Help me fix my mash ph?

[bransona]

I'm a biab brewer, 23 batches down. It's time to play with my water. I've been doing full-volume mashes and all of my dark beers are astronomically better than my hoppy ones. Seems like the ph to me...

All of my pale brews remain hazy and have a very muted, muddled flavor. I swear it's the ph. My water starts at 7.8, but I haven't been able to measure it yet. I got some test strips, but they're the 2-10 variety...oops. I also have some acidulated malt and no access to lactic acid.

In fixing the ph, I have two ideas.

1) Use some acidulated malt and test with those strips to get a *loose* starting point

2) Change my mashing method... To lower my ph to the usual levels, I figure I should mash like you 3-vessel guys---not full volume. I think I can just heat my strike water, put my grains in my bag in a bucket, add water, and mash. That would be much stiffer and I can manage the temperature with a blanket and additional hot water. This would theoretically fix my ph.

Now, I know this is all assumption, but I can't afford a ph meter. Someday, I'll get the detailed strips, but I've got a four brew weekend ahead of me. What would you recommend? Does it sound like ph is my issue?

 

[GrogNerd]

I had same problem, couple ounces of acid malt worked for me, up to 2% of grist

helped with color & hop aroma/flavor

 

[brew_darrymore]

What kind of water are you using?

Tap? RO/distilled?

 

[bransona]

What kind of water are you using?

Tap? RO/distilled?

It's tap. I got a water report from a local brewery. We discussed it and they use it straight, just occasionally adjust for ph because it starts so high

 

[brew_darrymore]

To get us help you, we need to know the alkalinity of your local water. Can you post the report?

 

[PGEduardo]

I'm starting to grapple with this now. I've gone up to 4% acid malt. Gold standard would be to send off for a water report and use brun water or something to calculate additions.

In the mean time I bought a cheap pH meter to get a sense of the ballpark. These are fussy and likely won't last long, but I get the sense that even expensive meters are also fussy...

 

[bransona]

From the Facebook post lol

 

[Foosier]

Delving into the world of water and mash PH management is one of the more complex topics in brewing. I highly recommend you visit the Brew Science forum and read the stickies on easy water adjustments.

Additionally, get a copy of the Bru'NWater water management spreadsheet. It was created by a contributor to this site and is VERY helpful and free. with the water values you already have, you can plug that information in and then figure out how much Acid malt you need to use to get to the desired mash PH. Without a meter these are just estimates, but I can say from experience it works fine this way and improves your beer.

Once you have read the stickies and read through the water knowledge page of Bru'N Water, if you have more questions, post them on the brew science forum. There are tons of helpful folks who can help.

From a BIAB perspective, you do not need to change your mashing method to solve your PH issues. Honestly it won't make that big a difference. I do BIAB and just adjust my water to reduce alkalinity in my hard water. Then I do a full volume mash in my kettle. Easy Peasy.

 

[sky4meplease]

It sounds like your dark beers have the buffering power to drive your ph down to an acceptable level while your light colored beers leave the ph high.
No real way to tell for sure without proper ph testing.
If your not going to purchase a meter then I would plug the information you have into one or more of the available calculators and make adjustments with acid malt to get close.
Also dialing in your calcium (for clarity) as well your chloride:sulfate ratio which gives you control over the malt:bitteriness balance would be beneficial.

 

[McKnuckle]

In addition to the alkalinity, you have very low mineral content in your water. You would benefit from some gypsum for sure and perhaps CaCl, which would:

Lower pH (both)
Raise Calcium (both)
Raise SO4 (gypsum)
Raise Cl (CaCl)

You don't have to get all of your alkalinity reduction from acids, unless your mineral content is already high and you don't wish to add more. In your case, I'd start with the minerals. Then ameliorate with a little acid only when the minerals are already at moderate levels, and aren't lowering pH enough.

The gypsum in particular will get your lighter, hoppy beers to "pop" more.

 

[bransona]

Looks like minerals are in my future... For this weekend, I'll stick with Brunwaters spreadsheet and the forum.

 

[MrAverageGuy]

Sounds like a great start. I am at about your same experience level and a BIAB small-batch brewer. Ever since I started using Bru'n Water, and adjusting my water according to style, my beers have been so much better. You can get a 4 oz container of 75% phosphoric acid from Great Fermentations, online. You need to use an instance of the Bru'n Water spreadsheet, loaded up with your grain bill and starting water profile (which you have), to know how much acid to add to get to your target pH (it will tell you). Supposedly, phosphoric is more flavor-neutral than lactic anyway. I've read in this forum where, for lighter beers, one would want a lower mash pH, where for stouts and such, a slightly higher pH (maybe 5.5) is wanted. Good luck with it.

 

[JoshuaW]

It's tap. I got a water report from a local brewery. We discussed it and they use it straight, just occasionally adjust for ph because it starts so high

I dont know about your area, but each of our water districts are different. So its entirely possible that their water doesnt need adjustment, but yours still might. I would get a water report for your water district, or better yet, get a report Ward Labs report. Best option? Just start using RO or DI water.

My water was workable, but my beer has improved significantly since I switched to DI water and build it up. Its super simple, just a couple mineral additions and some acid malt in the mash, and 95% of the time that is all that is needed.

 

[bransona]

I ran my numbers through Bru'n water (and I'm certain I get the same water as these guys) and it looks like tonight's brew (a wit) is gonna need 2oz acid malt to hit 5.5 mash ph at full volume. That way I don't have to change my process. More specifically...

1.5 gallons
1.5# white wheat
1# 2-row
2oz acidulated malt

It's 7% of the grist, but that's fine by the manufacturers suggestion