At what point do I acid, to the strike water or after I mash in? I know how much to add according to brun water but it doesn’t tell me at what point to add the acid.
Before you hear the strike water. If you read through the water knowledge page, it’s buried in there somewhere. Of course, if you check pH and you’re off, adjust in the mash as necessary.
Thanks PC
It is ALWAYS better to add mineral and acid additions directly to the water so that you can fully dissolve and distribute those constituents throughout the water before adding the grain. If you try and distribute mineral or acid into a mash, it takes a huge amount of mixing to distribute them and there is no guarantee that they will actually be well-distributed.
Adding acid to strike or sparge water before heating the water is really only necessary if your water has much temporary hardness. That is because the heating can drive off a portion of the temporary hardness (aka: alkalinity) and then you will end up adding unneeded acid to the water. The bottom line: If you have calculated your acid addition based on the unheated water alkalinity, then you should add the acid to the water before heating.
