For the past several years, my SOP re: mineral salt additions has been to use CaCO3 and/or gypsum to raise pH (I use lactic acid to lower pH, when necessary). Recently, I brewed an APA with what I figured would have a nice malty backbone to compliment the hops. I didn’t add any mineral salts to the mash because it wasn’t necessary to hit a pH of 5.2-5.3 (measured with ColorpHast strips). I determine whether mineral salt additions are necessary based on the estimated SRM of the beer, which works very well for pH purposes. However, my water is quite soft and without any mineral salt additions, the APA tastes a bit thin – not with respect to mouthfeel, but with regard to malt flavor. I am wondering how to marry the concepts of adding mineral salts for flavor and adding them to adjust pH. For example, I think my APA would have benefitted from a CaCO3 and gypsum addition for flavor purposes. But based on the projected SRM of the beer, I’m concerned that doing so would result in my mash pH being too high. Is it ok to add salts that increase pH while also adding something like lactic acid to keep the pH in check?
I try and use my pH adjustment additions to get me close to a good flavor profile. Really when you think about it your first runnings aren’t too far from the final boil volume, so you’re going to be pretty close.
When I have enough SO4 and Cl and at the right ratio, if I need more pH lowering I resort to lactic acid.
1 for gypsum lowering mash pH. I think you should check your sources again…
If you are lacking malt character in your APA I doubt it has to do with a Ca++ or SO4-- shortage. If anything, chloride or sodium would help with that. I suspect the problem is elsewhere.
One way of dealing with taste vs. mineral additions is to add salts to the kettle instead of the mash if they aren’t necessary for pH adjustment. Getting the right pH is the most critical thing though I also try to get 50ppm Ca++.
So how does this sound for a game plan going forward?
Continue adjusting my mash pH as I have been doing (with CaCO3 to raise, lactic acid to lower). This has worked well for me; I haven’t had pH issues with this method.
Depending on the style I’m brewing and the flavor profile I’m going for, add any additional mineral salts to the boil kettle at the beginning of the boil. For example, for German Pilsner, I only need to add lactic acid to my mash to lower the pH slightly. But I want to add some calcium and a very slight amount of gypsum to get the water profile closer to that of Munich water. So, I would add the mineral salts to the kettle at the very beginning of the boil.
I will be using the EZ Water Calculator online to evaluate whether I need to add mineral salts and how much I should add.
you can always add gypsum/calcium chloride in balance with chalk. I.e. you want to add them such that the residual alkalinity of the water remains the same. If you do this the pH lowering ability of the calcium is offset by the pH raising ability of the chalk.
Sounds like a plan Paw, as long as you have adequate calcium in your mash and you don’t need to add too much lactic acid to get the pH right. I’ve been told not to exceed 5ml per batch lest it might start to show up in the flavor as tartness. Or maybe it was 5ml/gallon.
That’s almost exactly what I did with my last batch of Dort Export. Lactic acid for mash pH and then salts in the boil for “flavor”. It worked out pretty well with good mash efficiency and beer reminiscent of the classic style.
Follow up question: at what point in my brew day process is the Cl:SO4 ratio most important? During the mash? Or is it more a mineral balance that affects the yeast (where the post-boil mineral composition is most important)?
tomsawyer, when I use lactic acid, I only add 2.5 mL to my mash, which usually involves an infusion volume of somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-14 qts (2.5-3.5 gals).
Also, when you say “adequate calcium in your mash,” can you explain why? I thought it was most important to have adequate calcium for the yeast (which would be more dependent on calcium levels in the post-boil volume). I guess what I’m asking is when mash pH is correct, how important is the mineral composition during that phase of the brewing process?
Thanks Kai I was having trouble remembering that rule of thumb.
Paw the time to worry about the ratio is when you drink the beer, its a flavor issue. Sulfate enhances bitterness, chloride enhances malt flavors. Beers with a balance can benefit for a balanced ratio, although I think you should consider what the threshold and upper levels are when formulating.
You can do all your flavor additions to the kettle, it just seems parsimonious to me to use the acidifying salts to bring me close on my mash’es pH and calcium needs, and get the flavor profile close at the same time. But the stuff isn’t expensive so either way is fine.
Besides having enough Ca for good conversion, I noticed a big difference in the clarity of my wort after hot break and final beer when I started boosting Ca levels into the 50-75ppm range in the kettle. Not sure of a cause-effect but maybe someone else can say something about that…
I’ve observed this too. Might be more due to the pH issue than the presence of calcium. Bring the pH closer to the isolelectric point of a protein and it helps it drop.
I read about positive correlation between calcium and protein coagulation via a mechanism that is different from simply changing the pH.
The first chapter on this page of Brigg’s book makes a mention of a correlation between calcium and protein coagulation. But that’s all I was able to find so far.
When it comes to beer clarity, the formation of calcium oxalate in the beer can also create haze. Calcium oxalate is not sufficiently precipitated in the fermenter when there are inadequate levels of calcium present in the beer.
Could also be that the proteins are in fact charged and the salts screen these charges, allowing more hydrophobic interaction that results in coagulation.
All I know is, when I started just adding a couple grams of calcium chloride I got much more of that egg drop soup look in my kettle. The effect was quite dramatic, and pushed me into learning more about water chemistry (which I was purposely avoiding for a long time).