Too high pH!!!

[eulipion2]

I just started my fireball mead (previously discussed here). I did a pH reading this morning and it was somewhere between 6-8. Is that high? Should I add gypsum?

Here was my recipe:
20 lb. honey (probably clover, packaging doesn't say)
2 tsp. yeast nutrient
2 tsp. yeast energizer
2 packs of Lalvin 71B-1122 Narbonne yeast

O.G.: 1.130

I didn't heat/boil, and my rehydration water was, at the most, 110 degrees.

 

[hightest]

I just started my fireball mead ... did a pH reading this morning and it was somewhere between 6-8.

What test method did you use to arrive at that pH value?

...Should I add gypsum?

That will only make the must more basic - increase the pH.

What is the pH of the water you used?

 

[Nerro]

Calcium ions actually taste pretty sour so you wouldn't be solving much taste-wise either. As for the yeast being healthier at pH 4.5... Well, they'll lower the pH on their own accord. You could also add a pinch of citric acid (just a pinch goes a LOOOOOONG way for dropping the pH).

Frankly, I'd leave it alone.

Though... How did you get the pH to stay pretty much neutral? Honey has a pH of around 3.5! That should have dragged the pH down t about 5 - 6...

 

[eulipion2]

Well, I came home from work late last night to a solid 2 inches of foam, so I guess the wee beasties worked it out.

As for determining pH, I used litmus paper, the margin of error of which was ±1 pH. It registered around 6, so that could put ut as low as 5.

I think I just need to work on being patient with new things.

 

[JFK]

i find that the test paper even though it is supposed to be accurate within 1.0 ph can be off to as much as almost 2.0. i switched to a digital ph meter to get rid of the margin of error. you can pick up a cheap one for about 25.oo. if you have a healthy top coat of PH your yeast is doing its job just fine and you are A ok

 

[fatbloke]

i find that the test paper even though it is supposed to be accurate within 1.0 ph can be off to as much as almost 2.0. i switched to a digital ph meter to get rid of the margin of error. you can pick up a cheap one for about 25.oo. if you have a healthy top coat of PH your yeast is doing its job just fine and you are A ok

top suggestion. litmus strips are pretty rubbish, unless they're specifically wine making ones with a range of something like 2.8 to 4.5 pH. Even then, if they're old, they can get a bit unreliable.