Water pH and where to go from here

[donshizzles]

So based on my city's water analysis report, using the EZwater 2.0 spreadsheet and using Palmer's nomograph my water's pH is 5.72 which looks like it's good for light ambers and pale ales. I have 2 questions....

1. Will grain added to this water significantly change the pH so my mash pH will read different than my water pH.

2. If I wanted to brew up a porter or stout, what should I be doing to the water to make it compatible with these heavier styles?

 

[pkeeler]

The grain pH matters much more than the water pH. Actually, water pH is not important at all, just the amount of calcium, magnesium, and carbonate/bicarbonate. Non-base malts will move the pH down. You can buffer with CaCO3, NaCO3, or even KCO3 or a combination to make dark beer.

 

[ajdelange]

So based on my city's water analysis report, using the EZwater 2.0 spreadsheet and using Palmer's nomograph my water's pH is 5.72 which looks like it's good for light ambers and pale ales. I have 2 questions....

Your water's pH is 5.72? From a municipal supplier? And that's according to a spreadsheet? I'm not understanding something here. Your water's pH is what the supplier measured it at. It may be slightly different by the time it comes out of the bib at your house but it is essentially controlled by the processing, if any, at the plant and absent pH control by the supplier by the chemistry of the natural supply. pH 5.72 is very low for a municipal supply. I won't say it couldn't happen but it would be quite unusual. Many wells produce water with pH this low but the pH begins to increase as soon as the water is exposed to air.

1. Will grain added to this water significantly change the pH so my mash pH will read different than my water pH.

Yes, definitely. If the water is very low in minerals it will have a pH probably in the 6's from dissolved atmospheric CO2. Pilsner base malts will lower that to around 5.75. Pale ale malts to around 5.6. If the water is alkaline then the alkalinity of the water will fight the acidity of the malt and the mash in pH's will be higher. In either case, making beer usually requires the addition of some acid in order to get mash pH in the 5.2 - 5.4 region.

2. If I wanted to brew up a porter or stout, what should I be doing to the water to make it compatible with these heavier styles?

Most probably nothing. Dark beers are the exception to the rule about adding acid. The dark malts supply most of the necessary acid. Few brewers seem to add extra acid to dark beers when the malt acids aren't sufficient. In some cases the dark malts supply so much acid that the mash pH goes too low. In those cases brewers add a base, usually chalk, to the mash in order to neutralize some of that acid.

You might want to look at the Primer which has guidelines for people starting out with water treatment.

 

[donshizzles]

Your water's pH is 5.72? From a municipal supplier? And that's according to a spreadsheet? I'm not understanding something here. Your water's pH is what the supplier measured it at. It may be slightly different by the time it comes out of the bib at your house but it is essentially controlled by the processing, if any, at the plant and absent pH control by the supplier by the chemistry of the natural supply. pH 5.72 is very low for a municipal supply. I won't say it couldn't happen but it would be quite unusual. Many wells produce water with pH this low but the pH begins to increase as soon as the water is exposed to air.

Well using the numbers provided by my water analysis report, yes, the pH came out to APPROX 5.72 when plugging all the parameters in the EZwater formula and by plotting Ca, Mg, and EH on Palmer's nomograph.

 

[donshizzles]

Dark beers are the exception to the rule about adding acid. The dark malts supply most of the necessary acid. Few brewers seem to add extra acid to dark beers when the malt acids aren't sufficient. In some cases the dark malts supply so much acid that the mash pH goes too low. In those cases brewers add a base, usually chalk, to the mash in order to neutralize some of that acid.

You might want to look at the Primer which has guidelines for people starting out with water treatment.

Ok so this statement has me confused based on what I've read. In reading the narrative under Palmer's nomograph on raising the alkalinity to brew darker beers, he states that if you want to go from a 5.7 mash pH to 6.0 mash pH you need to add either sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate. Your saying NOT to do this as the dark malts contain the required natural acids?

 

[ajdelange]

Well using the numbers provided by my water analysis report, yes, the pH came out to APPROX 5.72 when plugging all the parameters in the EZwater formula and by plotting Ca, Mg, and EH on Palmer's nomograph.

I think you are confusing mash pH and water pH. Most of the popular spreadsheets attempt to compute mash pH from grain and water information but none that I am aware of even take water pH into account. 5.72 is low for water pH but is a reasonable stab at where mash pH would wind up if no acid were added especially if the base malt is a Pilsner malt.

 

[ajdelange]

Ok so this statement has me confused based on what I've read. In reading the narrative under Palmer's nomograph on raising the alkalinity to brew darker beers, he states that if you want to go from a 5.7 mash pH to 6.0 mash pH you need to add either sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate. Your saying NOT to do this as the dark malts contain the required natural acids?

That is correct - in most cases bicarbonate and carbonate are not needed and it is unfortunate that so many have been mislead by the notion (built into the nomogram) that there is a strong correlation between desired beer color and required alkalinity. There is a correlation but a weak one - too weak to use as the major design criterion for a beer certainly.

Now there may be cases where the dark malts contribute so much acid that the pH goes too low. In those cases some carbonate or bicarbonate or lime may be required to bring the pH into the desired window. AJ's first commandment thus reads something like: "Thou shalt not add chalk or bicarbonate to water nor to mash unless a pH reading obtained with a properly calibrated meter shows that it is necessary."

 

[donshizzles]

I think you are confusing mash pH and water pH. Most of the popular spreadsheets attempt to compute mash pH from grain and water information but none that I am aware of even take water pH into account. 5.72 is low for water pH but is a reasonable stab at where mash pH would wind up if no acid were added especially if the base malt is a Pilsner malt.

Yea I think you are right. I need to stop doing math calculations before my requisite 4 cups of coffee in the morning