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The core question is … Why? Different ions lead to different perceived properties in the finished beer; for one example: higher concentrations of chloride emphasize malt character, whereas higher concentrations of sulfate emphasize hop character and dryness.
When? Both in the mash and in the sparge water, mostly based on the ratio in volume, with some ...
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IMHO mead does not generally need any adjustment of pH levels to ferment correctly. It is generally fermented to have a similar level of alcohol to a strong wine - which will not generally support bacterial growth. As the fermentation progresses the pH of the mead will naturally drop due to dissolved carbon dioxide. Mead has been made this way for a long ...
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According the Brau Kaiser, it's acidic melanoidins. Melanoidins are composed of sugars and amino acids, and are created through the Maillard reaction.
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Whether or not they're really necessary depends on the water you have and the beer you want to brew. You need to start by getting an analysis of your water. Some water districts provide all the info you need, but many of them don't. If not, an excellent resource is wardlab.com. Get test W-6. As the what the info means and how you need to adjust your ...
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You are perfectly correct, the mash adjust to around 5.2 is for conversion efficiency and to assure that minimal tannins are extracted out of the grain husks (especially important in dark beers). The post-mash adjustment down to 4.5 is generally suggested in order to prevent bacteria other than lactobacillus from growing in your wort since especially ...
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Yes, no matter what kind of pH tester you get, you need to store it with the probe in storage solution. You'll also need both the 4 and 7 calibration solutions. Some people say you can use the 4 for storage, but experts I've talked to recommend using the storage solution instead. even with that, you may be looking at replacing the probe every few years. ...
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The enzymes beta-amylase and alpha-amylase have ideal ranges. Doesn't mean they will not work they just take longer if a little too high or low.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4460087/#!po=49.0826
Basically what it says is that our brewing enzymes will still function until pH induced denaturing, which happens around pH 2.0 Though they lose a ...
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It's impossible to say without knowing the recipe, and your existing water etc.. It could go either way, but I'd be inclined to say you'll be fine. It does sound more than we'd typically add to a 5 gallon batch, but I don't see what negative affects it will have, and it clearly did raise the pH over time which was the intent.
To put some numbers to it, 5 ...
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For the best results, you should always check your pH and adjust if necessary. Using RO water doesn't change anything. Remember, it's the pH of the mash, not the water, that matters. As pointed out above, you will also need to adjust the mineral content of your water for flavor. That will likely also have an effect on the pH.
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You'll get more browning with higher pH, but there are also plenty of other reasons for producing a darker wort, so you'll need to at least check the pH before deciding to do anything about it. Ideally your pre-boil pH should be around 5.3-5.5 - lower is better.
While adjusting pH may help you with the color, you should be adding minerals to the RO water ...
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If you're trying to hit an optimal pH, then yes, you'll have to adjust after each addition.
However, rather than sticking with the same pH for the entire mash, is generally best to let the pH rise as temperature rises, since the key mash enzymes that work well at higher temperatures also have higher pH optima.
For example, Brewkaiser states beta-amylase (...
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Reading a little about humulone isomerisation, it seems that both Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions catalyse the reaction, while aqueous alkali is also mentioned (see e.g. Table 8.2 in However, Brewing: Science and Practice by Chris A. Boulton and Peter A. Brookes).
All three are present in your tap water but not in the distilled. I would conclude that the bitterness you ...
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There are a couple things you can try adding to a glass of the beer. The sodium and chloride in salt will aid in the perception of sweetness, so you could try adding a bit to a glass. Too much, though, will obviously give you a salty flavor. You can also add calcium chloride to the glass to enhance the perception if maltiness and sweetness. Again, start ...
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Rye malt is generally similar to wheat with a projected distilled water mash ph of 6.04 for a %100 wheat grist.
Select "Wheat" in your water profile calculator, and mash ph estimator.
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Adding baking soda - sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)is a quick and cheap method to reduce acidity in foodstuffs- but beware of the sudden release of gas (CO2) and foaming.
Strictly speaking any alkaline substance can be added to reduce acidity in solution. The trick is keep the taste at least "pleasant", if not "authentic", without rendering the drink dangerous....
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If you're concerned with the oxidation effecting the wort. Simply give it a 5 minute starsan soak before using, it will be bright and shinny.
Yeast actually use a little copper as nutrients.
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I think that the acidity does not have an influence on copper, but it does on copper oxidation, which you do not want in your beer. Always clean and dry your chiller very well, and store it dry so that it does not oxidise (turns green).
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No. The comparatively low pH will not leach the copper in any appreciable way into a wort solution.
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You can add lactic as EZ suggests: or you can add a little citric, malic acid blended together, for a more fruity acid flavour.
Once your pH is corrected you may still fine the wine a bit thin on mouthfeel. If the is the case you can also add some black tea to the wine, allow 3 or 4 bags to stew in 500ml for 4 hours, then you can dose the wine with this. ...
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You can add lactic acid to lower the pH.
Test on a small scalable volume to taste. Then do the correct dose on the batch.
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I would not bother trying to rescue it at this point, you could leave it 6 months as see what happens often the wine will mellow.
But, I would leave it in the bottles and serve it with lemonade or similar, or I would use it to cook meat in, or enrich a sauce, or to mix with olive oil for a salad dressing.
Put it down to experience and try again.
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With some ciders I experience the same burning sensation after a few ciders. I haven't figured out the exact causes yet but I will share a few theories worth testing:
1) Acidity. Some apples are much higher acidity than others. Also some yeasts will produce a higher acid product than others. And as Kingsley also alluded to, carbon dioxide is also acidic ...
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First thoughts: During fermentation, lots of un-tasty yeast by-products are created (including fusel alcohols). Giving the fermentation time to finish allows the yeast to re-process these by-products, but you're interrupting this by cold-crashing early.
Second thought: 100 grams of sugar is enough to prime 20 litres / 5 gallons of cider. Your question ...
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I think the right approach may be to boil as normal for the equipment used, then after the saccharomyces fermentation is complete, if the DMS levels are noticeable, perform a CO2 purge. According to Carl Townsend of picobrewery.com,
Generally, if you keep your boil vigorous and cool rapidly, DMS levels will be appropriate for style. However, the DMS ...
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The lactic acid in the sour wort will act as a pH buffer and will mean quite a lot of "salts" will be needed to actually raise the pH of the wort. The lactic acid may well form a salt precipitate in such conditions (eg. Calcium lactate) which has a very much less sour flavour compared to lactic acid. Some think it does not taste sour at all. In theory one ...
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I'm doing an AG porter recipe. Historically, I have been dissatisfied with my porters - they come out thin...
The answer to thin, as in mouth-feel, is normally in your malt bill, the yeast you choose and your mash thickness and temps. See here. Mash ph also plays a role, but it isn't the only contributing factor, and the ph is affected by the other factors. ...
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In addition to what mdma stated.
High ppm of calcium could give the finished beer a "mineral water" flavor, but this is appropriate in many styles.
You may want to consider RO or distilled bottled water at least 50/50 with your filtered water. This will help with the pH and cut down on the Chloramine.
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Two methods to lower acidity (raise pH) would be to use carbonate salt (potassium or calcium). In a pinch I guess you could try sodium carbonate (baking soda), but I'd recommend trying it on a smaller batch first to be sure it tasted OK. I guess it depends on how much acid you need to off-set.
The second method would be to employ a malolactic fermentation ...
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A couple of links to help you with this:
Tannins:
http://www.cider.org.uk/tannin.htm
Acids:
http://www.cider.org.uk/phandacid.htm
http://www.cider.org.uk/tlctext.htm
From what I have been reading around this, you need some acidity, some sweetness and some tannins, too little of one makes an unbalanced cider. Say acidic and sweet with no tannins would ...
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All pH meters should be stored in storage solution to keep the electrode and reference junction damp.
I'm not sure how much you are looking to spend, but I use this Extech model that sells for under $100 on Amazon: Extech PH100
It has a cap with a little sponge in it to hold the storage solution, which makes storage super simple.
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