Baking soda guy here… ;D Contrary to popular belief I put some thought into that recommendation. First off, baking soda rocks for dark beers. Sodium contribution is perfect along the roast. Look at any chocolate recipe, be it ice cream/cookies/cake, there is salt/sodium. Also, it is much more forgiving to use than say chalk or lime where you can really overdo it. With my water I am using about 1/2tsp and my water is well known to be hard and since Curt didn’t respond about his water being hard I figured it was not and stuck to the full tsp. There’s a chance he took the reading early in the mash and it takes time for the reaction to occur so potentially he might fine. I shoot for 5.6 on my dark stuff BTW.
70% is pretty good efficiency. To get the high numbers posted round these parts you have to mill your own. Crush is the key. That said, 70% is fine.
Flavor contributions from sodium etc. are certainly valid, if the water source is lacking. However, assumptions were made that led to an apparent mash pH of 6 according to the OP, which may or may not have some unintended effects on the recipe. Goal for mash pH based on everything I’ve ever seen or heard should be like 5.2-5.5, or maybe 5.6 at most as you stated. Had the soda been added after the mash instead of before, then you could get the flavor impacts (improvements?) without mash pH going so high. In the end, though, I agree, it looks like we’re probably lucky and everything will turn out just fine, hopefully, unless perhaps his water is notoriously hard like Ireland, or moderately hard (like Two Rivers, Wisconsin), in which case, keep fingers crossed.
Sodium contribution of the full tsp does not raise any issues in BNW and the pH can of course corrected by acid if need be. In retrospect, I was a bit aggressive with the pH suggestion and will probably stay away from recommending any pH adjustments without a water report in the future. That said, I still remember how bad my first dark beers were. Very acrid/ciderish and this was due to too low a pH and was hoping to get the OP to avoid this. Very common fault for AG brewers unless they have water like Dublin. ;D
I have noticed this effect in a LOT of commercial beers. A simple post-mash addition of baking soda resolves this. Or even use it during the mash if appropriate if mash pH is super low. For my water at my house, I have to wait until after the mash. Lots of carbonates and alkalinity already in my source water. And then I only ever use a fairy dust amount like 1/4 teaspoon or something along that amount (for 3-5 gallons).
Yep. I’ll never forget the first stout I made after getting a handle on pH. I added (and still add) baking soda into the mash at a higher pH and… voila. Damn good beer.
If by the product 5.2, I agree. If by the mash pH 5.2 I disagree. Here is why:
"It is therefore of interest to considerably reduce
the pH to 5.2.
• the range of enzymes is considerably improved
because all the important enzymes,
with the exception of p-amylase, are activated,
• at low pH-values more growth promoting
substances go into sol ution, e.g. the supply
of zinc is increased,
• the extract yield is increased,
• the protein excretion improves (better break
formation),
• the redox potential improves, a reduced susceptibility
to oxygen thereby develops,
lautering proceeds faster,
• colouring during wort boiling is suppressed,
• the activity of the phosphatases is promoted
and they strengthen the buffering capacity
through t he release of phosphates,
• fermentation is faster due to better trub excretion,
a faster drop in the pH and higher
degree of attenuation in the cellar,
• filtration is improved by lower viscosity values,
• the flavour is mellower, fuller and softer,
• the hop bittering is more pleasant and does
not linger,
• the beer is fresh, and has a fresher, stronger
and more characteristic taste,
• the foam has finer bubbles and is more stable,
• the colour of the beer is lighter,
• a better flavour stability is to be expected,
particularly as the lipoxygenase is sensitive
to pH values below 5.2 and is then no longer
effective,
• the chemical-physical stability is better, less
tendency to protein haze,
• digestion is aided, which is a positive effect
of the lactic acid,
• reduction of the biological susceptibility of
the beer because of:
• the low pH : beer spoiling organisms no
longer grow below a pH of 4.4,
• the higher degree of attenuation leading to
a lower amount of non-fermentable sugar,
and hence
• a greater pressure towards selectivity of the
yeast which forces back the beer-spoiling
competitors.
By reducing the pH value of the mash to 5.2, fewer ageing components are formed. The mash acidification should only be used with well modified malts at temperatures above 60 °."
Regardless the outcome of this brew, I will have learned a great deal and will be able to take my experience and grow from it.
I don’t know my water profile, but I think I should try to get it. I’m in the inland desert area of southern CA. about an hour NE of San Diego.
So if I ditch the pH5.2 product and use malts or other things to lower pH how would you recommend I calculate such a thing. Can Beer smith calculate the pH of the mash?
Thanks for the info guys, I didn’t find my area in the link but I will ask on of the local breweries.
So I’ve since bottled my maple brown ale and transferred my oatmeal stout to secondary.
Should my bottled beer carbonate ok in the chest freezer? its currently at 67 degrees.
While transferring the stout I took a gravity reading (1.012) and got to taste it.
I think it tastes pretty good actually after having the pH and baking soda thing which I was concerned about having to start over.
There is a pleasant smokey flavor finished with a camfire ash burnt flavor.
It subsides quickly and isn’t that bad. I am attributing the campfire flavor to the Black Patent.
Will a de bittered grain work better? ie; Black prince, caraffa. My homebrew show had midnight wheat. What do think about using something like that for color and body? I havnt read anything aboot it yet.
Agreed with the 5.2 and BruNWater recommendations. Ditch the 5.2 stablizer and use that software to build your water profile. Your beer will certainly improve. I always cringe when I read things like “just toss a tsp or so of gypsum in there” for hoppy beers or throw some baking soda in for dark beers when we have no idea of the water mineral content.
Also if you can’t get a local report of your water, you can send in a sample of your water to Ward Labs and for about $25 they will email you back a full report of mineral content. This is what I did and they got it back to me in a few days.