Interesting threads beginning to appear over on another forum regarding some of the calculations used by Palmer in his water spreadsheet. I'm not sure which formula is used in BeerSmith, but it appears Palmer's determination of residual alkalinity based on beer color is pretty far off as they assume roasted malts are more acidic. Additionally, the chalk (CaCO3) addition calculation is actually giving the carbonate concentration instead of the bicarbonate concentration. Since carbonate cannot exist at typical mash pH, it must be converted to the bicarbonate form.
Not a scientist, but the debate is coming from guys with way too many letters after their name.
Not a scientist, but the debate is coming from guys with way too many letters after their name.