Shift in RA Thinking?

[mabrungard]

Chalk will raise mash pH slightly. There are a very limited quantity of stronger acids in the mash and they have the strength to react with chalk. The other malt acids are not strong enough and they do not participate in a timely manner.

The bottom line is that you can get about 0.1 to 0.2 units rise in pH by adding chalk and then it just doesn't do anything more. Experimental results from Kai Troester prove this response.

My problem with chalk is that you can't rely on it to deliver the alkalinity you want. Chalk takes forever to dissolve and its time frame is much longer than the mashing period. An additional problem is that you can carry over some chalk powder into the boil kettle and then it can dissolve a little more and end up raising the kettle wort pH more than you anticipated.

There are better options for adding alkalinity to the mash like baking soda and lime.

[BigNastyBrew]

Thanks for the clarification. I think I'd forgotten about baking soda. It was in my regular rotation for increasing alkalinity a couple years ago.

[spiderwrangler]

Thanks for the clarification. I think I'd forgotten about baking soda. It was in my regular rotation for increasing alkalinity a couple years ago.

Is the potassium bicarb preferable to baking soda? Less salty in it's contribution?

[mabrungard]

Thanks for the clarification. I think I'd forgotten about baking soda. It was in my regular rotation for increasing alkalinity a couple years ago.

Is the potassium bicarb preferable to baking soda? Less salty in it's contribution?

It may be, but an important consideration is that for most brewers that need more alkalinity in their mashing water, the amount of baking soda added to that mashing water doesn't create ANY salt flavor. You would have to really add a lot more baking soda than was needed for alkalinity requirements to taste saltiness. Sodium is not really a detriment to beer flavor at levels less than 100 ppm as long as the sulfate content is low.