What effect does a high mash pH have on taste?

[tripeland]

I often read about the importance of mash pH to be in the range of approximately 5.2-5.6. What happens if the mash is outside this range, say 5.7-6.0? How does it affect the taste of the final beer? Could a judge taste a beer and pinpoint a certain off-flavor due to the mash pH?

 

[bionut]

Higher mash pH will give you astringency, as well as poor efficiency. Altough, i don't think that 0.5 point of pH will make such a big difference.

 

[Iseneye]

I often read about the importance of mash pH to be in the range of approximately 5.2-5.6. What happens if the mash is outside this range, say 5.7-6.0? How does it affect the taste of the final beer? Could a judge taste a beer and pinpoint a certain off-flavor due to the mash pH?

I used to brew without water adjustments some time ago. Once I started doing pH adjustments via acid the flavours became brighter. So for me high pH equalled duller beer.

 

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

Before I started water adjustments, my efficiency was terrible. I also had an astringent flavor in my beer, which is unfortunate because I blamed it on the style of beer that I brewed for those couple of batches. I have avoided those styles like the plague since then. After over a year, I plan on revisiting those styles to see if it really is the style I don’t like or if my water was just bad.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I often read about the importance of mash pH to be in the range of approximately 5.2-5.6. What happens if the mash is outside this range, say 5.7-6.0?

BeerSmith have a good introduction to the basics of mash pH. The main concern is that different enzymes work best at different pH's, in particular if you go too high you lose beta amylase activity which is what makes the fermentable sugar :

So too high a pH is like mashing at high temperature, you get a less fermentable mash.

It's true that too high a pH is one factor that is required to extract astringency, but it's only really a problem over pH6 which is quite hard to do unless you're really trying

 

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

Before I knew anything about mash pH, I used water straight from my well. Water pH was 9.0, and I used it to brew a Founders Porter clone.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

So too high a pH is like mashing at high temperature, you get a less fermentable mash.

@Northern_Brewer great summary of the importance of mash pH on wort quality. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Smellyglove]

I often read about the importance of mash pH to be in the range of approximately 5.2-5.6. What happens if the mash is outside this range, say 5.7-6.0? How does it affect the taste of the final beer? Could a judge taste a beer and pinpoint a certain off-flavor due to the mash pH?

I'm not a judge and even I can pick out high pH in wort from both my beers and other beers I've tasted. At least that's what I've set my finger on several times and it's been mostly correct. What Iseneye said would be my biggest concern if I'd forget to drop the pH in the mash (again). Birghtness/dull flavors, at least in lighter (by color) beer. To me they become duller, and more astringent in the malt-department. (I don't even sparge).

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I guess I'll find out. I did a batch yesterday which somehow ended up with a ph of 6.0 and 5.8 the 2 times I measured it. I used my water software to calculate my additions and used 1.5m of lactic acid and some gypsum and CaCl. My efficiency has never been great but it was even worse on that one. I can live with that as long as it doesn't taste like crap.

 

[couchsending]

pH needs to be in spec all throughout the process.. a low mash pH helps to ensure that. You only ever hear about Mash Ph but pre and post boil pH have huge affects on finished beer as well.