I’m going to do my first SMaSH ale and I need to either add acid malt or dilute my water to achieve a reasonable pH. The recipe is just 10# of Golden Promise, and a bunch of Azaaca hops. My water profile, unaltered, is (ppm):
So, I can just add 2 ounces of acid malt to the mash to give a mash pH of 5.5, or dilute my tap water by 50%, then add back in gypsum and CaCl to get enough Calcium and balance the sulfate-chloride ratio.
I used 10% phosphoric acid in sparge water before (12.5 ml in 4.5 gallons) and got a sort of “twang” flavor in the finished product. It was a German Altbier and, I guess, could’ve been the recipe, yeast, etc., but I’ve never had that flavor before or since. Made me think it was the acid, which is why I’ve stayed away from it.
I use Bru’n water and it seems like acid malt is fairly exact; assuming I’m using Weyerman malt. But, I’ve never used it before and was just wondering what others’ preferences were between dilution and acid malt. Maybe I’ll rethink the acid addition…
Acid malt is just malt sprayed with lactic acid. It’s much more precise to just add lactic acid since the amount on the malt can vary, from what I understand.
Thing is, I thought lactic was much more likely to give a twang flavor than phosphoric.
Given the concentrations of the ions in that raw water, there is no reason to dilute. Using acid or acid malt should be most suited.
As Denny mentions, liquid acid is more precise. Another more important reason to use liquid acid is that the sparging water needs to be acidified too. I’m not sure how you do that with acid malt.
[quote=“JohnnyB”]Acid malt is just malt sprayed with lactic acid. It’s much more precise to just add lactic acid since the amount on the malt can vary, from what I understand.
Thing is, I thought lactic was much more likely to give a twang flavor than phosphoric.[/quote]
I’ve recently read this as well. Maybe the “twang” was from something else, or in my head? I think a 12.5ml addition of 10% phosphoric acid in a 4.5 gallon volume is relative small too.
[quote=“mabrungard”]Given the concentrations of the ions in that raw water, there is no reason to dilute. Using acid or acid malt should be most suited.
As Denny mentions, liquid acid is more precise. Another more important reason to use liquid acid is that the sparging water needs to be acidified too. I’m not sure how you do that with acid malt.[/quote]
OK, so I’m going to no-sparge this one and, according to your calculator, I need 13.3ml of 10% phosphoric in 7.4 gallons of mash water. Does this seem reasonable to you as far as how much acid I’m adding? And do you believe this is well below the taste threshold for phosphoric?
Thanks again for your wisdom on the subject of water. Gives me much more confidence heading into brew day, as always.
Also note, in bold at the bottom of the water adjustment tab. Add acid prior to heating the water. I’m not sure, but maybe that’s what caused that taste you noticed.
I typically add all salts and acids to my water before I start heating it up.
I used 10% phosphoric acid in sparge water before (12.5 ml in 4.5 gallons) and got a sort of “twang” flavor in the finished product. It was a German Altbier and, I guess, could’ve been the recipe, yeast, etc., but I’ve never had that flavor before or since. Made me think it was the acid, which is why I’ve stayed away from it.
I use Bru’n water and it seems like acid malt is fairly exact; assuming I’m using Weyerman malt. But, I’ve never used it before and was just wondering what others’ preferences were between dilution and acid malt. Maybe I’ll rethink the acid addition…[/quote]
No reason I can think of that you would get that flavor from phosphoric acid unless you really used a lot. And even in that case, the effect from using an equivalent amount of acid malt would be the same.
I used 10% phosphoric acid in sparge water before (12.5 ml in 4.5 gallons) and got a sort of “twang” flavor in the finished product. It was a German Altbier and, I guess, could’ve been the recipe, yeast, etc., but I’ve never had that flavor before or since. Made me think it was the acid, which is why I’ve stayed away from it.
I use Bru’n water and it seems like acid malt is fairly exact; assuming I’m using Weyerman malt. But, I’ve never used it before and was just wondering what others’ preferences were between dilution and acid malt. Maybe I’ll rethink the acid addition…[/quote]
No reason I can think of that you would get that flavor from phosphoric acid unless you really used a lot. And even in that case, the effect from using an equivalent amount of acid malt would be the same.[/quote]
I agree with Denny, I’ve use a good bit more phosphoric acid than this (like 30ml of 25% split between my sparge water and strike water) with no problems. Phosphoric acid is pretty neutral in flavor compared to lactic acid, so it shouldn’t leave any off flavors unless a very large amount is used.
[quote=“Templar”]Also note, in bold at the bottom of the water adjustment tab. Add acid prior to heating the water. I’m not sure, but maybe that’s what caused that taste you noticed.
I typically add all salts and acids to my water before I start heating it up.[/quote]
[quote=“Chinaski1217”][quote=“Templar”]Also note, in bold at the bottom of the water adjustment tab. Add acid prior to heating the water. I’m not sure, but maybe that’s what caused that taste you noticed.
I typically add all salts and acids to my water before I start heating it up.[/quote]
I don’t see this anywhere.[/quote]
I have the paid version 3.4 and it does say, “for best results, add acids prior to heating the water.”
Not 100% sure, but I doubt that has anything to do with the off taste you experienced.
[quote=“JohnnyB”][quote=“Chinaski1217”][quote=“Templar”]Also note, in bold at the bottom of the water adjustment tab. Add acid prior to heating the water. I’m not sure, but maybe that’s what caused that taste you noticed.
I typically add all salts and acids to my water before I start heating it up.[/quote]
I don’t see this anywhere.[/quote]
I have the paid version 3.4 and it does say, “for best results, add acids prior to heating the water.”
Not 100% sure, but I doubt that has anything to do with the off taste you experienced.[/quote]
