Baking powder by mistake

[Keruso]

Today’s brew day didn’t go so well, I meant to add 3g bicarbonate of soda but added baking powder instead by mistake. The wort has a pretty horrid chemical sourness and bitterness. I’ve put it into the fermenter but don’t have much hope it will be drinkable. Any thoughts anyone, can it be saved ?

 

[The Baron]

lift from tinterweb
Baking soda and baking powder are not the same. Sodium bicarbonate and bicarbonate of soda are other names for baking soda. Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.
Seems to intimate that it is a third of the bicarb in baking powder

 

[YeastFace]

Generally baking soda is just bicarb so base/alkaline (and increases PH) but baking powder is bicarb and acid so neutral/slightly acidic (and probably reduces PH).

Again generally, Baking Soda is used in brewing to increase the bicarbonate content and PH of your liquor.

 

[Alastair70]

A while back I spent about 6 months adding baking powder instead of baking soda by mistake. Two of the brews got honorable mentions in LAB ‘22. The others didn’t seem to suffer either.
I’m going to guess that you’ll be fine. Mash pH will be slightly higher, and the total quantity of tartaric acid added to a 20+ litre batch is probable tiny.

 

[brewSJ]

FWIW, baking soda and baking powder are completely different over here too. YeastFace's description is exactly how I would describe them too.

 

[YeastFace]

FWIW, baking soda and baking powder are completely different over here too. YeastFace's description is exactly how I would describe them too.

Sorry about that, got completely mixed up so have amended.