I am finally drying to do proper water adjustments for my recipes and spent some time over the weekend with my water report and Bru’n Water. I am using RO water and it appears that Pickling Lime will add some value and needed elements.
Where do you buy Pickling Lime? Grocery stores?
I think you can find it in the canning section of a grocery store. :cheers:
It can be hard to find in stores when its beyond canning season. Do ask the store management if they have the Pickling Lime since some stores place it in different sections. If you can’t find it locally, there is always on-line sources. If you have someone to share it with, that is even better since a pound of lime should last most homebrewers a lifetime.
I have not looked for it there, my local ACE hardware stores (3 owned by the same family) has a large kitchen area. Cake decorating to pressure caners. I know I’ve seen beef jerky seasoning. It would not surprise me that they would have pickling lime also.
I got some at ACE. FYI, a small amount goes a long way and you can see the pH changes pretty rapidly. I’d start with 1/8 tsp (depending on your source water) and go from there.
While I appreciate the simplicity of this method, I highly caution against “add a little and check”. Its not a great way to adjust pH when dealing with acid and lowering pH. But it is a potential batch ruiner when dealing with a base and increasing pH. This is the reason you use Bru’n Water when you have low alkalinity water and you want to brew a beer that needs more alkalinity.
Calculate, don’t guess.
Farm supply stores keep a good selection of canning supplies year round making it pretty easy to find.
[quote=“mabrungard”]
While I appreciate the simplicity of this method, I highly caution against “add a little and check”. Its not a great way to adjust pH when dealing with acid and lowering pH. But it is a potential batch ruiner when dealing with a base and increasing pH. This is the reason you use Bru’n Water when you have low alkalinity water and you want to brew a beer that needs more alkalinity.
Calculate, don’t guess.[/quote]
The first time I used pickling lime I did use Bru’n water to estimate the amount needed and it was way too much. I had to readjust with acid to bring the pH back down to an appropriate level. The beer turned out fine. With my source water and the color of my chosen brew, I pretty much know how much of acid or lime to use to hit the 5.2-5.4 range (hint: not very much). Both of these adjust the mash pH pretty rapidly so it’s not hard to “add a little and check”.
I saw it a couple of weeks ago at True Value, not sure if you have those in Maryland.
Actually have both Ace and Tru Value nearby. I was thinking they might have it.
I am starting with RO water.
[quote=“560sdl”]Actually have both Ace and Tru Value nearby. I was thinking they might have it.
I am starting with RO water.[/quote]
If not, give Walmart a try. I found it in their canning section during the off season at a much, much lower price than I found it for online.
Martin - This seems like a stupid question to me, because we’re talking about minerals after all, but I have to ask: do pickling lime and other minerals used for water adjustments lose their effectiveness over time while held in storage? I ask because there are expiration dates on many of the items I’ve purchased at normal retail stores (baking soda, pickling lime and Epsom salt). I don’t remember seeing expiration dates on the items I’ve found at brewing retailers (chalk, gypsum and calcium chloride).
To the OP, sorry about the hijack.
[quote=“kcbeersnob”]
To the OP, sorry about the hijack.[/quote]
No Problem, great question on a topic I do not see discussed very much!
Do minerals loose effectiveness? Some do.
These are minerals that do not loose effectiveness:
Gypsum
Epsom Salt
Table Salt
Baking Soda
Chalk
In the case of chalk, its ‘effectiveness’ is quite debatable unless it is properly dissolved into solution with CO2. In my opinion, chalk is not effective in most brewing usage.
These are minerals that may loose effectiveness:
Calcium Chloride
Pickling Lime
Magnesium Chloride
Calcium chloride is highly hygroscopic which means it sucks up water from its surroundings. Moisture from the air is the main water source. The calcium chloride doesn’t really ‘loose’ its effectiveness, it just gains weight. So if you were assuming it was in either the anhydrous (water-less) or dihydrate forms, the amount of calcium chloride delivered per unit weight is decreased due to extra molecules of water absorbed into the mineral. Its diluted. Moral of the story: keep in a tightly sealed container and avoid any water or moist air contact.
Pickling lime is a bit different in that it doesn’t absorb water into the molecule. It reacts with CO2 in the air to eventually turn the lime into chalk. Since the lime is in solid form, its ability to react with CO2 in the air is very low. So the effectiveness of lime is relatively constant, but can be accelerated if the lime is in contact with moist air. Moral of the story: same as above.
Magnesium chloride is also hygroscopic. But it appears that it stabilizes to a relatively constant hexahydrate form. At typical room-temperature, it appears less likely to gain or lose water molecules. So it probably doesn’t really change much. Moral of the story: Don’t worry about it.
Thanks Martin! Great info!
This would be a great topic for an FAQ page.
