Mash pH and water composition

[TartanSpecial]

I think the reason I noticed a decent increase in efficiency when I treated with CRS is because my water is ultra hard...alkalinity varies between 270-300ppm as CaCO3 so I'm adding 1.3-1.5ml CRS/litre brewing liquor. If you are in a less hard water area the effect might not be quite as noticeable. Other things I do which may impact efficiency is I'm spending more time trying to get the mash temp just right, and stirring for a good 5 minutes to make sure everything is evenly mixed with no dough balls before sealing the tun. The other thing I (and others) have mentioned is milling your own grain.

 

[dan125]

I have changed hop quantities to comply with the AA% hops I have access too. The original recipe calls for 5% AA and I plan on using ~9% so reduced to meet the same IBU. While im on hops - do high AA hops have a high "quantity" of flavour to impart. So should I reduce the quantity of late addition hops since they are higher AA? I have currently scaled down all hop additions.

The reason I spec'd a reasonably high level of dark malt was to reduce mash pH and suit my water profile without need for massive water treatment - not primarily not dark malts are for. So I will likely revised the dark malt quantities. Do you have a malt suggestion for darkening pales and complying with the dry flavour of a hoppy pale? Crystal seemed middle of the road for me - not too dark and toasty but enough to darken without adding too much.

The higher AA doesn't mean more flavour, so I'd keep the late hop additions as per the recipe, but allow for the extra IBUs of these by reducing the bittering addition to hit your target overall IBUs.

Crystal has quite an intense flavour and I wouldn't use it to darken the beer. Unless I was trying to brew 'to style' for a competition I wouldn't bother adjusting the colour at all.
For a dry finish you need to mash at a slightly lower temp - try 64-65 deg C for starters - and use a yeast that attenuates well so you have a low FG.

 

[dan125]

I do full BIAB no sparge. Grain I've had recently I've got from Malt Miller. And you can request BIAB crushed which I've done.

I didn't know they did a different crush for BIAB - thanks!
Will be requesting this with my next order.
:

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

Yeah if you mention in the order notes that you want a BIAB crush they do it.

 

[mabrungard]

I have a comprehensive water quality report from my supplier however mineral concentrations are very varied. The 2015 report states min and max tested levels of the following:

Ca - 64-84
Mg - 8-10
SO4 - 52-121
Chloride - 28-71

Alkalinity - 138 (not on the report to phoned my supplier and they said this is quite a stable number)

I was planning on using salt additions to reduce residual alkalinity and balance the SO4:Cl- ratio for my designated beer style but I feel my time could be wasted given the mineral ranges.

Given that water quality and its variation, it may be tougher to estimate proper acid and mineral additions. However, you can probably also quiz the supplier as to the more typical values for the ions you cite. That is what I would assume for your starting point.

The type of acid you use is dependent upon the beer style you are brewing. While CRS will be fine for English styles, you are likely to find that either lactic acid or phosphoric acid provide better results when brewing German, Belgian, and American styles.

The final recommendation is for you to NOT rely too heavily on the SO4/Cl ratio. It is only valid in a small range of concentrations. In my opinion, when the Cl content is either less than 25 ppm or greater than 100 ppm, the ratio is not very accurate. Given that your water is half way through that range, I caution against adding a bunch of minerals or CRS in pursuit of a certain ratio.

Enjoy!

 

[MyQul]

I have beersmith set at 70% when I've planned recipes. And my SG had come short of the predicted by 3-4 points really.

Do you squeeze your bag? I sparged with less water to day which meant I got less wort to dilute. However I squeazed the bejesus out of the mash bag (which I don't normally do) to try and compensate. It worked too. Just done the dilution calculations and hit my aimed for 23L brewlength

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Do you squeeze your bag?

I have seen that asked here many times and still smirk when i read it. :lol:

 

[MyQul]

I have seen that asked here many times and still smirk when i read it. :lol:

That's cuz you've got a smutty mind chippy :nono::lol:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Sorry :-? :lol: