Mash pH papers

[Piruz]

Hi! Is my pH papers just "broken/old" something like that or whats going on?

I use tap water, and in Finland, "country of thousand lakes" we have very good and soft water. So our tap water is treated with lime or chalk or something to raise pH to above 8 for preveting corrosion. Today I tested first time my water with lactic acid.

So I only have pH papers that range from 4.6 to 6.2 pH.

My unfiltered water was 6.2 or higher
My carbon filtered water seems to be 6.2 or little lower?!?
Added 1 ml of 88% lactic acid to 5L of water pH says 4.6 or lower???

Tap water is very soft here, so does that mean it has no buffer ability?

And what its good for brewing? My pale beers seems to taste little astringent.

So is my pH papers just trash, or should I just forget about using acid to lower mash pH?

Thanks.

 

[bitteritdown]

Water pH means very little.

Mash pH is what counts (combining the water with the crushed grain). Aim for a mash pH of 5.2 - 5.6 depending on style.

Use a brewing water calculator such as BrunWater, EZWater, MashMadeEasy, etc...

Have your water tested by a lab in Finland so that you know its makeup (what minerals and levels) and level of alkalinity.

There are advanced techniques where water is adjusted to desired mash pH and then the difference of that to the DI pH of the grains is made up before dough in but it's easier to use a brewing water calculator in a traditional manner (in most cases adding all salts and acids before dough in).

 

[Piruz]

Well I havent tested water, but I have a sheet from internet thats not really accurate.

Its in Finnish, and it doesnt show all the ions needed for calculators.

 

[Piruz]

Well I havent tested water, but I have a sheet from internet thats not really accurate.

Its in Finnish, and it doesnt show all the ions needed for calculators.

 

[bitteritdown]

I don't pretend to read Finnish but it appears that you can gather some information from that sheet:

Chloride, Sulfate, Alkalinity... maybe Sodium, which should help when entering the water in one of the water calculators mentioned above.

Why not try downloading BruNWater and entering all of the values that you are able. Post back here with a screen shot.

Maybe a moderator could move this to the Brewing Science forum...

 

[ESBrewer]

It's low in calcium and especially magnesium. It's a great drinking water. The values are almost identical to Helsinki (even less chlorine seem to be added in Jyväskylä). I think water in Helsinki was ranked the best quality tap water in the world a couple of years ago and I don't see why your water would be not suitable for any kind of brewing. For brewing, light colored beers especially, you probably need to adjust the pH with calcium salts / acid. Making it a bit harder with salts should increase mouthfeel, too. To accentuate maltiness use CaCl2 and for bitterness caso4. I don't think the carbon filter is necessary but if you use it make sure it is clean (fresh cartidge).

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Brewing water calculators do a very good at predicting mash pH. Their calculations are based on brewing water quality and the grains used in a recipe. Measuring the actual mash pH, using a reliable meter is a must, when comparing the predicted pH value to the actual mash pH value.

As with any type of calculation eliminating as many variables as possible will insure the most accurate results. For many brewers guesstimating the alkalinity and/or mineral content of their brewing water doesn't matter. For the brewing purest, accuracy does matter. A good long term approach, for those who wish to master mash pH, is to take accurate readings and keep detailed notes.

 

[ESBrewer]

You could assume that Ca2+ is something like 20ppm and Mg probably <5ppm (based on total hardness and the fact that Ca2+ is added when water is alkalized). Won't be too far from the truth, I believe. Paper will be fine when you are on the middle of the scale (=usually when mashing) but they are not for exact measurements, >pH6,2 may look like pH6,1.