Celbridge water

[Hop Bomb]

Last brew I did a scotch ale & tried to mimic the Edinburgh water profile from John Palmers How to Brew. I used all RO water from the filter system & added my salts to the boil kettle (gypsum, calc cholride, epsom & baking soda). I used 100g of acid malt (total grain bill was 4.06kg) in the mash to try hit the ph. It came in at 5.8 ph so will add more next time as the http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/ software is only a starting point really. I got lactic acid in HBW but havent used it yet. Next brew perhaps.

It's the pH of the mash that's really important, not so much the boil. If you had added the gypsum and chloride to the mash it would have helped to lower the pH further.

I've never understood the urge to mimic water profiles (not having a go! I just don't think it's required to clone a beer, except in certain extreme cases). The most important thing is to hit the correct mash pH and add the appropriate amount of minerals to help the enzymes do their thing and keep the yeast happy. Calcium, in particular, is extremely important in this regard.

Lactic acid is great for on-the-fly adjustments, especially for sparge water.

It was my first time building water from scratch & the ppm for everything is in his book. (The water calculator is John Palmers too) so it was an easy introduction for me to try hit that profile so the balance was to the malty side.

Ive listened to the water chemistry podcasts John & Jamil did a good few times & they dont seem to bother with salts in the mash at all. They're using lactic acid in the strike water to hit mash ph.
RO water for sparge & salts in the boil kettle for the flavour profile. Anyone else doing this?

[Kaymak (kev2403)]

I've never had a problem with Mash ph since adding the salts to the mash, usually between 5.2 and 5.3.

Gypsum generally accentuates hops and calcium chloride malts, which you will get if your adding the salts to the boil but, if your mash ph is too high, you're going to pull out tannin's from the grain which is something you dontb want in the final beer, that horrible grainy astringent taste.

If you add the salts to te mash, that should stabilize the ph and also carry trough to the boil for your flavor also, win win

[Dr Jacoby]

Ive listened to the water chemistry podcasts John & Jamil did a good few times & they dont seem to bother with salts in the mash at all.

Are you sure? That goes against almost everything I have ever read on how to do a successful mash. Calcium is crucial during the mash according to most sources. 

[DEMPSEY]

Running in and out reading here don't forget to keep some lovely calcium for the boil,alarm went off must dash.

[Dr Jacoby]

Running in and out reading here don't forget to keep some lovely calcium for the boil,alarm went off must dash.

Yep. You'll normally lose about half of your mineral salt additions to the grain in the mash. This means that you should probably top them up in the boil to bring them to the right level for the yeast.

[Hop Bomb]

Ive listened to the water chemistry podcasts John & Jamil did a good few times & they dont seem to bother with salts in the mash at all.

Are you sure? That goes against almost everything I have ever read on how to do a successful mash. Calcium is crucial during the mash according to most sources.

No not sure now that you've made me question my memory on it. But they were defo not bothering adding salts somewhere & adding them in the BK (maybe its the strike & sparge water as the water doesnt absorb the salts easily?) Il have a listen over the week again.

[DEMPSEY]

Oh man Mash out at 16.50 began transfer and sparge all complete at 16.58, 8 minutes for sparge and transfer to Kettle.

[Dr Jacoby]

Nice!

[imark]

How did the losses work out on the kettle with whirlpool? did the trub and hops displace much for you?

[DEMPSEY]

I transferred 33.5L to the Kettle 90 minute boil with 28L left at boil end. Whirlpool was poor and hops got into pumps causing them to overheat. . I am doing a redesign here.