Increasing Alkalinity in "Soft Water"

[crookedeyeboy]

28.34g (1oz) of sodium carbonate (not bicarb) = 163ppm of alkalinity per brewers barrel (163lts)

For 23lt brewlength: 163 / 23 = 7.08

28.34 / 7.08 = 3.99g per 23 lts of beer to be made will add 163ppm of alkalinity.

Jobs a good un as they say

Unless you are trying to avoid adding sodium

Haha! Indeed

[orlando]

I might just add the dark grains at the end of the mash (although I might add the crystal to the main mash but NOT the choc/black/roasted)

Applies to crystal as well, no need to mash.

[Manx Guy]

Thanks!

Noted


Guy8)

[simple one]

After doing separate steeps for coloured malts I think I may have hit a snag. The mash pH is bang on, but final beer pH is lowered in the addition of the steeped juices of the darker malts. I have only tested about four beers so far, so I won't nail my colours to the mast just yet. But I don't think this is going to work to have a correct final beer pH.

[crookedeyeboy]

28.34g (1oz) of sodium carbonate (not bicarb) = 163ppm of alkalinity per brewers barrel (163lts)

For 23lt brewlength: 163 / 23 = 7.08

28.34 / 7.08 = 3.99g per 23 lts of beer to be made will add 163ppm of alkalinity.

Jobs a good un as they say

Unless you are trying to avoid adding sodium

Haha! Indeed

Use Calicum Carbonate is you dont want to add Sodium. Just slightly different maths.

[Aleman]

28.34g (1oz) of sodium carbonate (not bicarb) = 163ppm of alkalinity per brewers barrel (163lts)
For 23lt brewlength: 163 / 23 = 7.08
28.34 / 7.08 = 3.99g per 23 lts of beer to be made will add 163ppm of alkalinity.
Jobs a good un as they say

Unless you are trying to avoid adding sodium

Use Calcium Carbonate is you don't want to add Sodium. Just slightly different maths.

Quite a bit different, and calcium carbonate is not all that soluble in plain water or indeed in the mash as I suspect that the calcium carbonate particles act as deposition sites for calcium phosphate, which is even less soluble, leaving you will still a high mash pH . . . if you add more calcium carbonate to compensate eventually you just end up with a chalky tasting beer.

I'm sure it was mentioned earlier that the best (not necessarily easiest) way to get a high alkalinity liquor using calcium carbonate required dissolving it in 'carbonic acid' under pressure