Search results

I don't know if that reported profile balances ionically, but it looks like a decent starting point. The alkalinity isn't very high and wouldn't require much acid to neutralize. The remainder of the ions are at low levels and can be substantially increased for a SNPA clone. I typically use...

Raw and flaked barley has high beta glucan content. That's a body builder for beer. Torified Wheat doesn't provide much beta glucan. Another alternative is to use Chit Malt, which is slightly germinated barley.

That tap water has pretty high alkalinity and lactic acid use may not be ideal. The amount that you'd have to add would likely create a lactic taste in the beer. While I do believe in using lactic acid for continental European beers, using AMS or CRS would probably be a better alternative...

What was your water like? It sounds like the beer needs a bit more of a drying finish. Try adding a thin pinch of gypsum to a pint of the beer and stir it in. That addition is roughly 100 ppm sulfate. See if its dry enough for you. Sulfate helps dry the beer's finish. That will help...

pH changes for quite a while during a mash. I've found that the 15 minute measurement is quite a way off of the terminal pH value. It takes about 45 minutes for the typical mash to reach what can be considered its terminal pH. As mentioned above, placing the pH probe in the hot mash or wort...

I've had a Gamo air rifle for almost 20 years. I think it's a Spanish brand. At 1000 ft/sec, it packs a decent punch and it was a relatively inexpensive unit. Single-shot, break to cock type of gun.

80 ppm sodium shouldn't trigger a salty taste in your beer, but some tasters can be more sensitive. The move to RO should alleviate the salty flavor. While some beer styles benefit from low mineralization, recognize that many styles do need some mineralization or the beers can actually be...

The most common contributors to musty or scummy odor and taste in water are Methyl Isoborneal (MIB) and Geosmin. They are common in surface water sources in warmer weather. Those molecules are too large to pass through RO membrane pores, so it's not likely that the mustiness is from the water...

That is a great water report. That water's a good starting point for almost any brewing. Only the light German lager styles might benefit from less mineralized water.

Unless your brewing water's calcium content was well over 200 ppm, there is NO worry about precipitating calcium via phosphoric acid use. And when you consider loosing some of that already high calcium content, its absolutely not a concern. Malt supplies ALL the calcium that yeast need for their...

44g of gypsum? Is this larger than a typical 20L batch? That is a lot. If you were using RO or distilled water, the lack of alkalinity in either of those waters is the reason why the pH ended up so low. The dark malts drive pH down and alkalinity is REQUIRED to keep the pH from dropping too...

While that pictured system is nice and compact, the carbon filter is likely not large enough to effectively remove disinfectants from your water (if you're on a municipal system). If you are on a well, you're good to go. Depending on the water source, all that a RO system NEEDS is a sediment...

I suggest using a brewing water calculator to help you figure out what minerals or acids to use and how much of each. Hopefully you have a precision scale so that you can measure out the typically small amounts of each mineral.

The significant amount of calcium added to that Pale Ale profile does help drive pH down and lessens the need for acid. I'm not sure how EZ works, so I can't comment there. I do use the Pale Ale profile for my PAs and IPAs and I find it nicely drying. However, it may not be to everyone's taste...

Generally if an acid such as CRS is required, that unit rate addition of acid should be applied to the entire volume of water used in the brewing process. Adding un-acidified, high alkalinity water during the sparging process can be very injurous to the beer quality. Whether or not you boil the...

Your problem is that the water report doesn't actually provide you with an Alkalinity value. You have plugged in the Hardness value which is also reported in "as CaCO3" units into the Alkalinity conversion tool. The Hardness and Alkalinity values are not likely to be the same unless the water...

Yep, my wife complains that I'm too critical of beers when we go out. It is difficult to turn off that ability to detect flaws once you learn to recognize them. However, it doesn't diminish the pleasure of finding beer that is well-made. The type of training recommended by BJCP is still worthwhile.

The BJCP exam is torture. However, learning the guts of what is needed to be a decent beer judge is worth it. Hopefully you have an opportunity to 'study' with an organized group to cover styles and flaws to enhance your brewing knowledge. Being able to detect and correct flaws in your own brews...

Baking soda in the mashing water is quite effective in keeping the mashing pH up in a preferred range of 5.4 to 5.6 for darker styles like most porters and stouts. While it looks like you'd be adding a high amount of sodium to your brew, its actually diluted by the sparging water that is free of...

Agreed that the final gravity readings with the Tilt can be slightly compromised by barm collecting on the top of the instrument. But it still provides 'relative' observation of how the gravity is changing or stabilizing. I do find the instrument useful to my brewing. I wonder if the...