Mead pH issues

[DuckAssassin]

I recently started brewing beer and was immediately interested in attempting to make some mead. I have acquired and read "The Compleat Meadmaker" from which I have developed a plan for my first batch of mead (which I may post separately to get some comments). I have been reading many of the posts here and it seems that pH control is a very important issue. PH control seems is discussed in Schramm's book, but he seemed suggest it from an awareness and troubleshooting standpoint.

I don't have potassium carbonate, but will acquire some if necessary, and am none too excited about the idea of dropping $80 on a tester (that requires a lot of maintenance), and it appears the test strips are not highly recommended.

I will be starting out by making a medium mead. I guess my question is, can I go forth and make mead without these items, or am I running the risk of a years worth work only to end in dissapointment. I do have yeast nutrient and energizer, but it appears tha tthis may not be enough.

I thought I was nervous about my first batch of beer. That was childs-play compared to this. Thanks for any help.

 

[Yooper]

I've only messed around with ph once- in a catawba grape wine that was so acidic it hurt to drink!

For all of my wines/meads/ciders, I haven't really been concerned with ph at all. You can sort of go by taste- if it tastes "blah" or "flabby", it needs some acid. Acid blend works fine. If it's so acidic, you think it might take the enamel off your teeth, then you may want to use the precipitated chalk.

Generally, certain fruits are very acidic and can benefit from the chalk- like rhubarb and some grapes. I don't think that will be an issue at all with mead.

 

[BigKahuna]

Acid blend works fine. If it's so acidic, you think it might take the enamel off your teeth, then you may want to use the precipitated chalk.

1/2 prodding for info, and 1/2 actually asking....but what other methods can be used to reduce acidity? Anything that may be easily available? I some times like Lemon and lime juice to increase...that's pretty easy to get.

 

[CBBaron]

In general if you are making fruit meads (melomels) or you are using water that is moderately hard then you should have no problem with fermenting. However if you use soft water and light colored honey in a traditional mead then there is not enough buffering to prevent the pH of the mead from dropping to the point the yeast stop being active. A little bit of potassium carbonate as detailed in the sticky at the top of the forum prevents this issue.

This is one reason why it is NOT recommended to use distilled or reverse osmosis (RO) water when making mead.

Once your fermentation is complete you can adjust the acid to taste as per Yoopers suggestions.

Craig

 

[hightest]

I recently started brewing beer and was immediately interested in attempting to make some mead... I have been reading many of the posts here and it seems that pH control is a very important issue. PH control seems is discussed in Schramm's book, but he seemed suggest it from an awareness and troubleshooting standpoint.

I don't have potassium carbonate, but will acquire some if necessary, and am none too excited about the idea of dropping $80 on a tester (that requires a lot of maintenance), and it appears the test strips are not highly recommended.

Welcome to the world of mead...

Must acidity can be problematic if it drops below 3.0-3.2. While it is nice if one has a digital pH probe, it is not a necessity. You can easily thake a conservative approach and add 5g of potassium carbonate (or bicarbonate) to the must before pitchng your yeast.

That amount will do no harm, and will serve two purposes: provide elenmental potassium which benefits yeast health, and affords a certain amount of pH buffering. More detail concerning the addition of potassium carbonate, and honey fermentation concerns may be found in the mead FAQs.

For those who do not have a digital scale, the following rough volumeteric measures may be use to achieve the 5g addition: 1 level tsp potassium bicarbonate, OR 3/4 level tsp of potassium carbonate - do not "pack" the measure.

Also, you should not add any form of acid / acid blend prior to the completion of fermentation. If needed for "taste balance", it may be added prior to bottling.

 

[DuckAssassin]

Thanks for the advice. I will have some potassium carbonate on the way shortly.

Should I go ahead and order some pH test strips as well, or are they a complete waste of time?

I generally use bottled spring water, but in this case I may use tap since ours is a little on the hard side. I will probably boil (just the water) just because I am on the cautious side.

 

[hightest]

IMO, I find those pH test strips to be less than helpful.

The general rule is that if your water tastes good, then it can be used for brewing. The fact that it is hard is not always a bad thing. Certain minerals (within limits) actually are good to have. I had my water tested by Ward Laboratories, Inc., Kearney, NE (cost $15 in 2004).

I am typically skeptical using bottled water as it's unclear what might have been done in the way of filtration to improve its taste, but actually reduces the minerals & nutrients beneficial to yeast growth.

 

[tucsontony]

Welcome to the world of mead...

Must acidity can be problematic if it drops below 3.0-3.2. While it is nice if one has a digital pH probe, it is not a necessity. You can easily thake a conservative approach and add 5g of potassium carbonate (or bicarbonate) to the must before pitchng your yeast.

That amount will do no harm, and will serve two purposes: provide elenmental potassium which benefits yeast health, and affords a certain amount of pH buffering. More detail concerning the addition of potassium carbonate, and honey fermentation concerns may be found in the mead FAQs.

For those who do not have a digital scale, the following rough volumeteric measures may be use to achieve the 5g addition: 1 level tsp potassium bicarbonate, OR 3/4 level tsp of potassium carbonate - do not "pack" the measure.
QUOTE]

Thanks for the info HighTest. Was that 3/4 tsp per gallon or per 5 gallon batch?