Ph not changing at all from mash PH?

[MorganMurdick]

So I've just recently got into post fermentation PH reading after learning about how important it can be. Up until now I've been brewing great beer and just kind of assumed it was good because my beer was good.

When I went to take my post fermentation PH reading though, it had not changed from the 5.2ph it was from my mash ph reading. I went to a light lager I had done and got a similar reading then went to a pale ale I had done and got a ph reading of 5.6ph after a mash oh reading of 5.3 ph.

After reading all about how all the different parts of brewing and fermentation should naturally lower the ph I'm having a hard time understanding how this could be?

 

[marc1]

How are you measuring the pH?

 

[MorganMurdick]

How are you measuring the pH?

Whit me HANNA ph meter.

 

[rburrelli]

Whit me HANNA ph meter.

Would that sample need to be degassed before taking? I don’t have a Hanna meter so I don’t know how large or small your sample is.

 

[rhys333]

There's a great BYO article on pH. It doesn't directly answer your question, but explains where you need to focus your attention for best results.

https://byo.com/article/the-principles-of-ph/

 

[marc1]

Whit me HANNA ph meter.

Are you calibrating it before use?

How are you measuring? Temperature, etc.

 

[VikeMan]

Mash pH 5.2 --> Finished Beer pH 5.2? I doubt it. I'm tempted to say that's impossible.

Some possibilities...
- Faulty Meter
- Uncalibrated Meter
- Meter Calibrated with old/bad cal buffers
- User Error

Also, regarding the other beer (pale ale) with a finished beer pH of 5.6... more evidence of some sort of measurement error, unless you have a gremlin dumping baking soda (or something) into your finished beers. Saccharomyces fermentation decreases the pH of a clean (i.e. not pre-soured) wort. I've never seen a case to the contrary, not even with ridiculous dry hopping.

 

[An Ankoù]

So I've just recently got into post fermentation PH reading after learning about how important it can be. Up until now I've been brewing great beer and just kind of assumed it was good because my beer was good.

If your beer's good then why do you want to change it? If you can get a reliable reading with your equipment, what would you then change in your beer?
There comes a time, perhaps, when, having got the initial parameters right, we should leave we'll alone provided we're pleased with the result.
Here's a parallel:
In the eighties, I got into hi-fi. I tweaked cables, interconnects, power supplies to the extent that I completely lost contact with the music as I was too busy listening to the equipment. I occasionally find myself falling into the same trap with my beer and have to give myself a good shouting at.