A Homebrewing Perspective on Mash pH I: The Grain Bill

Interested in what contributes to the pH of the mash?  I was, and so I decided to do some research on the subject.  Not original research in terms of collecting new data, but I have studied most (if not all) of Kai Troester's (KT) extensive experimental work on the subject.  In the process I also came across several spreadsheet based calculators of mash pH (EZ Water, Brun Water, and Kaiser Water) that are available to the homebrewing community.  The models used by these calculators for estimating mash pH are all largely based on KT's data.  [I'll mention that there is also a similar spreadsheet by John Palmer, although (I believe) this spreadsheet predates the work of KT.]

In the process of my research I decided to analyze KT's data and from that build my own model of mash pH.  I also wanted to understand what was going on (under the hood) of these other three calculators that are based on this same data.  And so I have written two review papers (of sorts) that puts together my analysis and subsequent understanding of the subject in one spot (OK, two spots).  Mostly I have written this up for myself, but I thought, why not share this with other homebrewers?

And so here is the first of the two papers, entitled "A Homebrewing Perspective on Mash pH I: The Grain Bill."  I'll post part II shortly.

Thoughts, comments, and questions are all welcome. Cheers!