Mash pH and boil kettle pH for hoppy beers

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

douglasbarbin

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
891
Reaction score
158
Location
Denham Springs
I am interested in learning more about how mash pH and kettle pH affect hoppy beers, particularly if I am shooting for the "Northeast"-style IPA. I was discussing a few things with a professional brewer last night, and he mentioned the following regarding his hoppy beers (which are excellent):
  1. He uses a Chloride to Sulfate ratio around 2:1
  2. He monitors and adjusts pH during all parts of the brewing process. Specifically, he said that pH affects "far more than just mash efficiency and grain extraction", and, "To dial in hops is to dial in pH just how you like it". He would not share the pH ranges that he shoots for during each stage of the brewing process.
  3. The beer is somewhat hazy as a direct result of pH manipulation, and the beer would not be as hoppy if it were clear.

Obviously, grain bill, hops and yeast are important to this style, and I think I have that part pretty well-covered. The part I am still trying to dial in is water profile and pH, which I believe is also very important for hoppy beers (and his comments indicate that this is the case).

I did some Googling and settled on a starting point of Chloride 120 ppm and Sulfate 60 ppm, which I think is reasonable.

I Googled further and saw very little information about pH as it relates to this style. There was plenty of information about mashing at a pH of 5.2 - 5.6, but the comments from the pro brewer inferred to me that he did not use "traditional" pH ranges for his hoppy beers. I did find some information that a higher kettle pH leads to better hop utilization. I also read (on this forum, in the "Treehouse Julius clone" thread) that Annie Johnson suggests a mash pH of 4.5 - 4.8 for "Northeast"-style IPAs. The extremely low mash pH seemed questionable to me, especially if it is followed by a relatively high kettle pH. Basically I would have to acidify the mash quite a bit, then add bicarbonate to the kettle to bring the pH back up beyond a typical kettle pH. I don't know what kind of kettle pH I would target, but presumably it would be at least 5.5 and possibly a little bit higher.

Has anyone experimented with these unusual pH ranges during the mash and boil? If so, does the above hold true?

The way I see it, there are probably 2 different ways to go about this:
  1. Acidify mash for low pH (4.5 - 4.8), add bicarbonate to boil kettle for high pH (5.5+)
  2. "Normal" mash pH (5.2-5.6), add bicarbonate to boil kettle for high pH (5.5+)

Thoughts?
 
Back
Top