Brew Day, Wednesday, May 21, 2014

                                                              JSHRMA

15 Gallons

22 lbs. Pearl
18.5 ozs. Muntons Crystal 60
EKG plug hops - 1 oz. 60 min. ( 4.7 AA )
Northdown plug hops - 1 oz. 60 min. ( 10.60 AA )
EKG pellet hops - 1 oz. 15 min. ( 7.2 AA )
1275 Thames Valley Wyeast
100% RO water with brewing salts
Mash - 7 ml Lactic Acid, 5 g gypsum, 5 g Calcium Chloride
Boil - 4 g gypsum, 5.5 g Calcium Chloride

O.G. - 1.052
F.G. -  1.014
% -    5
SRM - 7.4
BU - 29

This really slowed down on day 4. I thought for sure I would get a stuck fermentation but it fermented to 14. I didn't use any epsom salts for fermentation help but it turns out I didn't need any. I am, however going to use a small amount for now on just to hit minimums.Bitterness is better than the last bitter, so the sweet spot for me is 27-30 BU.

                                                             * UPDATE *

Very harsh beer. Different yeast but that should not be it. I used lactic acid instead of acid malt. Maybe I used too much lactic acid? ( 7 ml ). Going back to RO/WELL at 50/50 or even 70/30. Every time I use lactic acid my beer is harsh. Either I am using too much or not using it in my boil. I am using acid malt instead. The previous beer used acid malt and it was the best beer of 2014.

                                                            UPDATE AUG 2019

I used way too much lactic acid. My ph was 4.99. Way too low. Should of been around 5.4 to 5.5. The amounts of gypsum and calcium chloride were too much too. Doing a better job now though. Using better software for water helped way better than the one I used here.