ajdelange

Recipes 

Unfortunately, you won't know what your pH is if you rely on strips. They are notoriously inaccurate. The only alternative is a pH meter which is, obviously, more expensive than the strips and subject, at the price level home brewers are willing to pay, to appreciable error as well but much better than the strips.

Nateo

Recipes 

I don't think that statement is entirely accurate. You may not have the same precision when using test strips, and they have a systematic error, but the systematic error is consistent and repeatable. The window for the "proper" mash range is large, so you don't need much precision to know whether you're in it, or not.

If you are trying to hit a specific mash pH, say 5.4 instead of 5.6, then a pH meter would be the only way to go.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/An_Evaluation_of_the_suitability_of_colorpHast_str ips_for_pH_measurements_in_home_brewing

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To paraphrase Dr. England - "Off-flavors smooth with time. So do mountains. Brew it right from the start!"

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emjay

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Test strips are pretty reliable and accurate when they use multiple pads on a single strip. For instance, a strip producing 3 different colors that can all be checked against the table. If all 3 colors match the same pH, you can be certain of the integrity of the strip. Three pads can also give the strip some greater resolution (realistically only half that of the chart) as even if the difference between, say, 5 and 6 on one of the pads are pretty similar in color, the other two will usually be so different that it's not too hard to be able to pick out a 5.5 +/-0.25. And I've seen similar, fairly inexpensive strips with a resolution of 0.5, allowing for similarly measuring to +/-0.125 (ie, a range of 0.25). Which isn't the best, but it's not too bad.

That being said, I don't understand how people use the damn things for brewing. I bought some ages ago, and only used them once, after realizing the color of the wort obscured the colors too much. Brown, brown, and brown aren't on the charts! So how are people using them at all?

ajdelange

Recipes 

If I believed that I would agree.

Nateo

Recipes 

I know you've talked to Kai about this, since you're listed as a reference on his page. Do you disagree with his conclusion?

"While the colorpHast strips can be read with a precision of +/- 0.2 pH units, which is sufficient for checking mash pH, they exhibit a systematic error of 0.3 - 0.4 pH which needs to be taken into account."

__________________
To paraphrase Dr. England - "Off-flavors smooth with time. So do mountains. Brew it right from the start!"

My blogsite: http://nateobrew.blogspot.com/

ajdelange

Recipes 

No. I guess I'm not comfortable with trying to determine whether I am in a particular range with a measurement that has a precision that is no better than the width of the range. Sort of like trying to tell whether a 1.5 volt battery is new or old using a volt meter that only reads 0, 1, 2 or 3 volts. If you read 1 is the voltage 1.5 (new battery) or 0.5 (old battery)? Then there is the systematic error on top of that.

jbsg02

Recipes 

And also, my next brew is going to be a Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone. I had that for the first time actually last weekend and thought, I HAVE to brew this! My sulfates are about double my chloride, which produces bitter beers. Should I just add something to my water to boost the chloride a bit for this malty beer?

ajdelange

Recipes 

Chloride will mellow your beer somewhat but it does not antagonize sulfate as so many seem to think. If your beer is too harshly bitter the solution is to reduce sulfate or use less of or a finer hop, not increase chloride though additional chloride, up to a point, may well improve the beer.