else will know if your, or their, result is meaningful or an anomaly. This was drummed into me during ...