Fellow Beerheads: I have been on a pH kick lately (see my other thread about pale beers) and I am looking for some specific information. For awhile now, I have been tasting commercial beers and wondering about certain characters they have and where it is coming from. It occurs to me that there is some very interesting character when your finished beer has a lower pH. Get this: Over the weekend I was bored so I decided to take the pH of some finished beer I was drinking. I took the pH of a pilsner of mine (that did not come out that great) and it was 4.3. I also took the pH of a Red Lager (4.4), a pale ale (4.3) and an ESB (4.3). All of those were my beers. I also took the pH some commercial beers: Hofbrau Oktoberfest (4.2), Stiegl Goldbrau from Austria (4.1) and Pacifico from Mexico (4.0). The Stiegl and the Pacifico (while not homebrewer's dream beers) were lower in pH and had a very bright, crisp, snappy taste to them. Does anyone here make a gold lager and shoot for a specific kettle pH so that the finished beer pH is around 4.0 or 4.1? I once asked what that "European lager" character was... bright, crisp, slightly grassy, aromatic, etc. and many people said that it was the fresh german grain, local german hops, years of brewing experience, etc. and I'm sure it was. But finished beer pH has to be a part of it. This is not something I want for all styles but I like that refreshing, slightly acidic character in pale beers. Thoughts?