PH perfect?

[71satelite]

Hey everybody this is my first post on here. I have been brewing now like crazy for about a year," hi my name is Steve and I am a brewaholic"! Anyway, now that I have it down somewhat I would like to improve my quality of beer by making my water more beer friendly. What is a good PH for brewing water and how do I get it there? I have used store bought spring water in the past but there is no real difference in taste from plain old tap water. Whats the secret? Looking forward to chating with everybody!

 

[heywolfie1015]

5.2 is generally considered the ideal. You can purchase a product called 5.2 stabilizer which locks in the pH at that number in order to maximize the mash.

Otherwise, you will have to get into water building, which, if you're a tinkerer, can be a fun project. There are tons of posts on that topic which should help you out.

 

[Got Trub?]

There isn't much of a secret. If your water tastes good it is highly likely it will work well for brewing. There are some extreme styles that may require you adjust your water. The only way to know is to send your water for testing. The 5.2 pH is the target pH for your mash. You don't want to start with water at that pH.

GT

 

[remilard]

pH of water doesn't matter as it is weakly buffered compared to malt. Interestingly, in nature the most alkaline water often has the lowest pH and vice versa.

What does matter is alkalinity. A good amount of alkalinity is zero, if you have a lot I would consider purchasing an RO system.