Final beer pH?

[itsbarleytime]

Any thoughts on final beer pH.

 

[TechyDork]

Nope.

Sorry, had to. Would you care to elaborate on your question?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Nominally about pH 4.15 at the end.

For comparison, I believe the popular colas are about pH 2.45.

 

[IndyBlueprints]

I generally check my ph about 15 minutes into the mash, and it's almost always falling in the 5.3-5.35 range. Is there a reason to check it or worry about it later?

(Sorry to piggy back on your question)

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'm guessing that the carbonic acid from the dissolved CO2 is what drives the final product down into the 4.15 pH range.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/biology-behind-beers-bite-youre-tasting-carbonic-acid-6c10962819

 

[mabrungard]

No, acidification by the yeast fermentation is what drives beer pH down from the post-boil wort pH. In general, ale yeasts tend to produce a lower beer pH than lager yeasts. The contribution to pH reduction produced by dissolved CO2 is minor, on the order of a tenth or so.

While it is important to assure your wort pH gets down into the 5.2 to 5.6 range, it is the yeast that sets final beer pH. So, shifting the wort pH one way or the other does not produce a proportional variation in beer pH. However, shifting the wort pH does have some effect on beer pH, you just can't count on it. It is a somewhat common practice in German brewing to mash around 5.4 and then add saurgut to the final wort to bring the pre-boil wort pH down to about 5.2.

Post-fermentation pH adjustment can also be performed if your beer pH is too extreme for your tastes. Either adding an acid or base to the beer can improve its perception. I suggest exploring that sort of dosing by trying with a glass of beer and scaling any addition to the beer volume.