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Using 88% lactic acid at a rate approaching 1/3 ml/L is where you will likely have a taste impact. Some tasters can taste it at slightly lower concentration. If you can keep the lactic usage to 1/4 ml/L or less, its unlikely that you would have a lactic twang in the flavor, however you could end...

Since calcium is not a requirement in brewing water, losing some calcium via a phosphoric acid addition is not a big deal. More importantly, to create that calcium precipitation, the calcium concentration has to be at a fairly high level. Under that condition, the loss of some calcium is even...

You shouldn't use a temperature-controlled PID to control boiling. Physics is working against you since the temperature doesn't really change right around the boiling point. You are better off with a proportional or pulsed controller that can vary the power to the element from 0 to 100 percent...

You want your temperature measurement for the PID control to be as close as possible to the heat source. In your case, at the heat exchanger outlet. However, do put a regular thermometer at the outlet from your mash tun so that you can see when the entire mash is up to temperature. Be sure to...

All brewing requires acid...some brews need more than others. How we get that acid into the wort varies. Adding crystal and dark malts, adding Ca and Mg salts, or adding some form of an actual acid is always needed in our brewing. When we are dealing with water with more alkalinity, it just...

I use 5500w to boil about 25L batches and that high power is useful in bringing the wort to a boil more quickly. The important qualifier is that I also have one of these regulator units ( http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=444 ) to significantly...

The need to acidify that dilution water is dependent upon the alkalinity of the starting water. If the alkalinity is anything but low, you should be acidifying the water to avoid raising the pH of the kettle wort or finished beer. The acidification calculator in Bru'n Water is useful since it...

Your grist doesn't have that much roast in it and I'm not terribly surprised that the prediction wasn't very low. There are recipes with much more crystal and roast and they are more likely to depress the mash pH. Do remember that another variable you can use in altering the mash pH is the...

While you are correct that crystal malts don't convert in a mash, its because they are already converted. However, low and long mashing should help split the higher molecular weight sugars and dextrins into simpler sugars. Whether this process will correct a recipe fault can't really be...

All pH predictions are based on empirical observations. Therefore, all buffering from the components in the typical mash is incorporated into the result by default.

Your tap water has a couple of problems. First is the sodium and chloride are a fairly high, second is the alkalinity is a little high. For some styles, you should still be able to use that tap water. More delicate styles may benefit from dilution with RO or distilled water. The sodium and...

I recently finished a pseudo Munich Helles that I fermented with US-05 at 12C and I can report that the yeast did an admirable job of attenuation and in producing an almost lager-like cleanliness. I found there was just a hint of fruitiness in the beer, but the malt character was excellent. That...

When you think about it, its no surprise that brewing yeast have evolved to thrive on the levels of Ca and Mg supplied by typical malt. In the case of both ions, the malt provides all the Ca and Mg that the yeast need for their metabolism. Rude, you did hit on the proper point regarding yeast...

No difference in the sulfate, but there is a flavor bonus from the magnesium that goes well in a hoppy beer. That advice to avoid Epsom is well founded since it takes very little magnesium to screw up the flavor of an otherwise fine beer. 0 to 40 ppm Mg is teeny compared to 0 to 400 ppm for...

At very low levels, Mg has little effect on flavor. But I do find that Epsom salt addition is a real bonus for hoppy beer flavor since it adds sulfate and the elevated Mg level does add to the perception of bitterness. That added Mg also reduces the amount of gypsum needed to reach the sulfate...

Don't use the Hardness value to calculate bicarbonate, use the Alkalinity value. Both are reported 'as CaCO3'. But its the alkalinity value you need to use. Fortunately, the hardness value is only slightly higher than the alkalinity value and your error shouldn't have been huge. I see that...

As pointed out by sterzlr, Dublin does have multiple water sources. The southern area of Dublin typically receives it's water from reservoirs in the Wicklow Mountains and it is indeed soft. Most other parts of the city get their water from River Liffey and that water is hard and alkaline as most...

There are food-grade calcium chloride solutions and they are OK for brewing. The next supporter's version of Bru'n Water already includes support for liquid calcium chloride solutions and also has a calculator so that you can mix up your own solution and determine its % strength by way of its...

Well, two of the water sources show fairly low ionic content. The third source is moderate in its content. Depending on the beer getting brewed, it does appear that some additions are appropriate. When it comes to hoppy beers, I strongly recommend boosting the sulfate content which helps dry the...

The water in southern Bavaria has fairly low mineral content...aside from the high Ca and HCO3 content. Minerally water is not a component of typical Weizen taste, so little to no salt additions are recommended.