Buffer 5.2, yay or nay?

I just took my mash ph for the first time ever and it was at 6.2, could be even higher since the ph strips dont read past that number!

.....this could be a problem since ive done about 30-40 brews in all.......

I have heard good things about the buffer 5.2 stuff, does anybody have any strong opinions of it?

It seems to be too good to be true and I just know there is someone on here who has beef with it, haha. But I would like to hear peoples thoughts.

Thanks!

I have never tried it on Beef but I do think it is great in a Malted Barley syrup.

The only problems I have ever heard about it was from users who opt to not measure out the salts and add too much.

since I started using 5.2 my extraction eff went up over 80% from a low of 65%. So in my little world, I think it helped and I will continue to use it. I use about 1 T in a 5 gallon mash, and I should mention-not sure if it matters but I mostly brew stouts and porters, my last one was I think BM OctoberFast...MMmmmm good.

I just bought a pound of it, and while it don't work with every brew, it works for my water/mash combo.

I have used it in all my all grain batches. A pound has lasted me over a year. I hit 80% eff. (with the help of my Barley Crusher) and my beers have come out great. Use it, I doubt you will regret it.

The mileage you get out of it depends entirely on the water quality you have now. If you don't want to get into having the water tested and mixing in your own salts and so on down the line go with the 5.2, it virtually eliminates most of the thinking from your mash.

That being said, if you have hard water where you live, it won't work miracles, I have very soft water where I live and adding the 5.2 is great for my mashes, the small cost of a couple of spoonfuls of the stuff it is worth the peace of mind and not having to do water calculations.

I think you are better off looking into residual alkalinity, getting a water report and calculating salt additions with John Palmer's spreadsheet than than using the 5.2 buffer.

Kai

I would only consider the 5.2 if you have some crazy water profile or are too lazy to adjust the ion content of your brewing water. Sure it will force the mash pH into the correct range (but not with all water) but the components of brewing salts do more than just that. You may have a great mash pH but be missing some important flavor effects in the beer without sulphates in a hoppy pale ale for example. If your brew water has the right content of ions for the given beer style the mash pH will fall right into place.

Kaiser said:

I think you are better off looking into residual alkalinity, getting a water report and calculating salt additions with John Palmer's spreadsheet than than using the 5.2 buffer.

Kai

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I would love to do this but I have tried to understand mash ph for so long without success, im not a science whiz ya know?

Depends how good you want your beer. 5.2 is an easy default that fixes PH but in reality PH is not the problem but the symptom. so you are fixing the symptom but not the problem.

With that said MOST people that is good enough. But if you are going to enter competitions and so forth and want to learn about water (it's really not that hard) I'd read Palmer's Chapter 15.

Water is pretty cool.

Palmer's book Chpt 15.

Kaiser said:

I think you are better off looking into residual alkalinity, getting a water report and calculating salt additions with John Palmer's spreadsheet than than using the 5.2 buffer.

Kai

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+1 but it's better than nothing. Gotta get your water profile from your city and go from there.

I have moderately hard water (total alkalinity around 100 ppm) and pH 5.2 doesn't do a thing for me. I'm way better off adding calcium chloride and bringing down the sparge water pH w/lactic acid.