Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Brewing Water Calculator: MpH Water Calculator v3.0

Yes, here it is (drum roll, please), the long awaited update to my brewing-water calculator:  MpH Water Calculator v3.0.

The most significant changes are found on the Water Tab.  You can now enter ions for two water sources that you might mix for either mash or sparge water.  Typically one source is a municipal water supply while the other is RO or distilled, but the two sources can be from any two different water supplies.  In addition, the entries for the ions reflect the order that ions are reported in a typical water report from Ward Labs.  

I've also added BJCP 2015 style data, just for convenience.

The underlying model used to estimate mash pH is the same as previous versions of the calculator.  I'm currently working on a more fundamental (i.e., less phenomenological) model for the calculations.  With any luck this model will be implemented later this year.

As always, if you have any questions, use the comment section of this blog.  Cheers!

14 comments:

  1. Thanks again for this very convenient tool.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing- working through it now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am trying as an exercise to come up with the calculations for acid additions (interests me as a environmental engineer student). When determining how much mEq/mg provided by phosphoric acid your spreadsheet is basically 98mg/mEq, I was using 98mg/3mEq in error. Is 98mg/mEq because phosphoric acid will not fully protonate all three protons at the pH expected of a mash (only protonate once from H3PO4 -> H2PO4- + H+?)

    Crazy question

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matthew, that is exactly correct.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for some great work. Are your calculations at room temp or mash temp? https://byo.com/mr-wizard/setting-record-straight-mash-ph/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The calculations are estimations of pH measurements made at room temperature.

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess I'll reinstate my question, which is about extract brewing. If I'm trying to end up with the correct mineral profile for a given style, is there a way to estimate which minerals and in what concentrations various dry or liquid extracts would add? I concede that probably just starting with distilled water and no mineral additions and adjusting to taste as necessary after each batch may be the best way to go, but it would be nice if I could calculate minerals to get it as close as possible to correct the first time. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. I really have no idea about minerals that come along for the ride with extracts. I do like your idea, though, about starting with distilled and then adjusting to taste. Cheers!

      Delete
  7. Hi,

    I am the developer of Joliebulle, a beer brewing software (widely used here, in France. It is open source and commercial at the same time).
    I would like to reuse some of your previous work, such as the formulae you discussed in your papers and used in your MpH spreadsheet.
    You've already mentioned in MpH that we are free to adapt your work, but I just wanted :

    1° to be sure your are ok with my use of your formulae
    2° to thank you for your work, which is very clear (and that’s rarely the case with water calculations)

    Also, let me know if you want a copy of my software (which is available in english), I would be more than happy to share my work with you (just tell me which OS you use)

    Thanks again, and sorry for my bad english,
    (and sorry, I didn't found your email to contact you. Feel free to delete this comment and reply by email if you prefer.)

    Kind regards,

    Pierre

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pierre. I know your post is rather old, but I've just released a new version of my mash pH calculator that I though you might find of interest. Fell free to used the formulae contained within. I'm glad you find my work of interest. Cheers!

      Delete
  8. The companion papers to the spreadsheet are clear and well-written, and are the first I've seen that fully explains how the water calculation spreadsheets actually work. I also like how you improved on the earlier spreadsheets. You mentioned above (back in 2016) that you were working on a more fundamental model. Has a revised model been completed yet? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John. The new version is finally released. See the latest post. I'm glad you find the blog of interest. Cheers!

      Delete
  9. Hi, good work, any chance of a metric version for us old-worlders :D
    Thanks
    Joe

    ReplyDelete