Merry Christmas from Brew Mart!
Brew Mart will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, & New Year's Day. We will be open from 10:30 to 14:30 on Friday, the 27th, & Saturday, the 28th.
We will be open as usual on Monday the 30th of December
Precipitated Chalk (calcium carbonate powder) is an acid reducer used to reduce the acidity in wines. It is also us... read more
Precipitated Chalk (calcium carbonate powder) is an acid reducer used to reduce the acidity in wines. It is also used when brewing cider or beers, especially the dark malty variety.
Country wine that uses high acid fruit such as rhubarb or apple will need pure calcium carbonate due to the high acidity of these fruits.
Use pH strips to determine how acid your brew is.
The range starts at pH1, the highest acid to pH6, which is the lowest, while pH7 is neutral (water).
Wines or ciders with a low pH (high acidity) will taste tart, whereas wine or cider with a high pH (weak acidity) will be prone to bacterial infection and lacking bite.
pH5 is the ideal pH for mashing beer.
White wines are around pH3.2 and red wines around pH3.6.
The range for ciders is from pH3.2 to pH3.6.
If the acidity in apple juice is not high enough (i.e. pH4 or above), there is a chance of bacterial infection, and the flavour is affected.
Alternatively, if the acidity in the apple juice is too high, pH3.2 or lower, adding Precipitated Chalk (calcium carbonate powder) will help produce a healthy fermentation which will counteract the taste of the tart fruit juice.
To reduce the acidity, ideally, treat your juice or must before fermentation. However, calcium carbonate powder may be used after fermentation if required.
The dosage is 1 gram per litre (which will reduce the acidity by 1.5 parts per thousand).
Always test your beer wort or apple juice/wine must / before each addition of Precipitated Chalk until you reach the desired pH acidity.
CO2 gas will be released as the Precipitated Chalk (calcium carbonate powder) neutralises the acid in the liquid, possibly causing the fluid to foam up.
Due to the formation of the foam, this will require enough headspace in your container to allow for this.
Precipitated Chalk (calcium carbonate powder) can also produce fine sediment - if added to a finished wine or cider, be sure to leave it to stand for a week. This time allows crystals to fall out of the solution creating sediment at the vessel's bottom. Once the process is complete, rack it into a clean container before bottling.
To increase acidity in wine and cider - an acid blend of malic, tartaric and citric is the best additive. Alternatively, Gypsum or Lactic acid can be used in brewing beers.
Spend over £75 - Free Delivery to UK Mainland (Terms and Conditions Apply)
Spend Under £75 - Delivery charge
From £3.55 for orders under 2KG
£7.15 for orders under 5KG
£8 for orders over 5KG
(Terms and Conditions Apply)
Typically Next Working Day (if ordered by 12:30 pm)
Our standard delivery applies to orders being shipped to the UK Mainland excluding Scottish Highlands. (See below for further details)
Collect From Brew Mart
Next Working Day (if ordered by 4 pm)
No minimum spend to collect from us. Use our address as the shipping address.
Your order will be held for a minimum 7 days.
If you wish to have this delivered the standard delivery charge will be applied.
Some orders we can dispatch in an envelope via Royal Mail.
Where this is the case, we will endeavour to reduce your delivery charge accordingly.
This reduction is done at our discretion, and we will inform you of this before dispatching your order.
Delivery Surcharges
All other UK areas:
Delivery costs £20 per box. This applies to the following postal areas:
In exceptional cases, we reserve the right to charge delivery at cost.
Our Highlands and Islands deliveries are sent via Royal Mail or Parcelforce and usually take 2-4 days from dispatch.
If you are in any doubt as to the delivery charge applicable to your order, please feel free to email us on info@brewmart.co.uk before placing your order and we can confirm.
DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS
Any special instructions that can help the driver to deliver your order would be appreciated, e.g. 'deliver next door if out', 'knock loudly bell not working' etc.
There is a space to enter these instructions during the buying process.
IMPORTANT NOTE
If the instruction is such that a signature is not required, e.g. leave in conservatory around the back if out, then this can only be dispatched under the courier instruction "no signature required". In this case, the carrier will not accept any liability. That means should the consignment go missing or get damaged there will be no compensation.
If for any reason your package arrives with signs of damage please sign for the package as damaged.
RETURNS AND REPLACEMENTS
We thoroughly check all items before despatch and endeavour to ensure that your order is perfect before it reaches you. In the unlikely event that something has gone wrong, or you've changed your mind we're here to help. If you have any issues with your order, we would recommend that you contact us on 01246 432581 or by email at sales@brewmart.co.uk
DAMAGED GOODS
In the event of an item damaged in transit, you must notify us within 24 hours of receiving the goods, Providing photos of the;
1) consignment label on the external packaging.
2) damage to the external packaging
3) internal packaging (the damaged goods.)
Failure to do so will result in your claim being refused.
MISSING ITEMS
If you find any of the items of your order missing, please contact us within 24 hours so that we can correct our mistake.
RETURNING UNWANTED ITEMS
If you decide that you placed your order in error, you wish to cancel your order, or you have changed your mind you must notify us within seven days of receiving the goods.
Any items ordered may be returned to us at your expense within ten days from the date that you contacted us.
Please note: We are only able to refund the cost of the goods minus any postage we initially paid. If you return only part of the order, we will only refund the value of the goods returned.
We recommend that you use a tracked secure service for any returns as we cannot accept liability for loss or damage during any return transit.
CUSTOM MADE/PERSONALISED ITEMS
We are unable to offer refunds on any item that has been made to order or personalised unless it is faulty. This is in accordance with UK law, and your statutory rights are not affected.