So I was looking at the basic Br’un water spreadsheet to build up a pils from RO and I noticed the mash pH is estimated at 5.7 with 100% pils and it’s the same with your lineup JIm.
I added acid malt to get it down to 5.4, but am wondering since 5.7 is in the accepted range (theoretically) does it actually match up with any Pilsener flavor profile?
I think mashing at a pH of 5.7 is high for such a pale beer. Thoughts on this?
I personally wouldn’t mash any beer @ 5.7 . I mash porter and stout @ 5.6 and everything else below. I just mashed a helles at 5.45. Did one of the profiles show that as target pH, or did you just enter in your grist and it showed a pH of 5.7 before you added acid or salts?
Ha it’s an un-upgraded version of Bru’n…
That’s gonna change. 
So room-temp 5.7 mash pH was a calculated straight estimate of a 100% pils malt bill and 1.6 qt/# mash. Pre and post salt addition- it doesn’t change the pH.
I’ve been mashing my pale German lagers at 5.5 ph. I use 10% phosphoric on them. I suppose the hoppier ones would be ok with lactic, but if it doesn’t matter and you have both…
I use Brewers Friend so I don’t know martins profiles. My water for this beer will be 4.5 gallons DI in the mash with 4g CaSo4, 1g MgSo4, .25g NaCl, and 18ml 10% phosphoric. 5.5 gallons sparge with same salts but no acid needed.
I don’t get why the salt additions don’t change the pH. Regardless, I always adjust the pH after entering the grist. That number is an ‘if left untreated’ pH estimate. Hard to go wrong with 5.25-5.4 for pils IMO.
I’m aiming for a pH of 5.4! And a sulfate-chloride ratio of 1.2 for a balanced beer.
Rather use phosphoric acid than lactic-based acid malt. LHBS didn’t have any a couple days ago. Northern Brewer does!
+1 that’s not right. salts like gypsum and cacl will change the PH unless negligible additions.
anyway-single infusion just pick a PH…5.2-5.6 and call it a day. Me, I’d shoot for the 5.4ish optimal for beta rest and the single infusion temp range of 148F.
They are/were very small additions. I upped them significantly and brought calcium up to 50ppm which dropped the mash pH to 5.6…
I’ve never used bru’n water before. I’m assuming my RO is very similar to the calculator’s- so I just use those stats.
Which is almost identical to the pilsen profile. A tiny amount of gypsum and calcium chloride brings the SO/Cl ration in line. The cation/anion are balanced. RA and hardness are spot on, The only thing is that 5.7 pH!
And adding phosphoric acid swings the RA way negative and screws up the cation/anion balance. I’m also assuming this is bad.
Be sure (if you haven’t) to set the dilution tab to RO and whatever % of RO you’re using. I use all RO so I set the dilution tab to RO 100%.
there it is…you are using pilsen water profile? use yellow balanced and add your salts to match that profile. your PH should drop.
I set my initial profile up with the RO profile and then set the dilution to zero when I redid everything. After my last post I went to Braukaiser and looked at some water profiles. I added 0.3 # acidulated malt which brought everything in line without the need for an acid addition.
I then changed it to “yellow balanced” and got something very much like what I have already except it has 7 ppm magnesium. Hmmm. Pilsen or yellow balanced?
I really like yellow balanced (or a variation of) for most pale lagers. Just preference.
“Pilsen” is water profile you might find In that region; it’s not necessarily what a brewer ends up using to brew with. It’s like using whatever you well water has in it for minerals, and then adjusting to something like yellow balanced. IMO you will be happy with the yellow balanced for standard pils, and more hoppy like northern German pils you’d up the sulfate to 90-100ppm as an example.
Yellow balanced it is! I’ll try the pilsen some other time.
I rebuilding my stocks of beer and want more predictable results.
Thanks guys!