On my recirculating mash I stir at the beginning to incorporate the grains and check for doe balls. Then after that for 60 min duration once in a while whenever I walk by the pot.
Water chemistry help needed!
- Thread starter Shady Lane Brewing
- Start date
Every so often maybe.
Certainly at the very beginning, to make sure all the grain is wet. You can get clumps of dry grain (dough balls) that, while not harmful, don't contribute to the goodness you're trying to get out of the grain.
Some batches run nicely and don't get stirred at all. Some don't recirculate well (I have a pump) and they might get stirred 2 or 3 times to loosen things up.
As a general guideline, once about half-way through couldn't hurt. But consider it optional in most cases.
Oh, and welcome!
============
Water Chemistry comment:
All the advice above saying don't sweat it is good advice. Brewer's friend has a calculator that helps tell you how much of what to use. I always try to add at least a little Calcium, but 'don't sweat it'. The mash is what "needs" the minerals, not so much the boil, so if you do add minerals, do \so at the very start.
Another option is to add some tap water. This web site also has several hundred water reports from all over, perhaps you can find one for your water source and have at least an idea of what kinds of minerals are in there. The math is easy: Mixing a gallon of water with 50 PPM with a gallon of RO water (nominally 0 PPM) yields 2 gallons of water with 25 PPM. This is the same no matter which mineral.
- Joined
- May 8, 2022
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 70
- Points
- 18
Thanks. I won't sweat the stirring.
The reason I'm using RO water is because we have well water. And because we have well water, we soften it so that the laundry doesn't come out looking like rust and a glass of drinking water doesn't taste like an iron pipe. I've read that softened water is not good for homebrewing. Would it be bad to add a little to the RO? I do have calcium on hand, BTW, as well as some gypsum.
Can you get some water pre-softener, like from an outdoor spigot? Or temporarily bypass the softener.
Don't know where you are, but if you have to soften it, likely it has Minerals with a capital M.
If you want to add minerals to RO water, a teaspoon (4-5 grams) of Calcium Chloride in 8 gallons of water delivers between 50 and 100 PPM Ca+ and CL-. Gypsum also adds about the same, but CA+ and SO4-. The Chloride to Sulfate ratio is said by some to influence the beer taste, with a low ratio favoring maltiness and a high ratio favoring bitterness. Low SO4/Cl is 0.7, High is 1.4 or so. Take these with a chunk of salt.
(NaCl, but let's not get into that...)
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,648
- Reaction score
- 2,588
- Points
- 113
Well, what the hell! I’ve been dialing the wrong number! No wonder she doesn’t answer. I thought it was 867-5309.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2017
- Messages
- 2,155
- Reaction score
- 4,570
- Points
- 113
Sometimes I forget my wife's phone number but, I always remember Jenny's number!
1/2 tsp of each should do you just fine. A bit of Calcium for the yeast is a good thing.
Not worrying about Water Chemistry for now is a good thing! Focus on honing in your process for all-grain.
One cool thing about the feature here on BF though is that if you get your water tested (post softener, pre-softener or both) you can punch in your info and then adjust each recipe based on your well-water and recipe. That could save you some bucks on RO water.
When you decide you are curious on how to handle water chemistry on Brewer's Friend check out the Videos and Tutorials forum section. I posted a video on how to use the BF Water Chemistry function. I make a profile for each of my beers.
Good luck on the hefe! Love that style!
- Joined
- May 8, 2022
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 70
- Points
- 18
Yeah, the water chemistry part is down the road for me. Thanks for the advice.
Just to be clear, using softened water is not recommended for homebrewing, correct?
Just to be clear, using softened water is not recommended for homebrewing, correct?
Correct
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2021
- Messages
- 3,281
- Reaction score
- 5,155
- Points
- 113
Only softened? No, it will still make beer, but minimal minerals are recommended
Ideally, no. Those minerals are not what is best for beer.
