I live in an area with very high alkalinity ~ 320 mg / l CaCO3. I am planing on using Carbonate Reducing Solution CRS to bring the alkality down to acceptable levels for pale ales. To lower the alkalinity to ~ 40 mg/l CaCO3 i will need to add roughly 1.5 ml of CRS for every litre of mash liquid. My question is, at this level Am i likely to taste the CRS? If there are likely to be off …

So I got a Chinook IPA kit last Xmas from Northern Brewer and made my first ever home brew. I followed instructions except I think I made the mistake of steeping grains in boiling water. Everything about the beer ended up perfect except this nasty dry/bitter overtone that ruined what other wise seemed like a good beer. Color was amazing including a nice light brown head. I bottled some and kegged some and they were identical. 10 months later I …

I have an enzyme preparation (powdery form) with an activity of 1045 U/g which I would like to use in mashing a 70 g of grain whose starch percentage is at 67%. How do I determine the quantity (in grams) of the enzyme preparation needed? Thanks

I'm interested in making a hard lemonade after my cider is done, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how the recipes I've found actually work, and what's the best way to ferment lemon juice. What I'm looking at doing is grabbing some good organic lemon juice from Whole Paycheck, adding some kind of sugar (agave nectar, cane sugar, whatever...), then throwing on yeast and walking away. From what I've read, yeast like an acidic environment (pH 4.5-5.5), but …

I'm wondering if it's possible to test the mash during mash for an all grain batch to determine concentrations of calcium, magnesium, etc. Or if that is better determined by pre-mash calculations. What do commercial breweries use? Does anyone know of an off the shelf test?

I recently started using RO water produced from this thing: Countertop Portable Universal 5-stage Reverse Osmosis RO Purification Water System with DI Deionizing Mixed Bed 0PPM postfilter The TDS meter (cheap amazon thing) reads 0 ppm. I used Bru'n Water to create a water profile for a Kolsch 15 lb pils, 8oz flaked wheat, 3 oz Acid Malt. Added 2.5 grams Calcium Chloride to mash water of 5.7 gallons. Bru'n water had my PH target at 5.41, but actual PH …

I recently moved to Rhode Island and my mash efficiency has suffered. The main part of my process that has changed is the water. The pH as measured by colorpHast strips (and two other off brands) starts out around 5.5 (with the systematic error of 0.3 as observed by Braukaiser, that's 5.8). This pH is ridiculously low to work with, and I've been having a hard time. I've used more calcium carbonate (chalk) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) than I …

I am still new to brewing: First attempt with Christmas gifts used a refill kit that turned out to be partial - resulted in stout that tasted fine but is very weak. Second attempt is due to be bottled later this morning. This second attempt is a "North of England" brown ale LME / grain kit. I've been reading quite a bit from John Palmer's "How to Brew" which seems to be a pretty complete guide, and I'm reading a …

Roasted and kilned malts are often used to lower the pH of the mash. Which chemicals are created by the roasting process that have such a low pH?

Does a dark and roasty wort effect the ability to read the color change strips. I am not talking about how dark grains effect pH, I get that. I simply mean the color of stout wort vs. pilsner wort. It has to have an effect on an accurate color comparator right? I have used the strips plenty in the past in my lab career and also when screwing around with wort/water chemistry use pale ale as a learning tool. But …

Possible Duplicate: How can I put minerals back into distilled or reverse osmosis water? This weekend I'll be brewing a recipe from Mitch Steele's 'IPA' book. The recipe has a very exact water profile, so I decided to use RO water and build the water with salts. The question is, when do I add these salts? I can add them to the mash water. I can add them to the sparge water. I can add them to the boil kettle. …

So I just recently started paying attention to mash pH. Took a reading of a cali common I brewed about 10 days ago during the mash, and based on the strips reading (after adding the stabilizer), I was probably around 3.8pH. Added another tbspn of stabilizer. Not much different on the pH strip. No acid malt in the bill, just 2-row, touch of caramel, munich. [knock wood] the beer turned out fine, tastes like a great representation of the style …

I checked the pH in my mash at the end of my mash yesterday and it was 6.6 (using a calibrated electronic meter). I'm trying to work out how to get that down into a more normal range without adding so much salt that it throws the water profile off the charts. I measured my water without any additions, and it read 7.2. I had my water tested by [Ward Labs][2] last year: pH 7.4 Sodium, Na 10 Potassium, K …

I got a pH meter for Christmas and today was my first chance to try it out. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get any lactic acid. I found that my mash pH was at about 5.8 at 148F, so I put a little bit of "Winemaker's acid blend" into the mash, which brought the pH down to 5.3 at the same temperature, which seems to be right in the middle of the "ideal" pH range. The blend is a mixture …

So I've been doing all grain for quite some time now, but I've always "winged it" in regards to my water chemistry. I've been using a mix of Reverse Osmosis and Spring water, which gives good results for pale beers (hefe, lagers, blondes), but my darker beers and IPAs have sometimes come out a little astringent. I suspect my mash pH isn't being controlled properly and so I want to figure out how to monitor and control my mash pH. …

I did an all-grain rye for a mash and pitched with Premier Cuvee yeast (tolerant to 18% abv), 5 grams to 4 gal wort. Repitched it again and the forced fermentation test indicates that the mash is done at 1.030. Any ideas/suggestions? Should I check and adjust the pH if it is below 4?

I was going to get picky with my water profile on my next batch, and was going to pick an acid to lower my sparge water pH that didn't impart flavors. So I'm avoiding the powered acids that are used to flavor wines (which is all that's available at my LHBS), and I'd like to go with liquid. I'm seeing mention of phosphoric acid available at the hardware store, but I didn't know if that was just for cleaning and …

I am getting ready for my first all-grain batch. I got a copy of my township's water report and sat down to use it in conjunction with the graphs in How to Brew to determine what colors of beer I can make without pH adjustments and if I want to make other beers, what adjustments I need to make. The problem is the water report doesn't list the Magnesium content. This data is crucial to using the charts. I've emailed …