I just started using Bru'n Water after using EZ Water for years and it sort of makes you split your salt additions in half, between the mash and sparge water. A few questions that this has led me to : 1) Since I batch sparge and am using acidulated malt to get the correct ph in the mash, should I just add the second half of the salts designated for the sparge, directly to the boil instead? 2) If I add the second half of the salts directly to the boil, do I need to check the sparge ph as well, to make sure its low enough or will the aciduatled malt work throughout the mash and the sparge? I am making an NEIPA and stating wiht RO water if that knowledge is necessary.
If you’re batch sparging and using RO water there shouldn’t be a need to treat Sparge water. I would add the rest of your salts to the kettle.
Is there any harm in adding the salts to the sparge water vs. kettle? Is there a difference as regards fly sparging vs. batch sparging in this process? Is it a must to add mineral salts to the sparge water for the case of fly sparging? Cheers!
If batch sparging with RO water you don’t need to worry about pH really. Conversion has occurred by this point, you are really just rinsing the grain. I used to add salts to boil kettle. I stopped doing that and favor adding to strike and sparge water now. It’s really about preference. I don’t know about any technical problems either way you decide to do it. Fly sparge is ideal to keep water pH under 6.0 from my understanding to prevent tannin extraction.
The only harm is that some of the added ions will be left behind in the grain bed, i.e. won't make it to the kettle. If you want to acidify the sparge water, you should use lactic acid or phosphoric acid, because it should be acidified before going into the lauter tun. Calcium salts don't acidify water. (They do acidify the mash, over time, but that's because they react with phosphates from the malt, releasing H+ ions.) I'm not sure you said what you meant to say here. But generally speaking, batch sparging results in a lower pH seen by the grains than fly sparging (and thus is safer from a tannin extraction perspective), unless the sparge water has been acidified.
Sorry, I didn't use proper grammar there. I meant that if you fly sparge, it is ideal to keep the pH of that fly sparge water under 6.0.
When fly sparging it is best to use water with low alkalinity, else the pH will be driven up towards the end of the sparge, which can result in the extraction of (unwanted) tannins and silicates from the grain bed. Untreated RO or distilled water is fine for this. Otherwise, it is best to neutralize any alkalinity in the sparge water, which can be done by adding acid until a pH equlvalent to that of the mash is reached. Technical details can be found here.
