PH - Process double check

[RunDadRun]

Long story short...I only have ph strips right now (a meter is on the Christmas list) and they consistently show ph levels well below the measurable range.

Long story. I am a 5 gallon batch full volume BIAB brewer and I utilize Beersmith for recipe building and have been using Bru'n Water to calculate water additions. I have a Ward Labs report to determine starting values and have read, re-read, and researched how to use the spreadsheet to achieve proper mash ph and additions.

After entering all mash acidification grain amounts, adjusting water additions and then determining the appropriate lactic acid addition, I usually end up adding about 1 ml per gallon of strike water (7.5 ml on my last batch).

When I pull a sample 10 minutes into the mash and cool to room temp, the strips generally register somewhere in the pale yellow to very muted orange range. No where even close to the amber/orange tones in the key.

Am I doing something completely wrong? mis-interpreting something? Putting too much reliance on crappy strips?

I can provide more detailed information regarding grain bill, water report, process, etc....I just didn't want to go crazy on this opening post.

For what it is worth, i usually hit efficiency of 70-72 which is the same as before i started messing with water additions. The past couple brews have been quite tasty with no real discernable issues, off flavors, or perceived low ph.

Thanks in advance for helping out.

 

[RM-MN]

From reports I've read, I'd put more faith in the calculations from Bru'n Water than the pH strips. If you are brewing good beer, don't sweat the "off pH readings" from the pH strips.

 

[KeninMN]

First, pH strips are not suited for measuring mash pH. Second, I have yet to have any of the water spreadsheets correctly calculate my mash pH. I use a Milwaukee MW101 meter and do a 2-point calibration with pH 7 and pH 4 buffer solution before every use and my probe has shown no signs of drift. It doesn't seem to matter if brew with RO water or with distilled water. I measure my salt additions using a calibrated digital scale with 0.01 g precision. My calibration weights are NIST traceable. I measure mash pH at room temperature, measuring temperature with a thermocouple thermometer that has been calibrated to NIST-traceable standards. My measured pH is consistently 0.2 - 0.4 pH points below what any of the available spreadsheets calculate. Why? I have no idea. Does it matter? No, because I measure and I am confident that my measurements are correct.