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I'm getting ready to set up a new brewery and haven't had to deal with this issue in past breweries where I've worked, so I'm at a bit of a loss on the logistics of sparge acidification with oversized liquor tanks.
I have a good handle on mash chemistry and will be adding salts/acid as directly to the mash- easy enough. What I can't seem to figure out is how to deal with my sparge water (room temp pH of 8.1- obviously too high for sparging). I'm installing a 70bbl HLT for a 30bbl brewhouse- adding acid directly to the tank will have me chasing my alkalinity all over the place for each batch since the HLT will rarely empty/refill completely. Anybody else dealt with a similar situation?
The way I see it my options are measuring total alkalinity of the HLT before every mash and adjust the mash pH accordingly- seems to have the real potential for inconsistency. Or I could simply monitor final runnings pH and stop lautering when it rises too high and top up the kettle with liquor preboil and adjust kettle pH as necessary- this option obviously has brewhouse efficiency concerns.
Other options or issues I'm not thinking of? Sure, I'd love an automated in-line acid dosing system for the sparge, but the bank account doesn't like that idea as much.
Any insight is much appreciated! Cheers!
I have a good handle on mash chemistry and will be adding salts/acid as directly to the mash- easy enough. What I can't seem to figure out is how to deal with my sparge water (room temp pH of 8.1- obviously too high for sparging). I'm installing a 70bbl HLT for a 30bbl brewhouse- adding acid directly to the tank will have me chasing my alkalinity all over the place for each batch since the HLT will rarely empty/refill completely. Anybody else dealt with a similar situation?
The way I see it my options are measuring total alkalinity of the HLT before every mash and adjust the mash pH accordingly- seems to have the real potential for inconsistency. Or I could simply monitor final runnings pH and stop lautering when it rises too high and top up the kettle with liquor preboil and adjust kettle pH as necessary- this option obviously has brewhouse efficiency concerns.
Other options or issues I'm not thinking of? Sure, I'd love an automated in-line acid dosing system for the sparge, but the bank account doesn't like that idea as much.
Any insight is much appreciated! Cheers!
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