Issues with PH in sour beer

[Beenym88]

I know this sounds like it is an equipment issue but I just cannot make sense of it. I made a sour last night I cooled it to 115 pre soured it with lactic acid took a reading with a paper test and my ph meter both were slightly below 4 so I actually added a little too much but it will be fine. Then I followed the usual steps pitched lacto and put a CO2 blanket and wrapped it up tight. Now this morning with both paper and a ph meter the ph is slightly above 4 is that possible???

 

[VikeMan]

You didn't say how much below/above 4 it was. (Slightly?) So it could have been normal random measurement error. Or a drift in calibration between the two readings.

That said, was your lactic acid addition completely homogenized with the wort before your first reading? If so, was the sample temperature higher when you got the lower reading?

ETA: I do see that you also measured with pH paper strips. IMO, they are nearly worthless.

 

[Beenym88]

I dumped in the lactic acid and gave it a swirls. The temp difference was about 5 degrees. And the difference in ph today was somehow a .4 increase.

 

[VikeMan]

I dumped in the lactic acid and gave it a swirls.

So you pH sample could have been skewed, even if only slightly, toward the lactic acid vs the wort.

 

[couchsending]

115 is a little hot for some lacto strains.... what did you pitch.

plantarum and Brevis are optimum sub 95