Ph with Lactic

Physics, chemistry and biology of brewing. The causes and the effects.

Moderator: slothrob

Post Reply
Freon12
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 404
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2001 8:27 pm
Location: WHITELAND, IN, US

Ph with Lactic

Post by Freon12 »

What is the most acid one should use to adjust strike water and sparge water. I am using 88% solution lactic acid with a starting ph of 7.5! low sodium. Which takes about 8ml per 5gal. to adjust to 5.4ph. Will this make the calcium precipitate during sparge.
User avatar
Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Purpose of pH adjustment of hot liquor...

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

No, precipitation of calcium is not the aim of water adustment. While it is true that the lowering of the pH will cause precipitation of temporary hardness minerals, it takes an extended amount of time for this to occur. In a pro brew setting this only occurs in the hot liquor (dough-in/sparge water) tank if heated and left overnight. It will not occur in a homebrew setting unless you establish the same conditions. The actual point of pH adjustment in hot liquor is to aide in proper grist conversion and reduce the extraction of tannins from the malts/grains.
Post Reply