A few questions

[MCBC]

Hi,

I have a few questions that I have been pondering.

1. How long after fermentation is complete should the beer be racked (if necessary)?
2. Will leaving the beer on the sediment in cellaring change the taste of the beer? For better or worse?
3. I have been coming off after sparge with a pH of 6.0, I want this to be lower, what type of acid should be used?
4. At what points in the process should pH be measured?
5. My city water has a pH of 8.0. I use this water untreated to do a continuous sparge with and it is raising my final pH. One method of lowering pH is to batch sparge, but from what I understand it can cause oxidation. I'm only running experimental 15 gal batches at this time. Do you think oxidation will be a problem?
6. I am looking for a optimal water profile that is suitable for all beers, can anyone tell me what this might be?
7. When I hot break, I do not see any gelatinized protein, at cold break I do, is this normal?
8. I'm looking for all critical parameters that need to be monitored in the beer making process, can anyone supply a list?

Here's what I have from my water department so far, the are doing minerals test and will have that info next week.
pH: 8.0
Hardness: 125 mg/l
Alkalinity: 85 mg/l

Thank for the reply's in advance guy's.

Best regards,
MCBC
Dave

[MCBC]

Water Report

Hi,

I received the water report for may facility.

Calcium(Ca): 37.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 10.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 9.9 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 24.0 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 22.0 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 149.0 ppm
pH: 7.8

Can someone have a look at these and tell me if adjustment is necessary.


Thanks

MCBC
Dave

[leechase9]

I'll take a stab at this...

1. How long after fermentation is complete should the beer be racked (if necessary)?
######This depends on the strain of yeast you are using, and what characteristic you are looking to get from the beer. For Instance:If you happen to be using an ale strain that doesn't produce alpha-actetolactate (the precursor to diacetyl), you CAN rack the beer with limited issues (IE no diacetyl), but you will likely find that the beer will develop (good or bad depends on you as a brewmaster) as the beer rests on the yeast. (Set up a good and regularly-schedule tasting panel--not just tasting the beer at the bar or the filter!) This one question can go in many directions...
2. Will leaving the beer on the sediment in cellaring change the taste of the beer? For better or worse?
######Again, this depends on many factors, but generally it has been my experience that a bell-curve occurs: As the fermentation ends, some additional time "improves" the flavor, but it reaches a peak. After that peak, the additional time on the yeast "may" start to cause some autolysis (yeast cells splitting, then adding their intra-cellular fluid to the beer, which causes some off-flavors.) Again, a lot of this is beer/strain/ and brewmaster dependent.

3. I have been coming off after sparge with a pH of 6.0, I want this to be lower, what type of acid should be used?
###### Commonly, Food Grade Phosphoric Acid is used to adjust the pH of the hot-liquor. Other water treatments may be in order, depending on how you are treating your water currently, and what effect you desire.

4. At what points in the process should pH be measured?
###### pH can be an important indicator in many different areas in the brewing process, but I'd suggest the following:
1)Incoming water pH (what you get from the city). Good to know, as sometimes it changes without you knowing...
2)Hot Liquor pH, specifically for the sparge water.
3)Within the first 24 hours of fermentation (especially if slow)
4)As you rinse your tanks after caustic cleaning, and acid cleaning.
5) An, of course, your mash (although Malt is a great buffer, so it is unlikely to move too drastically. Still, good to record the pH of the mash, as it can be a sign of something going wrong...)

5. My city water has a pH of 8.0. I use this water untreated to do a continuous sparge with and it is raising my final pH. One method of lowering pH is to batch sparge, but from what I understand it can cause oxidation. I'm only running experimental 15 gal batches at this time. Do you think oxidation will be a problem?
##### No. At this stage, you "have bigger fish to fry" than worrying about oxidizing a beer that is probably NOT going to be filtered, then shipped across the country. Focus on treating the pH of the sparge water (try getting it to a mid 6pH or so...)
6. I am looking for a optimal water profile that is suitable for all beers, can anyone tell me what this might be?
##### That is a tough questions, and best answered by picking a water you like, using it and being extremely critical in Blind tastings of your own beers. Read a lot about water and the beers you want to produce, and be scientific about tasting (Your olfactory is the most expensive tool you have. Don't be shy about using it as Scientific Equipment.... and do it A LOT!!)
7. When I hot break, I do not see any gelatinized protein, at cold break I do, is this normal?
##### Do you mean "Gelatinized", or "Coagulated"? You should see some coagulated protein, but there are may factors that go into determining why you aren't seeing any. (What's your evaproation rate? What's your altitude? What is your Wort pH? What is the starting Gravity? etc).
8. I'm looking for all critical parameters that need to be monitored in the beer making process, can anyone supply a list?
##### "Critical" is going to vary from brewer to brewer, but I would be happy to work with you by suggesting a policy for monitoring Critical Control Points (HACCP).
Feel free to give me a call or email: Lee Chase, 619-200-7522, www.brewingconsultant.com ,mr.lee.chase@gmail.com


hope that helps a bit-

Good luck.

Lee

[ECB]

Lee,

Are you sure????????

That was a very generous answer you gave, I think my fingers would fall of if I had to type that much!

Tom
ECBC