Bubba_Mustafa
Well-Known Member
I'm diggin the BIAB method. Should I add in the 5.2 stuff or just let it roll.
(I do have pH meters, but never remember to use them
)
(I do have pH meters, but never remember to use them
)
BIAB pH?
- Thread starter Bubba_Mustafa
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Hermit
fuddle
Reports that folks with ph meters say that stuff doesn't work anyhow.
When you mash with a low volume of water, pH becomes very important as the grain wants to make your water become alkaline which will cause tannins to become extracted. Since doing brew in a bag uses much more water, this problem just goes away.
if you like the way your beer taste then don't worry about it. I do full volume BIAB as well. Works great for me and I have no intention of changing
From what I've been reading, your are right with a traditional mash but with brew in a bag, you use such a volume of water that it swamps the tendency to make the mash alkaline. At least I've not noticed any astringency with my BIAB.
CidahMastah
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I think people report this because they take PH of water plus 5.2, before adding grains. 5.2 only works when the grains are added in. Then take your PH.
I haven't used the stuff, but that is the pricinple 5 star uses.
Hermit
fuddle
I don't know about that. Too many reports from some pretty smart people for me to make the assumption that they all have a flawed methodology.
5.2 is a sodium phosphate buffers. Buffers only work well around the pKa values for the associated acid, in this case 2.16, 7.21 and 12.32.
Since 5.2 is nowhere near any of these values, from a textbook/theoretical point of view, we would expect 5.2 to perform poorly.
More practically several people on the internet (Kai Troester, AJ Delange, myself, others) have done test mashes with 5.2 and observed it to not work well.
CidahMastah
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Charlie, the creator/chemist from manufacturer 5 star made the statement I referenced above about needing the grains etc, to be in for the 5.2 to work on a podcast on brewers network.
I have never used the stuff, just regurgitating what I heard from the horses mouth. Thanks for the links.
Kaiser
Well-Known Member
Yes, even with grain it doesn't seem to buffer around 5.2. It seems to limit the mash pH from going higher than 5.8 which is why I think some brewers see a benefit when they are using it.
Kai
