Do I have my first infection?

@GetMeAnIPA
I don't have a computer right now so I can't plug all your info into Bru N water or I would.
It sounds like to me that your thought process makes sense for what you want out of the beer.

I've never heard about needing HCO3 at 200ppm for a stout but would be interested to know what the benefit is?

Me personally, I like to shoot for a mash ph of 5.4-5.6 on stouts. I believe a higher mash temp keeps the dark roasted grains in check, making them more like coffee and chocolate like. I've experienced roasted malts coming off as acidic/charcoaly/ashy/acrid with lower initial mash ph.

Black patent is also a malt that can get very acrid and off putting when associated with a lower initial mash temp IME.

Lastly I feel like 5 ML's of 88% lactic acid would drop a 5.6 ph lower than 5.44 but I have no data to back that up.

 

Given your starting water, that's where I would have stopped, i.e. after the CaCl2 addition. I don't ever look at HCO3 as something with a specific target. It's only important because alkalinity affects your mash pH. If your mash pH is where you want it, and flavor ions are where you want them, I would not give HCO3 a second thought.

Also, your tap water has a pretty dang high sulfate level. You can try to "balance" the sulfates with chloride, but really, a lot of sulfates is a lot of sulfates, and I wouldn't want that level in most beers. If I had your tap water profile, I would build from distilled for most styles.

 

Infection? No.
Contaminated? Maybe.

Just b/c all the Kool Kidz like to say 'infection' doesn't mean they know WTF they're talking about.

 

You definitely overthought your water. The part of your post that I have copied above is exactly where you should have stopped with your treatment. A particular HCO3 level is never anything you should shoot for; you should simply be shooting for (i) an proper mash pH and (ii) a balance of ions for flavor.

It is a longstanding (and slowly dying) myth that you want high alkalinity water to brew dark beers. I believe this myth arose when people looked at the source waters of cities that were famous for brewing dark beers. However, what most people failed to account for what the fact that brewers in these cities were treating their water to reduce that alkalinity to an appropriate level. Martin Brungard has some discussion of this in his series of (somewhat) recent articles in Zymurgy. John Palmer's early writing on water (in How to Brew) is at least partially responsible for this misconception. Bottom line: for dark beers you only need enough alkalinity to balance the increased acidity that the dark grains bring to the table.

BTW, the term "hardness" refers only to the amount of Ca and Mg dissolved in the water. These cations may be balanced by HCO3 or several other anions. The term "alkalinity" refers to the amount of dissolved HCO3 (and/or CO3).

Cheers!

 

Kinda like just because, (generally speaking) you're a pro, doesn't mean you know wtf you're talking about.

 

Maybe ... maybe not; although I don't traffic in derp *.

Here's what I do know; far smarter people than me (PhD biologist; renown brewing experts) know WTF they're talking about when it comes to the distinction between 'infection' and 'contamination'. I'll take their informed opinion over all others anytime.

Of course for the time being ... it's still a free country.
Your choice who to believe.

---
* people who keep saying the same thing no matter how much evidence accumulates that it’s completely wrong.

 

Nobody thinks contamination of beer by undesired microbes is actually an infection in the invaded organism pathology sense. But 99.9% of brewers call it an infection. Perhaps you should try to get over that.

 

Let me clear the water here I guess.... All I wanted to say is that people say infection (myself included) when they are talking about contamination. I wasn't by any means singling you out. That's why I wrote generally speaking. Seemed like we got off on the wrong foot there!!

 

Words having meaning.
Please ... by all means... free to embrace your inner derp.

 

We're good.
Next round's on me.

OTOH ... Vikeman can buy his own damn beer.

 

Must be after 9:00 again.

 

I expect you to deliver.