TroelsHagensen
Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2014
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 2
Hi there,
I need help understanding the role of bicarbonates better than I do at the moment.
I am brewing in Greenland, with very soft water - you can see the water profile below.
At the moment I am working on a brown ale. For the style I see a lot of suggestions
aiming for 100 - 200 HCO3.
So here is my question. Are there any reasons to aim for those levels, when 35 ppm
HCO3 should result in a mash pH of 5,5? Adding no HCO3 = mash pH of 5,48.
I have done mashes with 140 ppm HCO3, but then I need to add acid to reduce the
pH.
If the only role of HC03 is to increase the mash pH it seems wired to add a lot of
HCO3 to hit the called for levels just to add acid.
Also, if somebody has something clever to share about mash-pH 5,4 vs 5,5 in my Brown Ale,
then please do!
One of my goals is to avoid acidity and astringency in the finished beer. I want round,
pleasant notes of chocolate, toffee and coffee. And no muddyness
Ca: 7,5
Mg: 1,5
Na: 6,4
SO4: 3,5
Cl: 13
HCO3: 24,1
Pretty close to a blank canvas.
My Brown Ale water profile:
Ca: 60-70
Mg: 0-5
Na: 25
SO4: 50
Cl: 60
Thank you in advance!
I need help understanding the role of bicarbonates better than I do at the moment.
I am brewing in Greenland, with very soft water - you can see the water profile below.
At the moment I am working on a brown ale. For the style I see a lot of suggestions
aiming for 100 - 200 HCO3.
So here is my question. Are there any reasons to aim for those levels, when 35 ppm
HCO3 should result in a mash pH of 5,5? Adding no HCO3 = mash pH of 5,48.
I have done mashes with 140 ppm HCO3, but then I need to add acid to reduce the
pH.
If the only role of HC03 is to increase the mash pH it seems wired to add a lot of
HCO3 to hit the called for levels just to add acid.
Also, if somebody has something clever to share about mash-pH 5,4 vs 5,5 in my Brown Ale,
then please do!
One of my goals is to avoid acidity and astringency in the finished beer. I want round,
pleasant notes of chocolate, toffee and coffee. And no muddyness
Ca: 7,5
Mg: 1,5
Na: 6,4
SO4: 3,5
Cl: 13
HCO3: 24,1
Pretty close to a blank canvas.
My Brown Ale water profile:
Ca: 60-70
Mg: 0-5
Na: 25
SO4: 50
Cl: 60
Thank you in advance!