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I am new to Brewers Friend and relatively new to all grain brewing. I am brewing a kit from Label Peelers. Simple grain bill with 12.5# pale malt. The recipe is here: https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/?id=X7JHWHW There will be some additions of pineapple juice concentrate in the fermenter at stages, but not in the mash or boil, so not of consequence for my question. My question is on the pH of my strike water before mashing in. I am using city water and entered the data from their brewer's info page that is updated frequently and tends to be consistent - see below. Water is alkaline and they raise the pH to 8.6. I verified that coming out of the tap with a calibrated pH meter.
When I add my desired salts (see below) and enough phosphoric acid (50ml of 10% concentration) to get the predicted mash pH to ~5.3, the pH of my strike water before mashing in is 3.1. I mixed up a bucket to test this and verified that it was 3.1 pH after mixing and then again after 12 hours, checked with a calibrated pH meter. It requires ~35 ml of acid to get my sparge water to pH 5.4. I decided not to brew until I asked some other folks for their experience. It seems odd that my water for mashing would be that much lower in pH when my mash target is 5.3 pH and the grain should lower pH in the mashing process. I understand that there is significant buffering potential in the grain, but this seems out of whack to me that 3.1 + grain = 5.3. I would appreciate any expert and experienced insight that anyone could provide.
When I add my desired salts (see below) and enough phosphoric acid (50ml of 10% concentration) to get the predicted mash pH to ~5.3, the pH of my strike water before mashing in is 3.1. I mixed up a bucket to test this and verified that it was 3.1 pH after mixing and then again after 12 hours, checked with a calibrated pH meter. It requires ~35 ml of acid to get my sparge water to pH 5.4. I decided not to brew until I asked some other folks for their experience. It seems odd that my water for mashing would be that much lower in pH when my mash target is 5.3 pH and the grain should lower pH in the mashing process. I understand that there is significant buffering potential in the grain, but this seems out of whack to me that 3.1 + grain = 5.3. I would appreciate any expert and experienced insight that anyone could provide.
