Kettle water treatment

Generally speaking, you should add your "sparge" water mineral additions to the kettle, not to the actual sparge water. Either way, the sparge/kettle additions don't affect your sacch rest mash pH.

 

I would counter that some do and some don't. I personally treat all of my water before it is used in the brewing process. I would offer that it is more important to dial in a water treatment process that works, irrespective of when the "sparge addition" is added.

Vikeman, what do you see being the advantage of adding sparge-water salts post-mash?

 

When you add the post-mash salts to the kettle, they all make it into the kettle.

 

Certainly can't argue with that. I suppose this might be an advantage.

 

Right. So EZwater (or any of the calculators AFAIK) will let you specify your sparge/kettle additions separately from the mash additions. i.e. they don't have to be at the same concentrations as the mash. That little "Adj for Sparge Water?" check-box in EZWater is convenient, I guess, but there's no reason your salts should necessarily be the same for both Mash and Sparge/Kettle, and there are often reasons for them not to be the same. With Mash additions, pH is the primary consideration, although the mash additions will also affect flavor and yeast performance. The sparge/kettle salt additions are all about flavor and yeast performance.

 

Can the kettle addtions be made to the 1st batch-sparge runnings or is it more better to wait until the full pre-boil volume has been collected?

 

I don't think it would matter. Once it's in the kettle, it's not going anywhere. As long as you get your desired volume for what you calculated your additions too, I'd see it as fine to do it whenever.

 

I don't think it really matters. Personally I add them to the full volume.