Mash pH - Page 2

**ajdelange** · 06-27-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbytuck

So given the 5.3 to 5.6 "optimal" range -- how does one target an appropriate pH for a given style? (Or is this not a good idea to link pH targets with styles -- except for maybe sours and pales?

You may want to make lagers with a slightly higher mash pH than ales. I believe that some of the German authors do advocate this relative to the British author's recommendations. But within these broad groupings I'd say don't try to hit a particular pH unless you have determined that a particular beer comes out best if mashed at a particular pH.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbytuck

Do I want to target an a slightly less acidic mash as the SRM goes darker given the fact that the darker grains will -- in general -- decrease my pH?)

If by this you mean that you should plan to use less or no acid in beers with dark malts then yes but the goal is to get the proper pH irrespective of the color.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbytuck

I brewed an Irish Red this weekend. Mash pH was on the low end (due to 8.75# grain bill with 3 oz. acid malt and a few grams each of gypsum and CaCl2). I ended up measuring 5.21 @ room temp 45 mins into the mash. Bru'n was telling me a pH of 5.3 based on my water and grain bill -- so I was a bit surprised to see it go to 5.2 midway through the mash after I'd pulled several earlier samples and cooled to see a 5.4 pH. But I assume this 5.2 is okay -- or at least within a fairly normal range. I do worry, however, if this is going to be tart -- but we'll see. I assume that my yeast will very much enjoy this particular brew given the pH.

I'm a little surprised to hear that it crept back down over time. This could and does happen in decocted worts sometimes but in a step mash I wouldn't expect it. I did, at a fellow brewer's request, check his inexpensive pH meter and found it capable of migrating 0.1 point over the course of a half hour so perhaps that is what you are seeing.

Your beer will not taste sour as a consequence of mash pH of 5.2. The impression of tartness does not relate to the pH so much as the titratable acidity of a beer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbytuck

Do I want to target slightly higher pH levels as the SRM increases? In other words, 5.2 for pales but maybe 5.5 for porters or stouts? ANd maybe I should aim for 5.3 for an Irish Red like this? Or is the idea (again, in general) to simply fall within the optimal range and avoid either extreme?

Don't do that. SRM has little to do with RA and less to do with beer/wort pH.

mabrungard · 06-27-2011, 08:20 PM

Obviously, I disagree with AJ's comments above. I find that very minor 'biasing' of mash pH with respect to either beer style or personal taste does offer improvement in taste and perception. The suggested mash pH range is quite small (5.3 to 5.5), and is well within the range AJ discusses above. I find that basing the pH bias with respect to beer color is helpful and appropriate. I agree that a brewer should base their pH target on what tastes best to their palate and that of their drinkers.

I disagree with AJ on the point about tartness and pH. For a given wort produced with a fixed grain bill, the tartness of the wort will be increased as the pH in reduced. I do defer to the fact that you can't just say that the tartness of ANY wort will have a relationship to its pH. So, he is right and wrong.

The issue with mash pH becomes moot for brewers that brew the same beer over and over again with the same ingredients. The pH meter ends up in the drawer and is never needed after the brewer figures out what their brewing session requires for the same beer. Unfortunately, probably 90 percent of homebrewers and some craftbrewers change their beer style frequently. Those are the brewers that Bru'n Water was crafted for. Giving them a tool with which they can get their mash pH in the ballpark on the first time instead of having to brew and rebrew to figure it out. That is not to say that rebrewing is not an important tool in refining and 'perfecting' a brew to the brewer's taste. For brewers without the benefit of accurate pH measurement, Bru'n Water is a big step up.

Bru'n Water would not be much of an asset for those that brew the same European Lager in large batches. It should be a pretty good tool for brewers that mix it up with every batch. At a minimum, brewers have a tool in Bru'n Water that allows them to calculate what additions in acids, bases, water, and malt will do for their mash pH. It may end up off by a tenth or two, but that is much better than the beer color based programs of the past.